Building things that weren't there
Window & Door Installation
You put in the openings — glass, frames, entry doors, storefront. Residential replacement is precise indoor work; commercial glazing is heavy work on a building that isn't finished. Both are trades where a bad install shows up as a leak two winters later, so the careful people stay busy.
A day in it
- Load the van at the shop — units, shims, foam, flashing tape, caulk.
- First house is three windows. Old ones out, openings checked for rot and square.
- Set, shim, level, plumb, fasten. Check the operation before anything gets sealed.
- Flash and foam. This is where a good install separates from a bad one.
- Lunch, then an entry door on the other side of the county.
- Doors are unforgiving — a sixteenth out and it won't latch right.
- Homeowner opens and closes it four times before they believe it.
What it pays
- Starting out
- $37,710
- Median
- $55,440
- Experienced
- $98,780
The closest clean code is glaziers (SOC 47-2121). Window and door installation work sits across that code and carpentry.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 (national). Starting out = 10th percentile. Median = 50th. Experienced = 90th. Annual. Georgia figures to be added alongside national. SOC 47-2121. Real numbers only — never estimated, never rounded up.
How you get in
- —On-the-job with a replacement company or a glass contractor. No school required.
- —Commercial glazing runs a three-to-four-year paid apprenticeship.
- —Manufacturer installation certifications raise your rate quickly.
- —The Mustard Seed covers training and your first install kit.
What you need before you start
- —Careful hands. You are handling glass in somebody's living room.
- —Lifting with a partner — commercial units are genuinely heavy.
- —Comfort talking to homeowners, because you're in their house all day.
Someone doing it
Photograph, first name, age, and three or four sentences in their own words — to be supplied.
What it turns into
Lead installer, then commercial glazing, then your own install company. Storefront and curtain wall is the high end.
Want to talk to somebody doing this?
Two fields. A person reads it and texts you back.