What Casement Windows Cost in McHenry County (2026)

I have been quoting windows in this county for 21 years. Someone walks into our Crystal Lake showroom, points at a casement, and asks what one of those runs. Here is the honest
version of the answer, including the part most cost guides leave out: with
casements, the window style itself is only half of what sets your number.

It really depends. We sell the full line of Andersen windows, and they all
have casement options — they’re all going to cost a little bit different. The
low end for a 100 Series is about a thousand to twelve hundred dollars a window
depending on the size. Then all the way up to the A-Series with all the bells
and whistles, special species of wood, all that stuff. We also have a vinyl
option, which is a little bit less than the 100 Series. Not that much, though —
the 100 Series is pretty economical, and it’s made out of Fibrex, so it’s
twice as strong as a regular vinyl window, and it’s backed up by Andersen.

Andersen publishes that claim itself: “Fibrex material is
2X stronger than vinyl and it retains its stability and rigidity in all climates
so weathertight seals stay weathertight” (Andersen 100 Series brochure).

Casement window cost by series

Casements are one option in our full window replacement lineup, and these ranges sit inside our wider window cost guide.

These are installed prices per opening from our 2026 price book: the window,
removal of the old unit, labor, and standard trim.

What moves the number inside a range

Generally, with the 400, one window from another might not be a thousand-dollar difference, but there can be price differences. Whether they get the window installed full-frame or pocket replacement adds cost to the job. What glass packages they’ve opted for: there’s many options in Andersen, and the more energy efficient, the more expensive it gets. If they get the window installed with raw wood on the interior, or whether they have it stained, that adds cost. And then there’s different hardware packages, depending on what they choose. And there’s also screen options. Different types of screen, a clear screen so it’s easier to look through. That can add cost too.

Glass packages are one of the bigger levers, and the higher-efficiency options are not offered across every line. Ask which packages are available on the series you are quoting before you compare numbers.

Asked which of those options people can skip, he would not pick one:

There’s not necessarily anything that they don’t need. It’s just what they prefer and what they’re looking for.

Ranges are 2026 installed pricing for McHenry County and
depend on size, options, glass package, and the condition of the opening. Your
exact number comes from a measured in-home estimate, not a chart.

If you want brand-level Andersen pricing rather than casement-specific numbers, that lives in our Andersen window pricing guide for Crystal Lake.

Why does a casement quote climb faster than you expect?

Here is the mechanic that surprises people. A casement is priced per sash,
not per hole in the wall. One wide opening frequently is not one casement.

Generally, a big opening — a wide opening — you’re going to have to put two
casements in, or a casement with a picture window in between, two casements type
situation. And what happens is that’s extra windows, so it costs more money.

Multiply that across a house and the arithmetic gets loud fast:

Sometimes our crew walks into a house, maybe it’s a smaller to mid-sized custom
house, and all the windows are casements, and a lot of them are double casement
situations where they have two casements in the same opening. And the price just
multiplies up for every window. Those people are a little shocked when they’ve
got fifty, sixty casements — some in single casement configuration, some in
double, some in a casement-picture-casement formation. Once you quote that out,
in those big numbers, it does add up.

So before you compare bids, count sashes, not openings. Two bids on the same
house can differ by thousands purely because one of them configured a wide
opening as a casement-picture-casement and the other did not.

Want your own number? Request a free estimate or Call or Text (815) 356-9020 and we will measure your openings.

Casement or double-hung? Most people never actually choose

The honest starting point: most homeowners are not weighing window styles at
all.

It depends on what kind of window people have in their house and what they’re
used to. If somebody has a double-hung window, they think double-hungs are the
window option that they have. If somebody has sliders, same thing. Eight or nine
times out of ten, in my experience, they’ll go back with the same style — most
of the time the same color and everything. They just want a newer product that
works, and it’s functional, and it’s energy efficient.

That is worth pausing on, because if you are pricing casements only because
casements are what is in the wall today, you may be paying for a configuration
you never chose. There is one genuinely good reason to pay the casement premium,
and it is not looks.

Casements, when they’re closed, give you a better seal than a double-hung.
If the wind hits a casement window, it actually pushes the window shut. With a
double-hung, when wind hits it, it causes the two sashes to separate maybe a
little bit — so a little more air comes in, whereas a casement pushes tight, and
it actually saves you on energy.

What that comes down to is a compression seal. A casement sash shuts into its
frame the way a door shuts into a jamb, so pressure from outside pushes it
tighter. A double-hung sash slides in a track and has to keep enough clearance
to move, and that clearance is a path air can take.

That is a difference in how the two windows close, not a number we will put on it. We have not measured air
infiltration on your house, and we are not going to quote a percentage we did
not measure.

And the price gap itself? We will not invent a reason for it.

I’ll be honest with you, I have no idea why that is. I think higher-end homes
have casements.

The mechanical answer, for what it is worth. A casement carries hardware a double-hung does not: a crank operator, a hinge system that holds the sash’s
weight cantilevered out in the air, and a multi-point lock that pulls it tight
at several points down the frame. More moving parts, tighter tolerances.

How big that gap runs depends on the series and the opening, which is why we price it per window instead of as a rule of thumb. The series table above is the number that matters for your openings.

Series choice is the other half of the number, and it is a different question than configuration. If you are weighing one line against another, our comparison of the 100 Series against the 400 Series covers where each one earns its price.

When we talk homeowners out of casements

I would talk somebody out of a casement window if they have a lot of openings
that are wide. A double-hung you can do wider. A slider is basically a wider
window. So it depends on the openings of their windows and their budget. If
they’re trying to be as economical as possible and they have wide openings, I
would probably talk them out of casements.

The reason is structural: a casement sash hangs off hinges on one side, so
there is a practical limit to how wide one sash can be built before the hardware
is holding too much weight out over open air.

A double-hung sash rides in a
track and a slider runs horizontally, so both cover more width in a single unit.
Exact maximums vary by series, and we size them off your actual openings.

Full specifications for each line live on the 100 Series and 400 Series pages.

Egress: what the code actually requires

If the window is in a bedroom or a basement, code stops being a preference and starts being a requirement. IRC Section R310 requires an emergency escape
and rescue opening in basements, habitable attics, and every sleeping room.

Requirements above are quoted from IRC Section R310 (R310.2.1 minimum opening area).

The trap: those minimums do not multiply into a legal
window. A 20-inch by 24-inch opening is 3.33 square feet, well short of the
5.7 square feet required. Each dimension is a floor, not a permission.

Net clear opening is what the sash actually clears. A casement cranks the entire sash out of the way,
so it clears close to its full size. A double-hung only ever opens half its
height, so it has to be substantially larger to clear the same 5.7 square feet.

Which is worth understanding before anyone tells you a particular window style solves the problem. It does not, by itself. The opening either clears the required area or it does not, and that is a measurement, not a style.

“Will this window pass?” is answered by measuring the clear opening, not by reading the unit size off a quote. And here is how we handle it, which is worth hearing plainly:

I don’t know much about egress windows. They’re goofy. I don’t know a lot about it. I would just say, get the codes for that.

That is the honest answer, and it is the one you want. Egress requirements move by jurisdiction and by code edition. We pull the requirement for the town your job is in, and your building department is what determines compliance. Any contractor who recites egress rules from memory is telling you something they have not looked up.

Code editions vary by jurisdiction, and in this county they genuinely differ. The City of Crystal Lake adopted the 2018 edition of the IRC; McHenry County adopted the 2021 edition. Both add local amendments on top (Crystal Lake ch. 422; McHenry County ch. 15.08).

Two towns twenty minutes apart can hold you to different editions of the same code. We work across Algonquin, Woodstock, Huntley and the rest of the county, and on every job we confirm the requirement with the building department for that town before ordering, because they determine compliance, not your contractor.

Full-frame or insert: the difference hiding inside your quote

Honestly, the right way to do it is full replacement. They’ve made
replacement pocket windows to try to save people money, save on the install,
save on cleanup. But you’re at the mercy of the wood frame that’s already in
there. You strip out the sashes and put the new window in as an insert. You seal
around the new insert and the old frame — but the old frame is in the rough
opening, which is covered with drywall, and you don’t know if that’s actually
insulated. So you can get air infiltration, and the energy efficiency isn’t as
good as it could be, because the old wood frame wasn’t insulated properly.

With a full replacement, you’re taking the whole thing out, getting down to
the rough opening, putting a new window in, putting new trim on the inside.
Basically, you’re doing it right. If I could, that’s all I would do is full
replacement. It’s not the cheapest way. It’s not the cleanest way. It’s not the
fastest way, but it is the best way and really the right way.

An insert is going to be a quicker install. It’s a less expensive install, and it’s a cleaner install. But what you’re giving up is you’re going to be losing an inch or two per window from the glass perspective, so you have less glass space. If it’s a small window, it might make a big difference. If it’s a big window, you might not notice it as much.

Sometimes if the older windows have thick frames, you’re actually getting a little bit of glass space with the full replacement and the thinner, like, Andersen 100 window.

That is the trade in plain terms: an insert costs you an inch or two of daylight per window. On a small window that is a noticeable share of the glass. On a large one you may never see it. And on an old unit with thick frames, a full replacement can hand you glass back.

We have been doing this since 2005, and we have installed both. When two casement quotes are far apart, this is often the reason, and it is a question worth asking out loud before you sign. Ask
each bidder which method they priced, because a full-frame quote and an insert
quote are not the same job wearing different numbers.

What a casement is actually like to live with

The cranks are interesting. Cleaning them. There are techniques for cleaning them. They work great in wind and rain. When it’s windy, it actually pushes the window harder on the seals and makes a better seal for air infiltration. I don’t remember anyone saying anything about rain problems. I have casement windows and don’t have any problems.

What wears out sometimes is the hardware, like the cranks and stuff like that.

That last part matters more than it sounds, because hardware is serviceable. Andersen’s replacement parts catalog covers 80 years of their products, with more than 32,000 items listed (Andersen parts catalog). A crank or a lock that wears out after fifteen years is a part order, not a new window.

The Andersen repair of those components is pretty easy and happens all the time. So something wears out, it can always be replaced: locks, cranks, all that different stuff.

What install day looks like

The guys will show up with the windows, or the windows will be delivered ahead of time depending on the size of the windows and the size of the order. They’ll come in, they’ll introduce themselves and start working. Usually per window takes an hour to two hours depending. They protect the property — they’re careful on the outside for landscaping and stuff like that, and on the inside they’ll put tarps down to make sure a lot of dust and stuff doesn’t get in your house.

What we put in our own houses

My last house had Andersen windows, casements. The current house I live in has Andersen windows, casements, and patio doors, and French doors, and shaped windows. Every window in the house is an Andersen window. This house was built in the mid-90s, and the windows still work great. They still look great, and they function like they should. And that’s a pretty good testament. Our old house, the same thing. When we moved out in 2020, the windows were great. No issues.

And that’s why we switched. A long time ago we’d sell Pella windows. We sold a bunch of different vinyl windows, and we sold Marvin windows last. But Andersen approached us about becoming a certified contractor. We looked at the products, we looked at the options, and I thought back to my experiences with the two houses where I had the windows, and I’m like, you know what? They’re a good product. So let’s go for it.

Before you collect three casement bids

There’s always going to be someone cheaper. There’s always going to be the
lowball company, and there’s a bunch of reasons why they’re lowball. Their
quality might not be there. They might hire cheaper labor. They might use an
inferior, cheaper product, because there are a lot of cheap windows out there —
and there’s even more cheap labor out there that’ll do things for super cheap.
And on top of that, you don’t know about the company. Do they have the proper
insurances? Are they really a real company? Are they just desperate, trying to
make a sale, so they come in at a super low price to get work in the door?

The one thing that happens with contractors all the time is they do work,
maybe they don’t get paid on a couple jobs, and then they take new jobs, and
they take the deposits from the new jobs to pay for material and labor on the
old jobs they didn’t get paid on. It becomes this spiral that over time
eventually leads to them becoming insolvent. And if they came to your house and
gave you a lowball bid, and you accepted it, and you gave them a deposit, and
they go bankrupt — there’s really no chance for you to collect your money. So
you’re out that money, and you’ve got to go back and find a contractor to do the
work.

A good contractor is not going to be the cheapest.

Which turns the lowest bid into a risk question rather than a price question.
The usual advice stops at reviews and references. Go further.

Check the professional references nobody thinks to ask for

Can they give you addresses of the jobs they did? Can you talk to happy
customers? Another thing people never do, and they should: check professional
references. Do they have an attorney that they use? Do they have an accountant
that they use? Is there a banker that they use? Those are people you can talk to
and try to get a better picture of the financial strength of the company —
because that’s the most important thing. You want a quality job, quality
product, backed by a strong company that’s going to be around if there’s an
issue in the future.

That is the step that actually answers the deposit question. Happy customers
tell you whether the crews do good work. A banker or an accountant tells you
whether the company will still exist when your seal fails in year seven.

And ask what happens when something goes wrong

Innovative is by no means a perfect company. We make mistakes all the time.
But we always correct our mistakes, and our goal is to always make satisfied
customers. Some people, there’s just no pleasing them, unfortunately, and we do
run into those. But as long as you’re a rational human being that respects
people, we will go to the mat for you, and we will make sure the job is done
right, to your satisfaction. Sometimes even to our loss. We’ve had jobs we did
years ago that were not done correctly, and we go back and we do the work over
again, or we fix it until it’s right.

There are a lot of companies that won’t do that. A lot of companies will stop
answering the phone. They’ll ghost you. They’ll ignore you. They’ll make up
excuses.

Ask any contractor you are considering how they handle a callback two years
after the job. Here is how we answer that question ourselves.

Is it still in warranty? And was it really our fault? We go in like a
detective. We have an open mind. It’s not like we’re precluding anything and we
want to absolutely one hundred percent say it’s not our fault. We look at every
situation individually. We assess it. We make a judgment, and then we give the
results. And if it is our fault, we take one hundred percent responsibility for
it, and we correct it.

That is a process, not a promise, which is the point. The answer you want
from any contractor is a description of how they investigate, not a slogan.

For the record, ours is a 5-year workmanship warranty on labor.
That sits alongside two other warranties people routinely blend together: your
window carries its own manufacturer product warranty, and because we are
Andersen Elite Certified, Andersen adds a 2-year installation warranty that
transfers if you sell the house. Three separate coverages from three different
parties. Ask any contractor to name theirs the same way.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a casement window cost in McHenry County?

Installed casement windows run from about $800 for a vinyl unit to $3,500 for
a loaded Andersen A-Series, with custom sizes and shapes going higher. The range
is wide because casements are priced per sash, and wide openings often require
two units plus a fixed center. Your exact number comes from a measured in-home estimate, not a chart.

Why are casement windows more expensive than double-hung windows?

Not always. It depends on the opening and the series. Where a casement does
cost more, it carries hardware a double-hung does not: a crank operator, a hinge
system holding the sash out over open air, and a multi-point lock. On a
whole-house quote the bigger driver is usually configuration, because a wide
opening takes two casements plus a fixed center where one double-hung would
have done.

Do casement windows meet egress code?

That is a question for your building department, not for a window brand. IRC R310 requires a 5.7 square foot net clear opening in sleeping rooms and basements, with minimums of 24 inches high and 20 inches wide and a sill no more than 44 inches off the floor. What passes depends on the measured clear opening and on which code edition your town has adopted. Rhett’s own answer: “I don’t know much about egress windows. They’re goofy. I would just say, get the codes for that.” We pull them for the town the job is in.

Are casement windows more energy efficient?

A casement seals differently than a double-hung. It shuts into its frame like
a door into a jamb, so outside pressure pushes it tighter, while a sliding sash
needs clearance to move and that clearance is a path for air. What that is worth on your house depends on your windows, your exposure, and what is there now. That is something to measure, not a percentage to quote.

Should I get full-frame or insert replacement?

An insert is quicker, cleaner and less expensive because it reuses the existing frame, but you lose an inch or two of glass per window, which shows on a small window and disappears on a large one. Full-frame takes everything down to the rough opening, so the frame gets insulated and sealed properly and you keep your glass. On an old unit with thick frames, full-frame can actually gain you glass. We install both and will tell you which your openings call for.

What to have ready when you call

If somebody’s going to call us for an estimate, they should basically know what kind of windows they have existing, what the exterior of the house is, what material, is it brick, is it wood, is it vinyl, is it aluminum siding, how many windows they’re looking for, and just generally what kind of window.

Most people don’t know what a casement is or what a double-hung is. They can just tell us: oh, it’s a cranky window where you crank it out. Or it’s a window that slides up and down, which would be a double-hung. Or a window that slides right or left, that’d be a slider. Or it’s a picture window that doesn’t open at all. And then we’ll know.

So you do not need the vocabulary. Describe what it does:

And then, are there any sliding doors they want done? Any French doors? Andersen does entry doors, they do screen doors, storm doors. They do a lot of things. So anything they want us to look at. And generally we like to know how many windows they’re looking to have done, and some of the reasons why they want to replace the windows. That helps us out too, because it gives us an idea of what we’re looking at.

Get a real number for your openings

We are Andersen Elite Certified, Andersen’s highest certification tier. In my experience, the homeowners who end up happiest are the ones who asked the most questions before signing.

We have been installing windows across McHenry County for 21 years, with more
than 400 Google reviews at 4.6 stars. Stop by the showroom at 4410 IL-176 Suite 1
in Crystal Lake, or request a free estimate online.

Call or Text (815) 356-9020 and we will measure your openings and quote them honestly, sash by sash.

Rhett Wilborn

President & Founder, Innovative Home Concepts

Rhett Wilborn founded Innovative Home Concepts in 2005 and has led the company through 20+ years of exterior remodeling across McHenry County, IL. IHC is McHenry County's only Andersen Elite Certified Contractor, a James Hardie Select Contractor installing Hardie since 2008, and the exclusive GutterShutter dealer for McHenry + Lake Counties.

Published August 17, 2026