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ES Windows Kitchen Remodeling: The Long Beach Owner’s Guide
ES Windows kitchen remodeling in Long Beach typically runs $14,000 to $45,000, depending on window count, cabinet scope, and whether you’re doing a full tear-out or a targeted upgrade around the windows you already own. We stock ES Windows-compatible trim kits, flashing, and retrofit frames on our trucks, and we install them same-day in most Long Beach neighborhoods, from Naples to Bixby Knolls. Most homeowners discover the problem when a window won’t seal properly above the sink, or when water staining starts showing on the drywall under a window that faces the ocean breeze. Salt air, morning condensation, and twenty years of direct sun do their work quietly. By the time the plaster cracks or the window sticks, you’ve usually got a flashing failure, not just a tired frame. That’s exactly what this page is about: knowing what you’re looking at, what it costs, and who to call before a $500 fix becomes a $5,000 wall repair.
Which ES Windows Models This Applies To
ES Windows are common in Long Beach homes built from the late 1980s through the 2000s, especially in the tract developments around Los Altos, El Dorado Park, and the older custom places near Park Estates. The two lines we work with most are the ES 2000 series (single-hung and slider, aluminum frame) and the ES 3000 series (dual-pane, thermally broken, with a wider frame profile). The kitchen-unit versions of both series share a key gotcha: the bottom weep holes are drilled differently depending on whether the window was ordered for a stucco exterior or a wood-siding exterior. Get the wrong retrofit flashing, and water collects instead of draining. We check the original order label inside the frame channel before we quote anything.
On the parts side, OEM ES Windows hardware is still available for both series, but lead times run three to five weeks out of Southern California warehouses. Quality aftermarket equivalents from Traco and Milgard match the 2000 series dimensions well; the 3000 series is pickier because of that thermal-break channel. If your window is original to the home and the glass is intact, we usually recommend OEM seals and aftermarket operators and locks. The glass itself is worth preserving: ES Windows used double-strength tempered in kitchen units, and replacements cut to order in Long Beach run about the same as OEM glass, with a one-week faster turnaround. We’re an independent local contractor, not an ES Windows dealer, so we can pull from whichever source gets your kitchen back in service fastest without tying you to one supplier’s price sheet.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your ES Windows Kitchen Remodeling Is Failing
- Condensation between the panes. The dual-pane seal has failed. You can’t wipe it away; it lives inside the glass. The thermal efficiency is gone, and in Long Beach’s marine air, the trapped moisture accelerates frame corrosion at the bottom corners.
- Water staining on the drywall under the window. Almost always a flashing or weep-hole problem, not the glass. The window was likely installed with the stucco-flashing profile against a wood-frame rough opening, or the weep holes are plugged with paint. The water is running inside the wall cavity.
- The crank or slider binds when you open it. Aluminum frames flex with temperature. On west-facing kitchens in Long Beach, afternoon sun warps the frame enough to seize a worn operator gear. The operator is a $40 part; the warped frame is a full replacement conversation.
- The lock doesn’t catch anymore. The striker plate has worn down, or the sash has settled out of square. Beyond being annoying, it’s a security issue for a ground-floor kitchen window.
- You feel a draft even when the window is closed. The weatherstripping in the 2000 series dry-rots after 15 to 20 years, especially in kitchens where cooking grease coats the felt and breaks it down. Drafts mean your AC is working harder than it should, and your electric bill notices.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
On a kitchen remodel where we’re replacing or retrofitting the ES Windows plus handling surrounding cabinetry, counters, and finishes, Long Beach jobs land between $14,000 and $45,000. The wide range is driven by square footage, window count, and whether we’re doing a full gut or a targeted refresh. A compact galley kitchen in a Naples condo with two windows might hit the low end; a California room-style kitchen in Los Altos with six windows, an island, and new cabinets lands high.
Our pricing breaks down like this, and you get it in writing before work starts:
- Window replacement or retrofit per unit: $900 to $2,400 installed, depending on size and series match
- Flashing and weatherproofing per window opening: $150 to $400
- Cabinetry (KraftMaid or Wellborn): $4,000 to $13,000 for an average Long Beach kitchen
- Countertops (Cambria, Silestone, Caesarstone): $2,000 to $6,500
- Backsplash installation: $800 to $2,500
Every dollar on that paper is the dollar on the invoice. No change orders, no surprise line items. The work carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if something goes wrong within a year of the job closing, we fix it. No argument, no fee. If a repair fails, our second visit is free. That’s the whole point of the written quote: you know the number before we pick up a tool.
DIY or Call Us?
If the issue is a seized operator or a worn lock, a capable homeowner can replace those parts with a screwdriver, a new OEM part, and about forty minutes. We’ll even tell you which part number to order; call and ask. But the moment the problem involves removing the window unit, resetting flashing, or touching the structural rough opening, stop. An improperly flashed window in Long Beach leaks slowly for years, and you won’t see the rot until the drywall starts to sag. We’ve opened up walls in Belmont Shore where a “simple” window swap fifteen years earlier had been letting salt air eat the studs. That’s a $14,000 repair that should have been a $400 flashing job. If you’re unsure, call (562) 512-6480 and describe what you’re seeing. We’ll tell you honestly whether you need us or just a $30 part.
FAQs
In Long Beach’s salt air and direct sun, expect 20 to 30 years from the frame and 15 to 20 from the dual-pane seal. Homes within a mile of the ocean lose seals faster; we see it on windows facing south and west most often. If your windows are original to a 1990s build, you’re at the end of that service life.
Yes. Glass can be replaced without replacing the frame, and seals, operators, locks, and weatherstripping are all serviceable parts. The economics shift once the aluminum frame itself is corroded or warped; at that point, a replace-and-flash is usually cheaper than restoring a frame that will keep failing.
One to three days for the windows themselves, depending on how many openings we’re doing. If it’s part of a full kitchen remodel with cabinets and counters, plan for three to six weeks total. We give you a live arrival time and photo updates before and after, so you’re never guessing where the crew is.
We carry the most common 2000 and 3000 series operators, locks, seals, and retrofit flashing kits on our trucks, plus aftermarket equivalents that match OEM dimensions. If your part isn’t on the truck, we can have it in hand within days, not weeks, from our local suppliers. Call (562) 512-6480 and we’ll check stock while you’re on the line.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner, Sawyer Remodel Long Beach at Sawyer Remodel Long Beach, serving Long Beach and nearby areas.
