Full-Frame Window Replacement in Sunnyvale, CA
When the frame itself has failed, an insert only hides the problem. Full-frame takes the opening back to bare studs and rebuilds it right.
Back to the Rough Opening, Then Rebuilt Properly
Complete removal of the old window down to the rough opening, including frame, sill, and trim, then a new unit set, flashed, insulated, and finished.
It is the only method that lets us see and correct what is behind the trim: soft sheathing, missing flashing, a sill that was never sloped, insulation that was never there.
An insert window sleeves a new unit inside the old frame. That is faster and cheaper, and it is the right answer when the frame is square, sound, and dry. When it is not, an insert traps the problem inside the wall and you pay for it again in five years.
When You Need Full-Frame Instead of an Insert
A soft or spongy sill
Press the sill and it gives. That is rot, and it is structural. No insert fixes it.
Water staining below the window
Marks on the interior wall or drywall under the sill mean water has been getting past the opening for a while.
A frame out of square
The sash binds on one side, or the gap between sash and frame is wider at one end than the other.
Rotted wood or peeling trim
Failing exterior trim and soft wood around the opening have to come off to be corrected.
Original aluminum you want gone
Sleeving a new unit inside an old aluminum frame leaves a thermal bridge in the wall. Full-frame removes it.
A remodel changing the opening
Any change to the opening size or the operating style means the frame comes out.
How We Do It
- Step one
Measure the rough opening
Not the old window. The unit is ordered to the opening we will actually have once the old frame is out.
- Step two
Strip it and show you
Frame, sill, trim, and any failed flashing come out. Anything we find behind them, you see before we cover it.
- Step three
Set, flash, insulate
New unit plumb and square, nailing fin and flashing in the correct shingle order, shim gap filled with low-expansion foam.
- Step four
Seal, trim, clean
Sealed inside and out, trimmed to match, old units hauled away and the floor left as we found it.
Why This Comes Up So Often in Sunnyvale
A large share of Sunnyvale housing is 1950s to 1970s ranch and post-and-beam with original aluminum frames set directly into stucco. Those openings often have no flashing at all. Full-frame is how that gets fixed, and it is why we will not quote a whole-house aluminum-to-vinyl conversion sight unseen.
Licensed and insured
California contractor licence, general liability, and workers' comp on every crew member.
Two written warranties
The manufacturer covers the unit. We cover flashing, sealing, insulation, and fit.
Flat written pricing
The number holds after the measure. Hidden rot is the one exception, and we show it to you first.
Full-Frame Replacement Questions
When the frame has failed, yes, because an insert leaves the failure in the wall. When the frame is sound, no, and we will say so. The measure is what settles it.
Yes. Full-frame on a stucco wall means cutting back to the opening and patching the stucco and trim afterwards. That work is in the written quote, not added later.
Roughly double the time per opening, so a house that would take one day as inserts runs two to three days full-frame, more if rot is found.
No, and that is the point. An insert loses an inch or more of glass on each side because it fits inside the old frame. Full-frame keeps the daylight opening you started with.
Related Services
Find Out Which Method Your Openings Need
We measure every opening, check the sill and the frame, and tell you which ones genuinely need full-frame and which are fine as inserts. Then you get it in writing.
Contact DetailsFree in-home measure
(408) 547-4680 — book the measureMonday to Friday 7:30am to 5:30pm · Saturday 8:00am to 2:00pm