Free in-home measure and quote - PGT, CGI and CWS impact lines compared on your actual openings, style by style
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AfterWindow Company in Kensington, CA
Westlight Windows & Doors handles window replacement, window installation, and door installation in Kensington, CA, where nearly every home was built between 1920 and 1955 and still carries its original single-pane wood sash windows. The marine layer that rolls through the Golden Gate settles right onto these hillside streets, keeping sills damp and accelerating rot in ways you won’t find in the flatlands below. Most Kensington jobs require custom sizing, fire-hardening compliance, and a crew that knows how to work on a steep lot. Call (903) 354-7134 for a free estimate from a live person, any time.
Why Kensington Homes Are Different
Kensington is unincorporated Contra Costa County, not a city, which changes how permits work here. Every window and door project runs through the county building department, and its inspectors actively enforce Chapter 7A of the California Building Code because Kensington sits inside a CAL FIRE-designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. That means multi-pane tempered glass, non-combustible or ignition-resistant frames, and ember-resistant detailing at every opening. Contractors who show up expecting a routine residential inspection with standard vinyl frames have had to tear out completed work here. It happens. We know the spec before we write the quote.
Beyond fire code, the homes themselves fight back. These 1920s to 1950s Craftsman bungalows and Tudor Revival cottages have settled into the hillside over decades. Frames are out of plumb, opening sizes are non-standard, and the original wood sashes have racked and swollen from fog-driven moisture. A stock-size window rarely fits a Kensington opening without careful shimming and custom sizing. Add the daily marine layer and you get aluminum track corrosion and steel hardware rusting faster than the regional average. Our crews expect this and plan for it before the first screw turns.
Our Main Kensington Services
Kensington homeowners call us most often for two things: replacing fogged or rotted windows, and installing new entry and patio doors that pass the county’s fire-hardening inspection. Here’s what each looks like in this community.
Window Replacement in Kensington
Most homes here still have original wood sash windows with single-pane glass, and after eighty-plus years of marine layer and hillside settlement, those sashes have rotted, racked, or let heat pour out every winter. Replacing them in Kensington means cutting to openings that are no longer square, shimming carefully, and choosing glass that meets Chapter 7A. We carry eight manufacturer lines so the product matches the job, not the other way around. Every project gets a written price before work begins and a written guarantee after. Learn more about Window Replacement in Kensington.
Window Installation in Kensington
New-construction and addition windows in Kensington need to be ordered, flashed, and set to a tighter standard than most of the Bay Area because the county inspector will check the fire-hardening details on every opening. We install to the Kingswell Way: the price is in writing before work starts, the arrival window is firm, the job site is left clean, and the guarantee is on paper. From a single picture window on a back addition to a full hillside retrofit, the sequence is the same. Read the full scope on our Window Installation in Kensington page.
Door Installation in Kensington
Entry doors in Kensington take direct weather off the bay and direct scrutiny from county inspectors, so the door slab, threshold, and all surrounding flashing need to be ember-resistant and properly sealed. A door that leaks here rots the subfloor fast. We install doors with thermally broken frames and weather-rated thresholds, and we shim to the out-of-plumb rough openings these older hillside homes always have. Every installation carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. See what’s involved in Door Installation in Kensington.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Brands We Service in Kensington
We install window and door products from eight manufacturer lines, including impact-rated CGI and PGT, energy-efficient ECO Window Systems, and entry doors from Therma-Tru. This range lets us match the fire-hardening spec, the fog-belt climate, and the look of a 1930s Tudor without compromise. Browse the full selection on our brands page.
Pricing for Window Company in Kensington, CA
| Service | Typical Range in Kensington |
|---|---|
| Single window replacement (standard size) | $800 - $1,400 installed |
| Single window replacement (custom size) | $1,200 - $2,200 installed |
| Full-home window replacement (10+ windows) | $12,000 - $28,000 installed |
| New-construction window installation (per unit) | $350 - $700 labor |
| Entry door installation (standard prehung) | $1,500 - $3,500 installed |
| Entry door installation (custom or oversized) | $2,500 - $6,000 installed |
| Patio / sliding glass door installation | $2,000 - $5,500 installed |
| French door installation | $2,500 - $6,500 installed |
| Full-home door replacement (3-5 doors) | $6,000 - $15,000 installed |
| Fire-hardening retrofit (glass + frame per opening) | $400 - $900 per opening added |
Kensington pricing runs higher than the flatlands for one structural reason: most openings are non-standard and most jobs require Chapter 7A compliance work on top of the replacement itself. Custom sizing, tempered multi-pane glass, and ember-resistant frame details all add cost. What does not add cost is surprise pricing. You get a written quote before any work starts, and that price does not move at the door.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Kensington
Kensington’s streets climb the hill in tight, winding tiers, and the job conditions change block to block. Some homes face the full force of the marine layer, others are tucked into protected draws where fog lingers longer. We work throughout the community.
- Upper Kensington (Arlington Avenue corridor)
- Kensington Park district
- Purdue Avenue hillside
- Berkeley View Terrace area
- Arlington Court enclave
We schedule Kensington jobs on a two-hour committed arrival window and confirm it by phone before the crew leaves our Bay Area office.
Service Area – Cities Near Kensington
Westlight Windows & Doors serves Kensington directly, and we run crews across the wider Bay Area for window and door work in San Francisco, CA, down the Peninsula to San Jose, CA, and across the water to Los Angeles, CA and San Diego, CA for larger retrofit projects. If you’re outside the immediate Kensington hills, call and we’ll tell you straight whether your area is covered.
Serving Kensington, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kensington 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 About Window Company in Kensington
Yes, in most cases. Kensington is unincorporated Contra Costa County, so permits run through the county, and because the area is a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, inspectors enforce Chapter 7A requirements on window and door swaps. We pull the permit and manage the inspection as part of the job. Call (903) 354-7134 to talk through your specific house.
It often does. Multi-pane tempered glass, non-combustible frame materials, and ember-resistant detailing at every opening add $400 to $900 per opening versus a standard coastal replacement. The county requires it in Kensington, so we include it in the written quote from the start. No surprises come inspection day.
Typical scheduling runs two to four weeks out for a full-home job, and a week or less for a single window or door replacement. Once you approve the written quote, we commit to a two-hour arrival window and call to confirm the day before. Call (903) 354-7134 for the current calendar.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees - talk to a local windows & doors pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you - the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What Kensington Customers Say
"Our sliding patio door had come off its track years ago and we just lived with it. New one is smooth as butter. They hauled off the old one and vacuumed up before they left."
- Jessica Landry"Replaced eight drafty old windows that were basically single pane. The house is warmer already and the street noise is way down. Crew was on time both days and the price was exactly the quote."
- Harold Bemis"Our energy bill in summer was brutal. New windows made a real dent in it. Salesman wasn't pushy and didn't do the fake "today only" discount thing the others tried."
- Bethany Oh