Altadena Windows & Doors for Older Houses
Altadena door and window work for older houses: the threshold is lifted to look for rotted framing first, and the quote changes if any is found.
Lifting the threshold of an old Altadena door is how we find the hidden condition that changes most door jobs: soft wood in the bottom plate and at the foot of the studs on each side. Sound framing means a restored or new door can go back into the existing frame. Framing that crumbles under a probe is cut out and replaced before any door is hung, and the quote gains a line for it, with photos.
What window casing can cover
Windows hide conditions of their own. Pulling the casing can show a header made of a single flat board, a sill that was filled and painted over, or termite tunnels in the trimmer studs. We take off one casing early to see what this house has, then plan the other openings around it. A window kept at its present size can usually go back under a light header. Widening that opening, or cutting it down into a door, calls for a sized header, new posts and a framing review before anything is bought.
How a finding changes the quote
Each hidden condition is photographed where it was found and priced as its own line, so the quote shows what was opened, what it revealed and what the repair adds. Framing replaced under a door is inspected before the threshold pan covers it. Some Altadena parcels lie inside mapped fire hazard zones, and on one of those, the replacement glass and door may need ember-resistant ratings. The county reviewer has the last word on which units qualify. Trim saved during the opening goes back once the framing has been seen and signed off.
About our Windows & Doors serviceEverything we do in Altadena
Windows & Doors in Altadena: common questions
Sash damage and frame damage lead to different answers. A sash with soft corners can be rebuilt by a joiner and returned to its own frame with fresh putty and weatherstrip. A frame sitting on rotted framing needs a full-frame job, so the wall can be repaired first and a matched unit set into a sound opening.
Every original is drawn before it comes out: the sash heights, the meeting rail, the stile widths and the grille spacing. New units are built or ordered to that drawing and set behind the existing casing, which is cleaned and reused, so each opening keeps the outline it had when seen from the yard.
Altadena is unincorporated, so the permit comes from Los Angeles County Public Works, Building and Safety. Replacing a frame, resizing an opening or adding a door is permitted work, and new glass has to meet California energy standards. On mapped fire hazard land, the county inspector also reads the ember-resistance rating of each new unit.
Windows & Doors in other cities
Other work we do in Altadena
Talk to us about your house in Altadena
Send the details and we will set up a walk-through and a written scope.