Lakewood, Colorado
Window work in Lakewood
Lakewood grew up in the post-war boom, and its window stock shows it. Long single-storey ranch homes from the 1950s and 1960s dominate, and they came with large expanses of single glazing in steel or thin aluminium frames. The window counts on these houses are high, which is bad news for the total and good news for the per-window price.
Two things then separate Lakewood from Aurora or Westminster. The first is the number of genuinely interesting mid-century houses worth restoring rather than stripping. The second is the wind on the west side of the city, where the ground starts to rise toward the foothills.
What Lakewood's housing stock means for your windows
Steel casements are the signature Lakewood window. They were fitted throughout the 1940s and 1950s, and they have virtues no modern unit matches: sightlines thin enough to almost disappear, and a crank action that still works after seventy years. They also rust, have no thermal break at all, and are single glazed. On a February morning the interior face of the frame will be below freezing.
You have three honest options, and any contractor who presents only the third is selling rather than advising.
- Restore. Strip, de-rust, prime, re-glaze with new putty, rehang, add weatherstripping and interior storm panels. Expensive, slow, and the only route that preserves the look. Right for a designated or architecturally significant house.
- Restore the street-facing elevation, replace the rest. The compromise most owners actually choose, and it is a legitimate one.
- Full-frame replacement throughout. Cheapest per unit of comfort. You will lose the sightlines, and on a good mid-century house that is a real loss.
Note that insert replacement is not on that list. A steel casement frame is not a pocket you can drop a modern unit into. Anyone proposing it has not looked closely.
The local hazard to plan around
Wind, and it is specific to the west side. Lakewood runs from Sheridan Boulevard out to the foothills at Green Mountain and beyond. As the ground rises, downslope and chinook wind events get stronger. The Front Range foothills regularly record gusts that the flat eastern metro never sees.
For windows that changes one number and one practice.
- Design Pressure rating. Ask for the DP number on each unit for west and south elevations, in writing. It is the tested resistance to wind load. A cheap builder-grade slider and a properly rated unit look identical in a showroom.
- Flashing and sill pan. Wind-driven rain and snow are what get past a window, and they get past it at the sill. A sloped sill pan with sealed end dams costs the installer twenty minutes and prevents the rot that shows up eight years later. Caulk alone is not a water management strategy, whatever the bid says.
Hail applies as it does everywhere on the Front Range, and Lakewood's low ranch roofs put a lot of window area directly under the storm.
Permits and approvals in Lakewood
The City of Lakewood's Building Division issues permits within city limits. Expect one for any change to an opening, for structural work, and for egress. There is a local trap worth knowing: several areas with Lakewood mailing addresses are actually unincorporated Jefferson County, and those permits go to the county rather than the city. Establish which applies to your address before a contractor starts, not after an inspector arrives.
Neighbourhoods we cover
Belmar, Green Mountain, Green Mountain Village, Applewood, Two Creeks, Eiber, Edgewood, Lasley, Glennon Heights, Union Square, Solterra, Bear Creek, Kendrick Lake, Villa Italia area, Molholm and Morse Park.
ZIP codes served: 80214, 80215, 80226, 80227, 80228, 80232, 80235, 80401.
Services available in Lakewood
- Window replacement for failed seals, drafts and rot
- Window installation for new openings, additions and basement egress
- Window repair for foggy glass, hail damage and broken hardware
- Window cleaning for glass, screens, tracks and hard water spots
Lakewood window questions
My Lakewood house has steel casement windows. Can they be saved?
Sometimes, and the decision is usually aesthetic. Steel casements from the 1940s and 1950s have very slim sightlines that no replacement window matches, and specialist shops can strip, de-rust, re-glaze and re-hang them. That work is expensive. Replacement in fiberglass or clad-wood costs less and performs far better thermally. If the house is a period piece you love, restore. If it is a house you live in, replace.
Does the wind near Green Mountain affect what windows I should buy?
It affects the specification, not the material. Homes on the west side of Lakewood, closer to the foothills, see strong downslope wind events. What matters is the Design Pressure rating on the unit and the quality of the installation and flashing. Ask for the DP rating in writing on west and south elevations, and make sure the installer uses a proper sill pan rather than relying on caulk.
Do I need a permit for windows in Lakewood?
Lakewood's Building Division handles permits for the city. Assume a permit is required when the opening changes or egress is involved, and confirm the address is inside city limits. Parts of the area with Lakewood mailing addresses sit in unincorporated Jefferson County, which is a different permit office.
What is the most common Lakewood window job?
Full-frame replacement of single-glazed steel or aluminium units in 1950s and 1960s ranch homes. These houses have long, low elevations with a lot of glass, so the whole-house counts are high and the volume discount matters more than usual.
Nearby cities
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