Window repair · Ketchum & Sun Valley
Most foggy or cracked windows need new glass, not a new window. Here is how to tell which one you have.
A window is two things: a frame, and a sealed glass unit sitting in it. They wear out separately. When the glass fogs up or cracks and the frame is still solid, you replace the glass and keep the frame.
That is the cheaper job by a wide margin, and it is the more common one. There is no trim to pull, nothing to repaint, and the opening in your wall is never disturbed. Most of the windows we are called out to look at in the Wood River Valley fall on this side of the line.
New glass is priced by the size of the unit and the type of glass. Tempered, insulated and Low-E coated glass each cost more than plain glass, and code requires tempered in doors and anywhere close to the floor.
The quickest way to a number for your window is the Instant Estimate. Enter the width and height of the glass and it gives you a ballpark range in about a minute. Your exact price is confirmed after a free measurement.
A new window is a different size of job. You are paying for the whole unit, for taking the old frame out, and for the trim and paint around it afterward. We price those from the opening itself.
If the cloudiness is between the two panes, the seal on the glass unit has failed and damp air has got inside. The frame has nothing to do with it. This is the single most common reason people think they need a new window when they do not.
Glass cracks from impact, from stress, or from a cold snap working on a small chip. If the window still opens, closes and locks the way it should, the frame is doing its job.
That was tempered safety glass doing what it is made to do. The replacement has to be tempered as well and made to size, but it is still a glass job.
Soft or rotted wood, a frame that has warped or pulled away from the wall, or water getting in around the window rather than through the glass. New glass in a failed frame is money spent twice.
A window that will not operate is a frame and hardware problem. Sometimes hardware can be serviced. Often on an older unit it cannot.
If you are remodeling, or upgrading every window on an elevation for looks or performance, replacing units makes sense even where the old glass could have been saved. For that we are an authorized Kolbe dealer, and the windows and doors page covers the lines we carry.
Ketchum and Sun Valley sit right around 6,000 feet. A sunny afternoon and a cold night can be far apart in temperature, and the glass expands and contracts with every swing. Each cycle works the seal around the edge of the unit a little more.
When the seal finally lets go, humid air gets between the panes and condenses there. It cannot be cleaned out or dried out, because the space is closed. The fix is a new sealed unit, made to the size of the old one.
It is also a chance to do better than the original. If the window faces south or west, a Low-E coating on the new glass cuts heat loss in winter and the fading that mountain sun does to floors and furniture.
Yes. The two panes come as one sealed unit, so we replace the unit as a whole and keep your frame. It is made to your measurements.
Not in a way that lasts. The moisture is inside a sealed space, and once the seal has failed it will keep coming back. Replacing the glass unit is the repair.
A fogged unit does not get worse from waiting, so it can be planned. Cracks are different. They spread, and a winter of freezing and thawing speeds that up. A chipped or cracked piece of tempered glass is under tension and will eventually let go on its own, so deal with those first.
The glass is made to order, so there is a wait between measuring and fitting. How long depends on the glass. Call the shop and we will give you a straight answer on current timing.
The width and height of the glass in inches, and a photo if you can. The Instant Estimate takes about a minute and you can attach the photo at the end. If you cannot measure, send the photo anyway.
Yes. Being told a repair will do is a better outcome for everyone than selling a window that was not needed, and the reverse is true too. We would rather say it plainly at the first visit.
Foggy or cracked window?
Measure the glass, pick the type, and the estimator gives you a range on the spot. We confirm the exact price after a free measurement.
Where we work
Our shop is on Lewis Street in Ketchum. We cover the Wood River Valley from the top to the bottom, and the Sawtooth Valley over Galena Summit.
Sawtooth ValleyStanley, Sawtooth City & Smiley Creek, over Galena SummitRepair or replacement? Get a ballpark price in about a minute. Bigger custom project? Request a quote and we'll take it from measurement to final polish.
