A window or a door is a hole in the side of your house with a product in it. The product comes with a warranty. The hole doesn't. Whether it stays dry for thirty years is decided by the sill pan, the flashing tape, and how carefully the unit is shimmed, and none of that shows once the trim goes on. I've been replacing entry doors, patio doors, and windows in Monmouth County since 2004, in the same houses where I remodel kitchens and bathrooms. Owner-led, no salespeople.
Based in Tinton Falls. Registered NJ home improvement contractor, HIC #13VH04440200. Five stars on Houzz.
Hi, I'm Rob Crotzer. I've been remodeling homes in Monmouth County since 2004, and I'm the one who comes to measure your openings. On that first visit I'm probing each sill and jamb for rot, looking at how the siding meets the trim, reading the wall under the window for old water damage, and working out whether a unit can be replaced inside its frame or whether the whole thing should come out to the studs.
Then I write the proposal myself, order the units myself, and install them with my crew. There is no salesperson and no showroom between you and the person doing the work. That's how RSC Contracting has worked for twenty years.
Two installers can put the same window in the same wall and one of them will be back in five years. The difference is what happened between the old unit coming out and the new one going in.
Most of the windows and doors I install go in during a kitchen, bathroom, or whole-floor renovation, where the opening is planned with the room. These are Monmouth County houses.
A cedar shake house with a painted wood door that had reached the end. The paint was failing, the bottom of the jamb was soft, and the weatherstrip was long gone. The fix was the whole unit, not a new coat of paint.
This one is my house, so I got to do it the way I'd tell you to. The oak door with sidelights was solid but dated, and the brick steps and concrete stoop didn't make much of a welcome. The new door went in last, after the porch was framed, roofed, and decked in ipe.
These two photos are the whole argument. Everything in them gets covered by siding and casing within the hour, and it's the only part of the job that decides whether the wall behind the window stays dry.
I measure every opening myself, inside and out, and check the frames for rot and the walls for how the siding and trim will come apart. You get a written proposal that lists each unit by size and type, the flashing and trim work included, and whether any opening changes size, which is the one thing that needs a permit.
The units are ordered and checked when they arrive. On install day the old unit comes out, the opening is repaired and flashed, the new one is set, shimmed, foamed, and trimmed outside, and the room is cleaned before we leave. An entry door is a day. Replacement windows are a day or two for most houses.
Interior casing, paint or stain where it's in the scope, exterior caulk, screens, and hardware. A walkthrough with you, the warranty paperwork for every unit in one folder, and my number for anything that comes up later.
Most door and window projects in Monmouth County run $3,500 to $40,000. An entry door is typically $3,500 to $9,000 installed, a patio or French door $4,500 to $12,000, a single replacement window $900 to $2,500, and a whole house of 15 to 20 windows $18,000 to $40,000. Sidelights, full-frame versus insert installation, rot repair, and any change to the opening size move the number.
The unit is usually half the price or less. The rest is the opening: what has to come apart to get the old one out, what's rotten underneath, and what has to be rebuilt to put the new one in right. I'll give you a firm written price after measuring, not a guess over the phone.
| Project | Typical range | What moves the number |
|---|---|---|
| Entry doorPrehung fiberglass or wood, new jamb and sill, hardware, casing inside and out | $3,500 – $9,000 | Sidelights and transom, wood versus fiberglass, rot in the framing, hardware |
| Patio or French doorSliding or hinged, in the existing opening | $4,500 – $12,000 | Sliding versus hinged, width, brand and glass package, siding repair, screens |
| Replacement windowsPer window, installed, insert or full-frame | $900 – $2,500 | Insert versus full-frame, vinyl versus clad or wood, size and shape, trim work; 15 to 20 windows usually land at $18,000 – $40,000 |
| New or enlarged openingA window where there wasn't one, or a door where there was a window | $6,000 – $15,000 | Header and framing, siding and interior repair, permit and inspections, plus the unit itself |
A window quote from a company with a showroom and a sales team includes the showroom and the sales team. Ask whether the price is for insert or full-frame and what's in the flashing before you compare it to anything.
"Rob is a great person who is always professional and took the time to tell us our options in each situation. These were not easy jobs, but instead our house is more efficient and more like the sanctuary a home should be."
Victoria Z.Kitchen and bathroom"As first time home buyers, we bought a fixer upper that needed major renovations. Rob was there every step of the way, working with us to build our dream home. He always kept us informed and provided suggestions while keeping us within budget."
Brian M.Full home renovationThe shop is in Tinton Falls, so Colts Neck, Red Bank, Fair Haven, Little Silver, Shrewsbury, Oceanport, and Rumson are around the corner. The rest of the county is a short drive.
An insert replacement keeps the old frame and fits a new unit inside it: cheaper, faster, less trim work, but you give up some glass area and you're trusting the old frame. Full-frame takes everything out to the rough opening, so any rot is found and fixed and the new unit is flashed to the wall itself. I recommend inserts when the frames are sound and full-frame when they aren't, and I'll show you which yours are on the first visit.
Not when the new unit goes into the same opening without changing its size or framing. New Jersey's construction code calls that ordinary maintenance: no permit, no inspection. Enlarging an opening, cutting a new one, or changing the header is a permit job, and I pull it. One catch: a bedroom window has to keep the egress opening the code requires, so a smaller unit isn't always allowed there.
Vinyl is the least expensive and fine for a lot of houses, but it comes in few colors, has size limits, and moves with temperature. Fiberglass is stiffer and holds paint. Wood with a clad exterior is what goes in when the house has real trim to match and the budget allows. Bare wood outside needs upkeep. I'll tell you which fits your house, not which one carries the best margin.
Ordering is the long part: four to ten weeks for the units depending on the brand and whether anything is custom. Installing is quick. An entry door or a patio door is a day. Replacement windows go in at roughly six to ten a day for inserts, fewer for full-frame. Your house is never left open overnight.
Sometimes. If the jamb and sill are sound and square, hanging a new slab on the existing frame is the cheapest route and I'll do it. On most older doors the frame is the problem, and a prehung unit with a new jamb, sill, and weatherstrip is the fix that lasts.
Yes. Interior casing is part of the job, either the existing trim reused when it comes off clean or new casing cut to match the profile in the rest of the house. Outside, the trim, siding, and drip cap are repaired so the window looks like it was always there.
How many openings, what's there now, and what's bothering you about them: drafts, fog, rot, a door that sticks. I reply within one business day and we set up a time for me to come measure.