Cost to Install a Glass Block Window – 2021

| Last Updated: August 24, 2021

National Average Improvement and Repair Cost

Pro

DIY

Hours:

6.9

11

Cost:

$ 612

$ 285

Would you do this project? According to our survey, 50% of respondents preferred DIY compared to hiring a pro.

The average price to Install a Glass Block Window noted above is cost data to compare a contractor’s estimate with doing it yourself.

How much to install a glass block window? A contractor charges $612 to install a glass block window and you can do the job for $285 yourself and save 53 percent. 

Planning your budget to replace a bathroom rotted window sill with a glass block unit? That’s a good idea. Over the years the window above a bathtub in an older home succumbs to exposure to moisture and its wooden frame and sill rot away.

Replacing the window with a glass block unit designed for the job is a good solution because it allows light in from the outside while providing privacy inside. The replacement unit is an all-in-one pre-constructed glass block window laid up and framed into easy-to-install vinyl jambs and come in dozens of standard sizes. You’ll find them where building materials are sold at lumberyards and home centers.

While this used to be a job for a pro, a handy homeowner with carpentry experience and tools can do the job. It involves removing the old window, sizing the rough opening to the proper dimensions, fastening the block window in place, and reinstalling interior and exterior units. And most of the work is done from the interior side of the wall.

This job can be more complicated and difficult if you’re installing the window in a second floor of a house because working on a ladder and manhandling the window unit takes more than ordinary skills. You’ll also need a helper to muscle the unit in place.

A contractor will charges $612 to install a new 32-inch-by-24-inch glass block window unit. That includes labor and material. If you have carpentry experience you can buy it for $285, install it, and pocket a 53 percent saving. Plan to budget more time and money if the siding and framing around the old window frame is damaged and requires rebuilding.

For ideas and inspiration go to Hy-lite’s gallery of Block Windows.

Now you know the average cost to install a glass block window, which includes the labor and material, and what’s involved, so you can decide to do it yourself or hire a contractor. 

Welcome! We hope you’ll find the job costs of home improvement projects useful when you’re deciding whether to do a job yourself vs. hire a contractor. We’re the authors of 20 home improvement books, most notably Home Improvement for Dummies©, Bathroom Remodeling for Dummies©, Carpentry for Dummies©, Plumbing for Dummies©, and Painting and Wallpapering for Dummies©. Our most recent book Fix It and Flip It is in its second edition. We’ve appeared as home improvement experts on television programs such as CNN, Dateline, the Today Show, HGTV and many others.