Free in-home measure and quote - PGT, CGI and CWS impact lines compared on your actual openings, style by style
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AfterFast, Reliable Impact Windows & Doors Across Hillsborough
Impact window and door replacement in Hillsborough typically runs $1,400-$4,200 per opening, depending on size, historic millwork, and what the Design Review Commission requires. Most of our Hillsborough work involves full frame replacement on estate homes built between the 1920s and 1960s, not simple sash swaps. We’ve been doing this long enough to know what opening a wall on an older Hillsborough property turns up: corroded steel, hidden rot, and framing that was never meant to carry a modern impact-rated unit. Call (888) 635-0804 and we’ll walk you through what your house specifically needs.
Why TruePane Windows & Doors Is Hillsborough’s Preferred Impact Windows & Doors Company
We keep showing up in Hillsborough for the same reason one contractor gets recommended over another in a town this particular: we do the permit paperwork right the first time. Hillsborough homeowners tell us the same story every month. A crew from outside the Peninsula quotes a window job, then discovers mid-project that the Design Review Commission wants stamped drawings. The timeline stretches. The bill moves. The homeowner gets stuck between a contract and a board meeting. Our team handles the architectural review package before structural work starts, so the job doesn’t stall halfway through. That’s not a sales pitch. It’s how we work on every Hillsborough estate project.
Dale Kessler founded this company in 2008 because he kept seeing out-of-true installs and voided warranties on jobs other crews walked away from. We carry that same expectation through every project we take on, including impact replacement work that requires waiting on a board sign-off. Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and trained to treat your house the way they’d treat their own mother’s house. That’s why Hillsborough homeowners who’ve lived here twenty and thirty years keep our number in their desk drawer. A live person answers the phone 24/7. Not a call tree. Not a callback form. A person.
Our Impact Windows & Doors Services in Hillsborough
We install, replace, and service the range of Impact Windows & Doors on older and newer construction, but Hillsborough calls for a different level of care than most Peninsula towns. The work below covers what we see most on the estates between El Cerrito Avenue and the Burlingame border.
Hurricane Impact Windows
Most Hillsborough homes were built without impact glazing. That’s not a deficiency in the original construction; it’s just what building codes accepted in 1938. Today’s wind-load requirements demand laminated glass, heavy-duty frames, and anchoring that ties the unit back into structure. We measure every opening twice, quote manufacturer lines side by side on paper, and register both warranty layers before the truck leaves the driveway. On a Tudor Revival off Ralston Avenue, that means matching true divided-light sightlines while delivering a window that actually meets current code.
Impact Sliding Glass Doors
Modern impact sliders are heavy. A 12-foot door panel can weigh 300 pounds or more, and it needs a header and threshold that carry that load without sagging. On older estate homes, the original slider opening was often framed for a lightweight aluminum unit from the 1980s. We reinforce the opening, install the new impact-rated door, and make sure the threshold ties into the home’s drainage plane. Hillsborough’s hillside lots shed water fast, and a sloppy sill detail lets that water crawl back toward the foundation.
Impact Entry & French Doors
Arched doorways are a signature of the Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean homes that make up so much of Hillsborough’s housing stock. Replacing an arched entry with an off-the-shelf rectangular impact door doesn’t pass Design Review. We fabricate custom arched impact units that match the original radius and period detailing, then engineer the framing behind them to meet current wind-load code. The door looks like it belongs to the house. The structure performs like it was built last year.
Impact Garage Doors
Hillsborough garages sit on sloped lots, which means the door has to handle wind uplift from at least two directions. We install braced impact-rated garage doors with reinforced tracks, then anchor the assembly so the door doesn’t bow in a wind event. If your garage door faces the fog line, we’ll also talk through hardware coatings, because the same marine moisture that eats steel window casements rusts garage tracks just as fast.
Wind Mitigation & Code Compliance
This is the part of the job most homeowners don’t realize exists, and in Hillsborough it’s the difference between a window that installs and a window that gets approved. Wind mitigation means evaluating the entire opening: glass, frame, anchoring, flashing, and the surrounding structure. Code compliance in Hillsborough means the Design Review Commission has signed off on what you’re installing before the building inspector ever looks at it. We handle both. Our team prepares the architectural drawings, submits the package, and coordinates the board review so the permit doesn’t become the bottleneck. When we say every job is covered by the Done Right Promise, that includes the paperwork.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Hillsborough
We’re an authorized installer for more than a dozen manufacturer lines, including, PGT, and CGI. For Hillsborough specifically, we commonly quote CGI and CWS impact units because their frame profiles adapt well to custom dimensions and period sightlines. ES Windows also comes up on homes where the architectural review favors a slimmer, cleaner extrusion. We don’t push one brand. We quote lines side by side on paper so you see exactly what you’re buying, what it costs, and how the warranties compare. Both warranty layers get registered in writing before our truck leaves the driveway.
Common Impact Windows & Doors Problems We See in Hillsborough Homes
- Corroded steel casement hardware: The marine fog that rolls off the San Francisco Peninsula hits Hillsborough’s hillside elevations hard. Original 1930s steel casements seize up until the jamb screws strip, which means the entire frame has to be reconstructed before an impact window can go in.
- Failed waterproofing behind original multi-pane windows: Water gets behind the frame, wicks into the stud cavity, and rots the wood before anyone knows there’s a problem. When we pull the old window, we often find hidden termite damage traveling along the same moisture path.
- Undersized framing around arched doorways: A 1920s arched opening was framed for a door weighing maybe 60 pounds. Today’s impact-rated arched unit can weigh six times that. The header and king studs need structural upgrades to pass wind-load code, and Design Review wants to see those drawings before permitting.
- Fogged or failed impact glazing from prior installs: We see seals failing early on doors and windows that weren’t installed to spec, often because the original installer skipped the structural tie-in. The glass is fine. The installation wasn’t. We replace the unit and re-anchor it properly.
Pricing for Impact Windows & Doors in Hillsborough, CA
Expect to pay $1,400-$2,800 for a standard impact window opening, $3,000-$6,000 for an impact sliding door, $4,200-$9,000 for a custom arched impact entry, and $3,500-$7,500 for a braced impact garage door. Hillsborough prices run higher than Burlingame or San Mateo because of the Design Review package and the custom fabrication most older homes require. If we open a wall and find rotted framing or failed waterproofing, we stop, show you exactly what’s there, and get your written approval on a change order before we touch another board. No surprise line items. No arguing. The quote we give you is a square deal. Call (888) 635-0804 for a free estimate on your specific openings.
We Also Serve Cities Near Hillsborough
Our teams regularly work in Parkway, Arden-Arcade, Ladera Heights, and Commerce, which means we’re already running crews on the roads around Hillsborough every week. If you’re in one of those areas, we bring the same permit-first approach and the same square-deal pricing. Give us a call and we’ll schedule a walkthrough.
Serving Hillsborough, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Hillsborough area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Impact Windows & Doors in Hillsborough
Yes, most of the time. Hillsborough’s Design Review Commission generally requires approval for any window or door replacement that alters the exterior appearance on older estate homes, and that includes swapping impact-rated units for impact-rated units. The change can be as simple as a frame profile or as involved as a full replacement. Let the Design Review packet be your first step, not a surprise you find out about mid-job. Call (888) 635-0804 and we’ll tell you whether your specific opening triggers a review.
The marine fog that pushes through the hills doesn’t directly affect argon fill inside a properly sealed unit, but moisture exposure at the frame glazing channel corrodes steel and eventually compromises the seal, which lets the gas escape. When a seal fails on one of these hillside homes, the window fogs and loses thermal performance. We order units with durable warm-edge spacers and double-seal systems designed for coastal exposure, and both warranty layers cover the fill in writing.
It’s not usually practical on Hillsborough homes. The original steel frames are thin by modern standards and were never engineered to carry laminated impact glass, which is far heavier than the old single panes. The glazing channel is too shallow, and the existing anchors rarely meet today’s wind-load code. In most cases, the corroded frame has to be removed down to the rough opening and rebuilt before the impact unit goes in. We’ll walk you through what’s salvageable and what isn’t, and we’ll do it before you spend money.
We stop, photograph the condition, and show you exactly what we found before we proceed. If the framing behind the opening is rotted or undersized, the structural repair becomes part of the job. If the wiring is outdated, that’s a separate scope, and we’ll tell you plainly whether you need an electrician or whether the existing system is fine to leave alone. You approve every change order in writing before our crew touches another surface. The estimate we give you upfront covers the work we can see. The change order covers what we find. That’s the honest way to do it, and it’s the only way we work.
Yes, and in fact they generally require a visual match, which means a standard contemporary impact garage door often won’t pass review on a Spanish Colonial Revival or Mediterranean estate. We fabricate impact-rated garage doors with recessed panels, period-appropriate hardware, and finishes that read correctly from the street, then brace them to meet wind-load code. The door looks right for the house and performs to current standards. We’ll handle the submittal package so the board sees exactly what they’re approving.
If you’re in Hillsborough and you want impact windows or doors installed right the first time, with the permit handled and the warranty registered in writing, call (888) 635-0804 to schedule your free estimate. A live person answers. We’ll be there when we say.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving Hillsborough with a craftsman’s standard since 2008.