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ES Windows Kitchen Remodeling: The Woodland Hills Owner’s Guide
If you have ES Windows in your kitchen and the framing, glazing, or surrounding structure has started to fail, a full kitchen remodel that works around those windows typically costs $14,000 to $45,000 in Woodland Hills, depending on how much of the wall, cabinetry, and window assembly needs to come out and go back in. We handle ES Windows-compatible kitchen remodels as an independent contractor, which means we match new cabinetry, counters, and trim to the exact profile of your existing ES Windows frames rather than asking you to replace windows that are still doing their job. Most owners find out something is wrong when a window won’t seal against the new counter run, or when dry rot shows up in the rough opening that was hidden by old cabinetry.
The common thread we see across Woodland Hills kitchens with ES Windows: the windows themselves are rarely the problem. The failure is almost always in how the surrounding kitchen was originally built to meet them, or how years of heat, cooking moisture, and the Valley’s dry-season shift have worked on the materials around the frame. Isaac Pruett has spent years working around Warner Center and the neighborhoods just off it, and he’ll tell you the same thing he tells every homeowner: the window is a fixed point. Everything else in the kitchen has to be installed to meet it, not the other way around.
Which ES Windows Models This Applies To
ES Windows makes a fairly wide range of aluminum-frame window and door systems, and the compatibility questions change depending on which series you have. In Woodland Hills, the most common units we run into are the ES Windows 3500 Series and the 7100 Series, both of which use a narrower frame profile than the older 2000-series units that show up in homes built in the 1980s and early 1990s. The 7100 in particular has a much slimmer sightline, which is great for the view but leaves very little room for error when we set a new backsplash or run a counter up to the frame.
To identify your series, look at the inside of the operable sash along the top or bottom rail. ES Windows stamps a small white or silver label there with the series number and the unit’s size. If the label has worn off (Southern California sun does that), measure the visible frame width from the interior drywall edge to the glass. A 3500-series fixed window typically shows about 2-3/16 inches of frame. A 7100-series runs closer to 1-3/4 inches. That difference matters more than most homeowners expect, because it changes how the trim detail lands and whether an off-the-shelf trim kit will leave gaps that pull in valley dust every time the Santa Anas kick up.
On the OEM-versus-aftermarket question: ES Windows parts are well made, but they are also priced for the new-construction market. For a kitchen remodel in Woodland Hills, genuine ES Windows replacement clips, setting blocks, and waterproofing boots are the right call when the window itself is young and we are preserving it. Aftermarket aluminum extrusions and glazing beads can work fine for older units, especially if the original finish has already gone chalky, and we will tell you honestly which direction makes sense for your budget. We are an independent service provider, not affiliated with ES Windows, so we carry both and do not have a reason to push one over the other.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your ES Windows Kitchen Remodeling Is Failing
- Condensation between the panes of an ES Windows unit. The seal has failed and the inert gas between the panes is gone. In a kitchen, this accelerates because cooking heat repeatedly expands and contracts the seal. Repairs are usually not worth it at this point; replacement of the glazing unit is the honest fix.
- Soft drywall or staining at the sill, especially below the sink-side window. Water has been running down the inside of the frame for years. With a south-facing or west-facing Woodland Hills exposure, the afternoon heat dries the surface just enough to hide the damage until the wall is opened.
- Cabinets pulling away from the wall around the window. The rough opening was never properly flashed, and the fasteners holding the upper cabinets have been loosening in damp framing. This is a structural issue, not a cabinet issue, and it needs the framing checked before any new cabinetry goes in.
- Window will not open, or binds partway. The frame has moved, or the foundation under that section of the kitchen settled and pinched the rough opening. Aluminum frames do not flex; they bind. If the window is now bound, the fix usually involves reframing the opening, not lubricating the track.
- Visible daylight or visible gap between the window frame and the counter or backsplash. This is the most common one we see in kitchens that were remodeled once before. Someone set the counter height to the old measurement, or ordered slab without accounting for the ES Windows frame projection, and now there is a gap that collects crumbs and lets afternoon heat straight into the wall cavity.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For a full kitchen remodel that works around and preserves your ES Windows, homeowners in Woodland Hills should budget $14,000 to $45,000. That range covers demolition, any framing correction at the rough openings, new cabinetry, countertops, backsplash, plumbing and electrical updates tied to the new layout, and trim detail that actually meets the ES Windows frame cleanly. On the lower end, a compact kitchen with stock cabinetry and a basic quartz counter runs near $14,000 to $20,000. On the upper end, custom cabinet work, a larger island, specification-grade surfaces, and moving plumbing or gas lines will push into the $35,000 to $45,000 range.
| Kitchen Remodel Scope | Typical Installed Range (Woodland Hills) |
|---|---|
| Small Kitchen Remodel | $9,000 – $20,000 |
| Full Kitchen Remodel (ES Windows preserved) | $14,000 – $45,000 |
| Cabinet Installation | $4,000 – $13,000 |
| Countertop Installation | $2,000 – $6,500 |
| Backsplash Installation | $800 – $2,500 |
| Kitchen Island Installation | $3,000 – $10,000 |
You will have a written price before we open the first wall. That price includes labor, parts, and permits when they are needed. It does not include surprise change orders, because we do not write them that way. After completion, the work is covered for 365 days from the completion date under our Done Right Promise. If something is not right, we return and make it right at no cost. Our crews are background-checked and identity-verified, and you will know the technician’s name and see their photo before they ever ring the bell. That is the Threshold Standard, and we do not waive it.
DIY or Call Us?
There are a few things a homeowner can safely check before calling. Walk the kitchen in the morning when the light is low and run your hand along the drywall seam where an upper cabinet meets the wall. If it is loose or there is a fine white powder collecting at the joint, that is drywall movement and it points to a framing or moisture issue behind it. You can also photograph the ES Windows label we described above so we have the series number before we arrive. That saves you time and it helps us quote accurately on the first call.
What you should not do is start pulling cabinets, cutting into drywall around an ES Windows rough opening, or attempting to reset a window that has shifted in its frame. The rough opening carries weight, and in a kitchen with old framing, one wrong cut can turn a $14,000 remodel into a $30,000 structural repair. If the window is binding, the frame has moved. Let us open the wall and see what actually happened. Call (831) 290-6866 and we will walk through what you are seeing and set up a time to look at it in person.
FAQs
A well-installed ES Windows aluminum unit should last 30 to 40 years in the San Fernando Valley climate, with the glazing seal typically giving out first around the 20 to 25-year mark. Kitchens shorten that lifespan because daily cooking heat and moisture work the seal harder than any other room in the house. If your ES Windows are original to a 1990s home, the kitchen windows are the ones most likely to be near the end of their seal life. Call (831) 290-6866 and we can tell you over the phone whether the window is worth preserving or if it makes more sense to replace it during the remodel.
If only the glazing unit has fogged, the pane can often be replaced while keeping the original aluminum frame, which is the lower-cost route and lets us leave the surrounding interior work untouched. If the frame itself is loose, shifted, or leaking at the rough opening, repair is usually a temporary fix and replacement of the window becomes the better long-term investment. Call (831) 290-6866 for an assessment and an exact quote, which is always free.
A typical full kitchen remodel that preserves your ES Windows runs four to eight weeks from the first day of demolition to the final walkthrough, depending on whether plumbing, gas, or electrical has to move and how long custom cabinets take to arrive. We give you a written schedule with the written price, and if the schedule changes, we tell you before it changes. Call (831) 290-6866 and we will give you a realistic timeline for your specific kitchen.
We do not keep a full ES Windows parts inventory on the shelf, but we stock the common trim profiles, setting blocks, and waterproofing materials we need for most Woodland Hills kitchens, and we can order ES Windows glazing units and compatible aftermarket components with a short lead time. We also carry parts and materials for KraftMaid cabinetry, Cambria surfaces, and Silestone countertops, so the major pieces of your remodel come together without multiple vendors. Call (831) 290-6866 to confirm we have what your project needs.
Written by Isaac Pruett, Owner, Mason Remodeling Co – Woodland Hills, CA at Mason Remodeling Co Woodland Hills, serving Woodland Hills and nearby areas.
