Sausalito sits right where the fog comes through the Golden Gate, and its houses take the full effect. Mornings are often gray and wet, the wind off the water carries salt up the hill, and many homes climb so steeply that the back of the house is a full story above the street. Up the hillside streets above Bridgeway, there are plenty of older shingle and wood homes with original sashes that swell in the damp and stick through the winter. Newer homes on the hill tend to have big aluminum sliders and picture windows that have dulled, pitted and started fogging between the panes. Either way, the salt and the damp work on windows faster here than almost anywhere else in Marin.
We replace and repair windows throughout Sausalito, and we plan every job around the stairs, slopes and tight streets that come with the town. For homes that take the brunt of the salt air, vinyl windows won't rust, rot or need paint. Call or send the form for a free estimate.
Salt, Fog and Seized Hardware
On a Sausalito house, the glass is often fine long after the hardware has failed. Locks seize, casement cranks strip, slider rollers corrode and grind, and screws rust in place. Sometimes a repair is all it takes: new rollers, a new operator or fresh weatherstripping can bring a sound window back for much less than a new one. Our window repair visits handle exactly that kind of hardware work. When the frame itself is failing, we replace it with materials that stand up to salt, like vinyl, fiberglass or clad wood with a baked-on finish, and we fit coastal-grade hardware that won't corrode. Dual-pane glass also helps with the morning fog, keeping the inside of the glass warmer so it doesn't stream with condensation.
Steep Lots, Stairs and Tight Streets
Plenty of Sausalito homes can only be reached by a long stairway or a narrow lane with nowhere to park a truck. We work out the route at the estimate, plan the crew size and timing around it, and carry windows up by hand when we have to. Larger picture windows sometimes need extra people or special handling, and we'll tell you that up front instead of on install day. We protect stairs, decks and plantings as we go, keep the work area tidy, and haul the old windows back down when we're done. Homeowners in the canyons of Mill Valley next door deal with the same kind of access, and we handle those jobs with the same planning.
Common Questions
Vinyl and fiberglass both hold up well, since neither one rusts or rots. Clad wood with a factory-baked finish also does well if you want real wood inside. The weak points are usually the hardware, so we pair any frame with stainless or coated locks, hinges and rollers made for coastal homes.
Yes. Many homes here are reached only by stairs or a footpath, and we carry the windows in by hand. We look at the route during the estimate and plan the crew and schedule around it, so install day goes smoothly.