Planning next year's project after the season

Use the months after November 30 for the slow parts of the project: measure your openings, compare real quotes and set a budget, including whether to do the work in phases. Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, so you get about six months with no season on the calendar. That's the time to make these decisions without anyone rushing you.

Write down what this season showed you

The weeks right after the season are when your memory is freshest. Before it fades, answer a few questions on paper.

• Which openings took the most work to protect?
• Did water show up anywhere, even a little?
• Which windows or doors stick, won't lock or don't seal well?
• Which rooms run hot or loud?

Your answers tell you where to start. They're also what you should tell whoever comes to measure.

Make a list of every opening

Walk the house and give each window and door one line: the room, rough width and height, the type and what's wrong with it. Window types are fixed, casement, single-hung and horizontal roller. Doors can be fiberglass, sliding glass, French or entry. Mark which rooms are bedrooms, because bedrooms need an opening big enough to serve as an emergency exit.

Your tape measure won't produce order sizes. A contractor has to do that, and we measure every opening ourselves. But a rough list does three useful things. It gives you a bracket for your budget. It gets every contractor pricing the same job. And it shows you where the project could split into phases.

Set a budget range

Start with ranges, and use our full price guide for every product. These are the figures to plan around. Door pricing varies more than window pricing, so treat the door line as a wide starting point.

• Standard-size single-hung or horizontal roller window: $1,000 to $2,500 per opening
• Impact sliding glass doors: $4,000 to $15,000, depending on width and number of panels
• Whole home, a typical 3-bedroom, 2-bath with 12 to 18 openings: $15,000 to $45,000

These are typical South Florida prices as of October 2026, not a quote. Your price depends on size, product and your home, and we'll give you an exact number at the free estimate.

Multiply your window count by the low and high ends, add your doors and you have a bracket. Then decide what you're comfortable spending this year and what can wait. If the answer is less than the whole house, that's normal, and it's what phases are for.

Compare quotes while nobody is rushing

How to compare impact window quotes covers the details. What the off-season adds is time to do it properly. Hand each contractor your list and ask them to price the same openings with the same frame and glass. Minty B. wrote that "you have to compare apples to apples" and that's the whole job. A low number on a different product tells you nothing.

Ask each one for two prices: the whole job at once, and the job in phases. Also ask how long the price holds, because a quote from December may not be the price in April.

Doing the project in phases

You don't have to do the whole house at once. There are a few fair ways to split it.

• Worst first. Start with whatever leaks, sticks or won't lock.
• Hardest to protect first. The big slider, or the opening that takes two people to shutter.
• Doors, then windows. Nabi T. started with a door and wrote "I'm definitely doing Windows and additional doors with them."

A small first phase is fine with us. Aspen H. wrote "I love the attitude this company has-no job too small" after other contractors passed on a door slab and a window insert.

Phases have real trade-offs, so weigh these before you choose.

• Cost. Two or three smaller jobs can mean more than one permit and more than one trip. Compare the total both ways.
• Insurance. On the wind mitigation form, opening protection is one section, and the final rating reflects the weakest protection found across the openings. So a partly finished home may not see that rating change until the last opening is done. You may qualify for a discount later, and savings vary by insurer and inspection, so ask your agent before you count on it.
• Matching. Get the frame, color and glass from phase one in writing, so phase two can match.
• Protection in the meantime. Openings that wait keep whatever protection they use today, so hold on to those shutters.
• Approvals. Ask your HOA and your building department whether each phase needs its own approval or permit.

A simple order of work

1. Finish your list while the season is fresh.
2. Book your estimates. Ours is a free in-home estimate, with no pressure and no upselling, and you're welcome to use it as one of your comparison numbers.
3. Line up the quotes and choose the product.
4. Decide between one job and phases.
5. Pick your date. When to book impact windows counts back from June 1, so you can see when you'd need to sign.

When waiting is the right call

If your windows close, lock and seal, and the budget isn't there, it's fine to wait a year. A smaller phase you can pay for comfortably beats a bigger one that strains the household. Nothing you did this winter goes to waste. Keep the list. Next fall you'll start ahead of where you are now, and you'll only need to refresh the quotes.