"Victor discovered that the Hardie Plank was too thin and the nails were going through the boards. He was honest and told me this instead of pretending to do the job. I especially appreciated his honesty."
Portland, OR
Window Installation Portland, OR - Original Sash and Modern Replacements
Original wood sash is repairable in a way a modern unit is not, and on a character house that is often the better answer. We will tell you honestly whether yours is worth keeping.
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No trip charge, and no pressure to buy more than your house needs.
Window installation in Portland at a glance
Quality Master handles window installation across Portland, OR, and the city's pre-1940 housing makes the first decision an unusual one: whether to replace at all. A lot of Portland homes still carry original weight-and-pulley wood sash, which is repairable in a way modern units are not, and on a character home that is sometimes the better answer. Where replacement is right we install energy-efficient units in the existing openings. Portland requires no permit as long as the opening is not made larger or smaller.
- Neighborhoods: Sunnyside, Richmond, Woodstock, Sellwood, Alberta, St. Johns, Montavilla
- Pre-war homes often retain original weight-and-pulley wood sash
- No permit needed unless the opening is widened or reduced
- Types: double-hung, casement, slider, picture, patio door, egress
- Skylights and sun tunnels for dark interior rooms and stair halls
Manufacturer-certified, and licensed where you live
Licensed & verifiable
WA QUALIML786JF · OR CCB 243945. Check us at Washington L&I.
Permits in Portland
Portland Permitting & Development does not require a building permit to reroof in a material of similar weight, including replacing roof sheathing.
Owner on every job
Victor Santiago walks each project before we call it finished.
Windows in Portland
Windows Portland, OR: replace, or repair what is already there.
Most window work starts from the assumption that the old ones are going in a skip. In Portland that assumption deserves a second look more often than it does anywhere else we work, because so much of the city still has its original windows and those windows were built to be maintained rather than discarded.
A pre-1940 double-hung with weight-and-pulley balances is a repairable object. The sash can be re-glazed, the cords replaced, the frame eased so it runs properly again. On a character home in Sunnyside or Sellwood where the windows are part of what the house is, that is frequently a better outcome than a vinyl unit that reads wrong from the street and costs more. We will tell you when that is the case, and we will also tell you when it is not: rot in the sill, a sash that has been painted shut and butchered by three previous owners, or a homeowner who simply wants the maintenance to stop are all legitimate reasons to replace.
Where replacement is the answer, the mechanics are ordinary. We install energy-efficient units into the existing openings, and the older the house the more carefully we check the opening itself, because a century-old sill has usually taken more water than anyone realizes. Full-frame is more common here than in newer housing for exactly that reason. The insert versus full-frame comparison and glass packages is on the main windows page.
Permitting is straightforward and permissive: Portland requires no building permit to replace doors or windows as long as the existing openings are not widened or reduced. Cutting a new opening or resizing one does need a permit. Interior rooms with no exterior wall - stair halls and center bathrooms are common in foursquares - are skylight and sun tunnel territory, and that work sequences best alongside a Portland re-roof.
Verified reviews
What customers say about our windows work.
"Hired Victor and his team to fix an issue with our siding and window trim. Outstanding communication, exceptional work, and helped to answer every question I had."
Before you hire anyone
What Portland homeowners ask us before signing.
Insert or full-frame, and are you picking the expensive one?
Insert reuses your existing frame and is the cheaper, faster option, and it is what we recommend whenever the frame is sound. Full-frame is for rot in the sill or a change in opening size. We check before quoting so the choice is based on your house rather than on our margin.
Will you wreck my interior trim?
Insert installs leave the interior casing in place in most cases. Where trim has to come off we say so in the estimate and we put it back, and any interior finishing is priced up front rather than appearing later.
How much of a mess is this?
Windows come out and go in one opening at a time, so you never have a wall of holes. We sheet the floors, haul the old units away the same day, and clean up as we go rather than at the end of the week.
Are you licensed here?
Washington QUALIML786JF and Oregon CCB 243945, bonded and insured. Both numbers are public record and checkable in a couple of minutes, which is worth doing for anyone you let cut into your walls.
Book a free windows inspection Written, itemized, no obligation.
Portland windows FAQ
Window installation Portland, OR questions, answered.
Should I repair my original Portland windows instead of replacing them?
Sometimes, and it is worth asking before you spend. Pre-1940 weight-and-pulley sash is a repairable object: re-glaze it, replace the cords, ease the frame and it runs again. On a character home where the windows are part of the architecture that is often the better outcome. Where there is sill rot, or the sash has been painted shut and damaged over decades, replacement is the honest answer.
Do I need a permit to replace windows in Portland?
Not if the existing openings stay the same size. Portland Permitting & Development requires no building permit to replace doors or windows where the openings are not widened or reduced. Cutting a new opening, resizing one, or bringing a bedroom up to egress does require a permit.
Why is full-frame more common on Portland houses?
Age. An insert replacement reuses the existing frame, which is the cheaper and faster option and the right one when that frame is sound. On a house that is eighty or a hundred years old the sill has usually taken a great deal of water, and setting a new window into a soft sill buys a few years at most. We check before quoting rather than after.
Will vinyl windows look wrong on a bungalow?
They can, and it is a fair thing to care about. Sight lines and profile depth on a modern vinyl unit are different from original wood sash, and on a street of intact pre-war homes that reads. There are replacement products designed to sit better on period houses. We would rather show you the options than let you discover the difference after installation.
What can I do about a dark stair hall or interior bathroom?
A sun tunnel, usually. Foursquares and bungalows frequently have interior rooms with no exterior wall at all, which means no window is possible at any price. A tubular daylighting device brings light down through the roof, and the cheapest time to install one is while the roof is already open for a re-roof.
Are you licensed to do this work in Oregon?
Yes. Oregon CCB 243945, and Washington registration QUALIML786JF for work on the other side of the river. Both are public record and independently checkable.
More from Quality Master in Portland.
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Siding in Portland, WA
On a pre-war Portland house, what is behind the siding decides the job. We open a section before quoting so you see it too, rather than hearing about it in week two.
Decks in Portland, WA
Bolting a deck to a hundred-year-old house is the part that actually matters, because a ledger that lets go takes people with it. We open it up and check before designing anything.
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The full windows breakdown for Vancouver, WA and the whole service area.
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Windows elsewhere in Portland metro, OR
Window Installation Portland, OR - free written estimate.
Portland, OR homeowners: call us or send a quick form, and we'll have someone out to measure and quote within a couple of days.