US Window Renewal

Mike at US Window Renewal is a rock star contractor in my book. He did two windows for me a few years ago and did a great job. I called him back recently because I was having trouble with a large glass deck door that I thought was warped. Mike came an checked it out. Bad news, new door was $ 4000, good news, I did not need a new door, the door just needed to be adjusted. He got the door closing, spending a good bit of time fiddling with it, charged me nothing, and then referred me to a handyman he works with who fixed it. A less honest guy would have tried to talk me into a new door. Not Mike. Great, honest guy who really cares about doing things right.

I want to give a big shout out to Mike, Roberto and the team at US Windows Renewal. The project from beginning to end was done professionally, clean and accurately. I was ecstatic that they were able to replace 12 windows in 8 hours. Mike was very detailed and explained everything before, during and after the job. He had no problem getting it signed off by the city because everything was perfect. I want to recommend him for any window job you might have — he will take care of you.

I am a new homeowner, and am new to dealing with contractors, etc. One of my first projects was replacing the horrible aluminum ones that some window company probably sold to the whole neighborhood back in the ‘60s. I interviewed three other companies/​window installers, and wasn’t impressed with any of them, until I spoke to Mike. Mike was the first one to bring up the aesthetics of the new exterior trim, .and he was very patient with me, as I had a lot of questions. (I had done a lot of research on window replacement, and was concerned about meeting the building code.) Ultimately, I had nine ugly aluminum windows replaced with fiberglass, and they look great and function well. I’m looking forward to getting the rest of the windows replaced by Mike as well when I have the money. (Alas, I have other work to do on the house first.) Finally, Mike is friendly, personable, and honest, and dealing with him was a pleasure.

We had 9 windows replaced. Mike came in and measured everything and took the order. After the order arrived, everything was installed in one day. They kept everything neat while installing and cleaned up everything after. Mike and team were great. We love our new windows and highly recommend US Windows.

Mike and his crew are amazing. From the moment Mike arrived to bid on my project to the moment they completed the job, it was an efficient, clean & streamlined process.
Mike is very clear and concise in his explanation of the project & materials. He is exacting in his measurements & descriptions of the various windows I wanted. He is spot-​on in estimating the duration of the project and his bid was fair. He is extremely knowledgeable of Alameda’s building codes & knows exactly what will pass code and what won’t. His familiarity with the city’s permitting department allows him to get projects to pass code quickly if not instantly.
His crew is experienced, professional and clean. Roberto especially, is very experienced in making a window operate properly in a less than square opening. One of our bedroom window frames was less than perfect causing the new window to operate improperly. Roberto spent the time necessary to shim the new window in to make it operate properly. Roberto is also a door specialist as he did an amazing job on our kitchen door which opens to the exterior of the house. He spent an entire day on just the door so that it would align and operate perfectly. This is not to be interpreted as it took an excess of time to do… it’s a very time-​consuming and exacting process and the man is a master with doors. In addition, Mike made me aware of a door with an operating window… an improvement that is noticeable and beneficial for a kitchen. I also ordered a double hung window for the kitchen as the former window didn’t open.
I came up with my own design for my living room windows which originally were non-​opening windows and Mike had the manufacturer make them to my specifications. The fact that my west-​facing windows were originally designed as non-​opening is a mystery to me. In the evenings after a hot day, having them open is the best way to cool the house with the incoming breezes from the bay as I live on the west end right across from Alameda Point. Now that it’s summer, I can cool the house quickly and efficiently in the evening.
Not only were the majority of my original windows (seven of them) throughout the home non-​operating by design, the remaining operating windows were mostly non-​operating due to their age, decay and some were even painted shut.
This was the most important improvement to my home that I’ve made thus far. They did the job December of ’14 & we were immediately no longer wiping condensation off the windows multiple times daily. Now that it’s summer, I’m enjoying the benefits of their amazing work & windows designed to my specifications.
By the way, they replaced 14 windows and a door in 2.5 days. Simply amazing!
I can’t say enough about Mike & US Window… SO I WON’T! ;-)

Mike and his crew are top notch, truly the expert. I met with 7 different companies (yep, 7) because each one told me something different, it was driving me crazy and I was learning more about windows than I ever wanted to know but replacing all the windows in your house is an expensive undertaking (18 windows, 2 patio doors, removing a garden window and installing a bay window) I wanted it done right and I did not want to have problems after the installation.
What convinced me to go with Mike and US Windows was his reputation and he was the one giving me the estimate, the person I was handing the check to, supervising the job, and if there was a problem, I knew he would take care of it. Mike is a licensed contractor specifically a «glazing» contractor verified by the Contractors State License Board (under his name) and he carried workers comp insurance, all important issues for me. You don’t think this stuff is important until it is. I also liked the fact that his crew Roberto, Will and Roger had worked together for a number of years and all three of them were great guys.
Additionally, all other companies but one told me I did not need to get HOA approval or pull a permit with the city of Alameda, but, Mike said this was incorrect and helped me get approval from HOA and he obtained the permit from the city. One of my neighbors went with another company did not get a permit and when the house across from hers had the building inspector out to approve the kitchen remodel they noticed her windows were being replaced, they stopped the job and she was hit with a fine.
We ended up going with Milgard windows, new construction and we love, love the windows, it reduced the sound and they look beautiful. We trusted Mike and his crew, and if they do run into a problem they have so much experience they quickly solve it
So, US WIndows was not the cheapest, nor the most expensive but it was a fair price for quality and the kind of expertise this company will bring to your home. If you want the cheapo job, want to skip on getting HOA approval and permit and don’t mind dealing with headaches as they come up down the road then go somewhere else but if you want things done correctly in the long run Mike will save you time, money and headaches. As a bonus he has a wonderful sense of humor.

I didn’t get a chance to work with Mike so this is a review of my interaction with him beforehand.
In my initial phone call with Mike, he wasn’t very friendly and seemed quick and abrupt. I let that pass since he was probably having a bad day. We agreed to setup a time for him to come over to look at my windows a week later
30 minutes before our appointment time, he called me and said that he couldn’t find parking so he was going to pass on the job. Having left early from my work, I felt this was very disrespectful of my time. In the end, it’s probably better I didn’t hire him.

I highly recommend US Window Renewal and the crew. They removed and installed a box window. From my first engagement with Mike, he is consistent, prompt to respond, meet stated timelines and made the time to review both the job and what was required to install, to the contract review. That attention to detail is evident in the quality work they do. I was very impressed with the team of guys, nice, courteous, hard workers and equal attention to detail.
Mike tested the whole window and noticed a small issue with the opening pane, I would not have noticed it and the manufacture is going to fix it. I knew up front what I was paying for, I was made aware of potential risks as the old window was not installed by a professional which I knew and was evident.
Mike is upfront, honest, takes sadisfaction in a job well done and having a happy customer.
Thank you Mike, Roberto and crew.

US Windows did a GREAT job on our windows. We had two single pane eichler style window walls in the bedrooms that were rotting and drafty. Replaced them with giant 6′ Amerimax slider windows and also replaced the glass door and walled in one door. The bedrooms look SO much better and are MUCH warmer. We are really glad we got the windows done.
Mike is nice, knowledgeable, down to earth, and went through everything with me, answered all my questions/​good communicator. Made the entire thing relaxed and stress free! His bid was competitive and reasonable. We got two other bids.
Mike and his crew are a bunch of master craftsmen perfectionists. I wish they did more than windows and doors, I would hire them to do all the work on our house if I could. Highly skilled carpentry work and finish work.
All workers very respectful, nice, personable, and trustworthy.
Mike was on target for the time estimate. They did one window wall per day and cleanup third day with permit. They dealt with the permit and inspector. After the job Mike came and checked in to make sure the job went well.
We’d like to have other windows done and will definitely be using US windows again. Mike even let us know that the permit is good for 3 years in Alameda.
All in all — great job!
Edit from a few months later:
I put it down to 3 stars from 5 because after they finished the job, I realized that they’d left paint chips all over my yard. They didn’t put down plastic in the yard so contaminated our property with paint chips, paint dust, and got nails and screws got all over the yard. I asked mike to come clean up the yard and he came out with his son to clean but didn’t clean up all the chips. So I spent a few days shoveling and asked them to come get the dirt. They came but gave me a hard time about it. I was mad about having to clean up after them and mad that they didn’t bother to protect our property from paint chips, especially since I have a kid. I still need to do a more thorough lead paint test because the test I bought didn’t work.
Their screw up ended up costing me money as I had to have guys out to shovel out ALL the top soil.
I’m still finding paint chips in the yard.
If you are worried about lead paint or have lead paint in your house, I’d go with someone else to do your windows:
For how to hire a lead-​safe contractor and a list of local RRP contractors:
Also later I discovered one of the windows is not square. I ordered shades for the window, measured the bottom of the window but the shades did not fit because top of the window is half an inch smaller. Cost me another $ 100 to get a different shade that fits the top of the window.
So meh.

Confirming previous five star reviews remain accurate today. My first contact with U.S. Window Renewal began in August 2014 driven by Unilocal reviews. During the following seven months, Mike answered a flurry of questions from me (some of them repetitive) in a timely, patient and respectful manner. When asked for references, Mike provided ELEVEN within a four block radius of my Alameda home. Like other reviewers here, I didn’t expend the time to obtain additional bids because I was so impressed with his follow-​up. Mike proved himself beyond knowledgeable about the Alameda Building/​Planning Department which in the end I believe was a cost saving.
Stats on my job are 12 windows, replacing single pane aluminum on a 75 year old house. Windows arrived on time. After a small scheduling hiccup created by another client, installation proceeded on time and completed in two days. The crew of Roberto, Roger and Will were fabulous, patient in their explanation of the install process. There was zero collateral damage, a huge plus. End of job cleanup left the property looking better than when they started. At my request, several wood frame windows original to the house were gently removed and set aside, adding time to the job but done in extraordinarily good cheer.
Lastly, it can’t be overemphasized the level of expertise U.S. Window Renewal has surrounding the install process and familiarity with their products. A shining example is one casement window arrived which wouldn’t close perfectly. This was caught immediately by Mike and Roberto, and after collaboration the bracket was unscrewed and relocated to location allowing the window to close more tightly — I got the sense they run into this from time to time, little factory anomalies. Roberto is an artist with regard to finish work, pointing out variances in finish trim, checking with me which option I’d prefer to correctly finish. Again, small details I probably would have missed until weeks after the installation was complete, but they made a big impact.
Overall a great experience. I happily and heartily recommend U.S. Window Renewal to anyone in the area and will be an enthusiastic reference for years to come.

I am so glad that we found US Window Renewal on Unilocal.Our new house is old, and we could hear everything on the busy street, as well as our neighbors walking by our windows. We called Mike up — he was easy to get a hold of, friendly, and most importantly, incredibly competent. This is a craftsman who treats his job like an art. He told us how our old windows worked (with the counterweights) and said he installed those back when he was 7 years old! We told him about our priorities to minimize the sound from outside, and he gave us a quote for Amerimax and Milgard, fitting the craftsman style of our home.
We ended up going with Amerimax, which SKG Windows doesn’t carry. These windows were amazing, and the added thickness didn’t add much to the price. Mike and his guys changed all 6 of our windows in one day, and they make a huge different to our house. It is quieter, warmer, and feels much classier in here. The guys were also very trustworthy. Sometimes I am wary about leaving workers here with all my worldly belongings, so I thought I’d see what they were like before making plans. I got a good feeling about them so I left them here and asked them to lock the door when they left — definitely the right choice.
Usually I will get more than 1 quote before a big job like this, but after Unilocal research, I was convinced that we would be happy with US window renewal — and boy are we ever.

US Window Renewal did a fabulous job replacing all our windows! Mike was a true consultant and worked with us every step of the way and answered every question we had, and sometimes I had to ask the same question more than once! We chose US Window Renewal over another window company. The reason we chose US Windows was because our experience so far with Mike was great, he had also done a number of homes in my area, and did everything the right way. The other competing bid we got, the guy said we didn’t have to get a permit, when in fact, we did. He also said nobody else got jam/​casings so why would we want them? Well, …because it looks really nice? I want to work with contractors who not only give me decent prices, but give us a beautiful end product!
I would recommend US Window Renewal to anybody. They are pleasant, professional and extremely helpful!

We had 11 windows that needed replacing in our 110-​year old home… from the original wood window to double-​pane Milgard windows. We got a quote from SGK at first. It seemed too high, so we shopped around some more. And that led us to Mike at US Window. Mike’s quote was very competitive, and his knowledge of the town’s strict window replacement codes was excellent. The work was done very professionally, with Mike stopping by to personally see to a few details. 11 windows were replaced on day 1, and everything was sealed and framed on day 2, including cleanup. The windows are awesome, the price was very competitive, and the service was great.

My husband and I first went through SGK windows for a quote as they were recommended by Costco and we figured Costco had to have a pretty good vetting process. We were so frustrated with the delay in getting a quote from SGK and when we finally did, it was for the wrong # of windows and there were no specifics. I looked on Unilocal after, and saw the great reviews for Mike, so I gave him a call. He met with me quickly, he wrote up a very detailed quote, with sizes, brands, and even which way the windows would open to increase air flow. Like another of these reviews, he did catch that our windows were not to code for egress. I was concerned that SGK did not even mention that at all. The permit inspector did check for that, so I know that Mike was not just trying to make an extra buck. When we did have trouble with one of our products, Mike arranged for correction by the manufacturer and came to ensure they replaced the product correctly. Mike has a background in construction, so he was very knowledgeable. The 2 guys he has in his employ are very respectful and hard working. If we ever have windows to do again, I would give him a call.

An extremely belated review, but just wanted to echo the other great comments about US Window Renewal. I first called Mike while I was getting quotes to replace all the windows in my mom’s house (there were a LOT of windows + a sliding glass door). His crew did a great job. They were on time and cleaned up the area once they had completed the job. I also ended up getting a quote for my house for a kitchen window box and bathroom window. Mike very patiently waited for me to save up the money. His crew did the same great job on my house… we’ve had no problems with the windows at all. I highly recommend US Window Renewal.

We decided to replace all our aluminum sliders with modern double planed. After calling around and getting some estimates from other providers we decided to work with Mike. Best decision ever. His attention to detail, his amazing crew, his accurate time estimates, plus his post-​installation help with building inspectors make me wish he was a full service contractor. But sadly, he’s not.
I highly recommend using US Window. Best all around.

I discovered Mike through his work. Needing to replace my windows, I spent many hours strolling my neighborhood (the Outer Sunset in SF) for inspiration and ideas. A particularly striking, well-​executed set of windows caught my eye and I rang the doorbell of the house to ask who had done the work. The owner gave me the contact info for US Window Renewal, along with his highest recommendation.
I added the company to my list of window installers to request bids from (I ended up soliciting six bids). Mike was not quite the cheapest, but his pricing was very competitive (all the bids were pretty close, actually) and after meeting him I felt extremely comfortable with his philosophy regarding customer service and about work in general. He clearly takes pride in his work, and in providing excellent service.
Sure enough, he was super helpful and patient every step of the way, and was happy to spend as much time as was needed to give me what I wanted. He was careful about making promises, which resulted in 100% fulfillment of everything he promised. And on time.
When it came to installation, his crew was excellent: very capable, friendly, and great with cleanup. They were efficient and it was a good experience. Mike was there himself perhaps 80% of the time.
Finally, during the installation it turned out that my house’s dry-​rot problem was much worse than anticipated (it was impossible to judge before taking things apart). I am dealing with that now, and Mike once again is being extremely helpful, lending his time and expertise to me even though he will not benefit directly from the work entailed. I am very particular about who I work with, and believe me this guy understands customer service.
Do not hesitate. If you need windows replaced, put US Window Renewal on your short list. You will not regret it.

What a fantastic experience with US Window Renewal. They replaced 15 windows with vinyl Amerimax windows, and 2 windows with Marvin wood windows in my 1915 house. I got 3 bids for this job and US Window Renewal ended up being the lowest by far. There bid was 15% less expensive than another competitor — significant savings! Mike and his team are fantastic — professional, affordable, and thorough.
Some points:
+ During the measure-​up and the estimate process, he caught what another competitor missed: that the windows in one bedroom would not meet egress code and would not pass inspection if the new windows were installed at the same size as the original windows. His team reframed them so the center one was wider and the 2 outer ones were narrower, so the center one would meet code. I was worried about changing them since they are front and center on the house, but the windows look great, and look like they have always been that way.
+ The front door has 2 special side lights with a lot of detail, so I wanted to keep these as wood windows with divided lites. When these windows arrived, he noticed that they did not match the dimensioned drawing he had done and had the company re-​make the windows.
+ For a very reasonable fee they added exterior trim to some windows that were trimless. These windows now match all the others on the house, and they look so much better than they did before!
+ Mike is so likable and professional. Seriously, a good guy.
Can’t go wrong with hiring US Window Renewal.

This review is long overdue. Mike replaced the windows and sliding patio door for my newly remodeled condo in Nov. 2011. I am very happy with the result, with almost a year gone by, everything works great, no leaks, and super quiet. When I first shopped prices, Mike’s was not the cheapest but right in the middle of the 3 other quotes that I got. I decided to go with Mike because he really knows about the windows and doors he sells, building codes, and genuine care about his customers needs; not just another sales rep.
Since I’m in a condo building, the HOA was very specific in terms of the look of the windows and patio door matching the style and color. The original quote Mike gave me was a set that did not meet HOA requirements (found out after we’ve agreed on a deal). He promised to look for ones that would fit, and agreed to keep the same quote. The HOA needed to see samples, so he went out of his way to get me one to show the HOA.
The window has two panes, with one large pane on the bottom. Mike was the only one conscientious about making sure that the window meet ingress/​egress needs in case of emergency for a unit on upper floor of a building.
On installation day, Mike came to check on his guys who did the installation. Everything went smoothly except the installation team forgot the security lock for the patio door (not the latch lock on the door). He went back to his warehouse to get it and came back to install it for me. Mike was the one pointing out that the screen that came with the patio was not perfect, so he volunteered to get a replacement to be delivered after the installation which came as promised.
He made sure the building permit was pulled and everything ready for the building inspector. There was a hick up with the permit, where the clerk put a different unit number on the permit. When I pointed this out to him, Mike agreed to go back to the building department to get the correct one without charging me extra.
Overall I’m very happy about my new windows and patio door. Mike is trustworthy and cares about his customers. Highly recommended!

I was looking for a contractor to install a patio glass door. I called to one other contractor who happily agreed to come by and give me an estimate. When I called US Window Renewal and explained to him that I had to door and wanted to get someone to install it, he abruptly cut me off and said «NOT INTERESTED.»
I’m sure there was a great reason for him to «not be interested», but there are a million different ways to tell that to a prospective customer. Very poor customer service.