The interlayer
PVB bonds strongly to glass and is tough and ductile, so a crack cannot pass through the laminate. It deforms on impact, absorbs energy and spreads the force over a wider area.
Impact Window Installation in Austin That Keeps the House Closed in a Hailstorm
Austin Quality Windows provides impact window installation in Austin, TX, and is a leading Travis County specialist in laminated storm glazing, specializing in impact-rated window units, laminated insulating glass and reinforced frame anchoring. We offer laminated glass for the elevations most exposed to hail and complete impact-rated units for whole-house storm protection.
- Free in-home measure
- Elevations you approve
- Installed to manufacturer instructions
- One written price
About our impact window installation
Our team provides the glass makeup, the frame and the fastening plan together, delivering windows that stay closed even when a pane is cracked, for both residential and commercial projects. Our own crew measures every opening, we install each impact window to the manufacturer's written anchoring instructions, and we water-test it before the trim goes on.
From the interlayer bonded between the panes to the fasteners that tie the frame into the wall, our team handles every detail. Serving Austin, Steiner Ranch, Lakeway and Volente, we glaze homes that face open sky and the spring storms that sweep across western Travis County.
Why Austin Quality Windows
How We Work
No handoffs between a salesperson, a measurer and a subcontracted crew. The crew that measures your openings installs the windows.
Measured on siteEvery opening measured in the wall it sits in, by the crew that will install it
Elevations firstYou approve the drawings, sizes, glass and finish before anything is ordered
Flashed to specSill pans, flashing and sealant to the manufacturer's written instructions
Water testedOpenings checked for leaks before the interior trim goes back on
What Makes a Window Impact-Rated
An impact window is built around laminated glass: two or more lites bonded to a plastic interlayer, most often polyvinyl butyral, under heat and pressure. When something strikes it, the glass cracks in a spider web of radial and concentric lines, but the fragments stay stuck to the interlayer and the pane stays in the frame. The room stays closed.
The rating comes from testing the whole unit, not the glass alone. ASTM E1996 is the performance specification for exterior windows, doors and protective systems struck by wind-borne debris, and ASTM E1886 sets the test method. A specimen is hit with a large missile, a length of lumber, or a small missile of steel balls, and then cycled through pressure differences that simulate hurricane wind loading. It passes only if the opening holds.
Those standards were written for hurricane-prone coasts. In Austin, impact glass is an owner's choice rather than a coastal code requirement, and the reasons to choose it are hail, wind-driven storm debris, security and sound.
Hail and Storm Debris in Central Texas
Severe weather can reach Austin in any season, and it is most common in spring. Supercell thunderstorms can cross the city several times a year, bringing damaging winds, lightning and heavy rain. Supercells are also the storms strong enough to hold large hailstones aloft, so they produce the biggest hail.
Hail grows inside a cumulonimbus cloud as an updraft carries each stone up and down through freezing air, adding layers of ice until it is too heavy to stay up. The National Weather Service treats hail of one inch or more as severe, and stones over about two centimeters can cause damage. Skylights and glass structures are among the things hail damages most often.
Wind adds a second risk. Windows are weak points in a house during a storm: once one breaks, wind pressure can build inside and push on the roof from below. A laminated pane that cracks but stays in place keeps that pressure out, and keeps rain off the floors until the unit is replaced.
Laminated Glass Inside an Insulated Unit
An impact unit for a Travis County house still has to meet the energy code, so the laminated lite is built into an insulated glass unit.
Laminated versus tempered
Tempered glass is about four times stronger than ordinary glass but crumbles completely when it breaks. Laminated glass may crack, yet it holds together, which is why impact units rely on it.
The insulated unit
A laminated lite paired with a second pane, a low-E coating and gas fill gives impact resistance and solar control in one unit, rated on its NFRC label.
Security and Quiet Behind Laminated Glass
The same interlayer that holds the glass in a storm makes the window hard to get through. Laminated glass is difficult to break all the way through, which is why it deters intruders: a burglar can crack it but not simply knock it out. On a ground-floor bedroom, a street-facing study or a lake house that sits empty for weeks at a time, that is often the first reason an owner asks about it.
Laminated glass also dampens sound better than a single pane of the same thickness. Standard PVB helps, and an acoustic grade of PVB with a special compound helps more. For a house near a busy road or under a flight path, pairing glass of different thicknesses in the same unit breaks up the noise further.
The interlayer blocks nearly all ultraviolet light as well. That protects wood floors, rugs, artwork and upholstery in a room that gets direct sun for most of the afternoon, without darkening the view.
Anchoring the Frame So the Rating Holds
An impact rating belongs to the assembly that was tested: the glass, the sash, the frame and the way that frame is fastened into the wall. Impact units are fixed more firmly than ordinary windows, with fasteners through the frame into the structure and anchor screws where the opening is masonry or concrete. A rated window set with the wrong fasteners, at the wrong spacing, is no longer the window that passed the test.
So we install every unit to its manufacturer's written instructions, fastener by fastener. The opening gets a sill pan installed to ASTM E2112, the standard practice for installing exterior windows and doors, tied into the weather barrier so any water that gets past the frame drains back outside. Each opening is water-tested before the interior trim goes back.
Impact glass is heavier than standard glass, so sash weight and balance hardware are part of the specification, and larger units are handled with enough crew and lifting help to set them without stressing the frame.
What Moves the Price of Impact Windows
We give a written quote after a free measure, because impact glass is priced on the house it goes into. These are the drivers:
- The glass package: the laminate makeup and interlayer, an acoustic interlayer for sound, dual or triple pane, the low-E coating and its SHGC, tint and gas fill.
- Impact-rated units versus laminated glass alone: a complete tested unit costs more than laminated glass in a standard window.
- Frame material: vinyl, fiberglass, aluminum-clad wood or thermally broken aluminum, each with its own impact-rated versions.
- Opening size and count: large fixed units, tall operating sashes, and whether every elevation changes or only the exposed ones.
- Structure and anchoring: a masonry or concrete opening, a new header, or reframing to give the fasteners solid wood to bite into.
- Access: a second-storey opening, a hillside or lake lot that needs a lift, or a gated community where deliveries are scheduled.
- Removal and finish work: taking out the old units, interior and exterior trim, stucco, stone or siding repair, and HOA architectural approval.
Every quote begins with the free in-home measure, where we look at each opening, its exposure and the wall it sits in.
Impact Glass Around Western Travis County
Every job is checked against the current local rule when we quote it.
Steiner Ranch
The master association bans reflective glass, and window changes need architectural committee approval plus a modification deposit. We choose a laminate and coating that read as clear glass.
Lakeway
Lakeway permits framing modifications, so a widened opening needs a permit, and fees double when work starts first. We never start before it is issued.
Volente
Volente enforces the 2018 residential and energy codes, so the impact unit's NFRC numbers are checked against that edition. Permits are filed by email and paid by check.
The Hills
The POA, not the village, approves window and glass changes by architectural modification request, and our crew and glass truck enter through the guard gate.
The process
From First Measure to Finished Openings
Four steps, and nothing is ordered until you have signed off on the drawings and the price.
Free in-home measure
We measure every opening, check the framing and the header, and talk through glass, frame material and how each window should operate.
Elevations and a written price
You get drawings of every unit for your approval and for any HOA or historic review, with one written price.
Ordered to your sizes
Units are ordered to the approved sizes and glass package, and checked against the drawings when they arrive.
Installed and water tested
Old units out, openings flashed, new units set, sealed and water tested, then trim and cleanup.
More of What We Install
Service area
Where We Install
Questions
Impact Window Installation: Common Questions
Does Austin require impact windows?
The impact standards were written for hurricane-prone coastal areas, and Austin owners choose impact glass for other reasons: hail, wind-driven storm debris, security and sound. We check the code your city enforces when we quote.
Will impact glass stop hail from cracking it?
Large hail can still crack laminated glass. The difference is that the pieces stay bonded to the interlayer and the pane stays in the frame, so the room stays closed until the unit is replaced.
Can you put impact glass into my existing windows?
A laminated insulated unit can sometimes be fitted to an existing sash, and it adds security and sound control. It is not an impact-rated window, though, because the rating belongs to the whole tested assembly.
What drives the price of impact windows?
The laminate makeup, whether you want fully rated units or laminated glass alone, the frame material, the size and number of openings, the wall and anchoring, access and finish work. Your written quote lists each one.
How long from order to install?
That depends on the manufacturer and the glass makeup. We give you the delivery date in writing with the quote and leave every old window in place until its replacement is on site.
Do impact windows make a house quieter?
Yes, laminated glass dampens sound better than a single pane of the same thickness, and an acoustic interlayer or mixed glass thicknesses improves it further. We match the makeup to the noise you are dealing with.
Will my HOA need to approve impact windows?
In most of the communities we serve, yes. Steiner Ranch, Barton Creek and The Hills review window and glass changes, and several ban reflective glass. We prepare the product data for the request with you.
Is the installation covered by a warranty?
Yes. We put a written warranty on our installation, and the manufacturer's product warranty paperwork is handed over when the job is complete.
Do you cover my area?
Yes, across Travis County, including Austin, Steiner Ranch, Lakeway, Volente, The Hills and West Lake Hills. Call and we will confirm your address.
Free in-home measure
Talk to us about impact window installation
Free in-home measure across Austin and the west side. We call you back to set a time.
Calls only, we do not receive text messages.