Charleston Window Pros provides professional wood and clad-wood windows in Charleston, SC for residential and commercial properties across the South Carolina Lowcountry. This is the frame the districts are written around, and the vocabulary matters more than the brand. The policy distinguishes three grid types and treats them as different products. Getting the wrong one specified is the single most common reason a window submission comes back.
True divided lite means separate pieces of glass between real muntins. Authentic divided lite means two or more panes fused together and then separated by muntins, which needs a thicker bar to carry them. Simulated divided lite means bars applied to the inside and outside faces with a shadow spacer between the panes. Grilles between glass, with no exterior bar at all, are not approved.
The matrix then assigns those by district and by age. Fifty years old or older, in every district it covers, means wood with true divided lites matching what exists. Under fifty years old opens the door to clad frames with true or simulated lites. New construction is where authentic divided lite becomes available alongside the others. Read down your own column before anyone shows you a sample.
Match existing is a defined term and it is stricter than it sounds. It means material, grid pattern, muntin dimension and muntin profile, all four. A sash that has the right number of lites but a bar an eighth of an inch fatter and squared where the original was ogee is a change in profile, and a change in profile requires the Board.
So the measuring visit on a historic address includes a profile take-off. We pull a stop, photograph the muntin in section against a rule, record the sash thickness and the glass rebate, and note the finish. That drawing goes into the submission. Cut sheets alone very rarely carry enough information to settle the question, because a catalog drawing shows a family of profiles rather than the one being made.
Species matters on the exterior. Old Charleston sash were commonly cut from dense old-growth heart pine and cypress, and the modern equivalent is not the same timber. Where the sill or the lower rail has gone, splicing in cypress and keeping the sound original stock is usually both better work and easier to approve than a wholesale swap. Old-growth timber is denser than anything you can buy new, and throwing it away is a waste.
Clad-wood, where the matrix allows it, buys you a maintenance-free exterior over a wood interior. Aluminum cladding is the version named in every district's under-fifty row, so it is the safer specification downtown. Ask for a factory finish rated for coastal exposure and check what the warranty says about salt within a mile of open water, because several manufacturers quietly exclude it.
The warning we give everyone: wholesale replacement must be approved by the Board, not by staff, and the policy requires photographic evidence that replacement beats repair. A twenty-window house is a Board item. Budget for the calendar as well as for the sash, and do not let anyone order glass before that hearing.
Our licensed and insured team brings the right materials and equipment to every job — true divided lites bedded in glazing putty, simulated divided lite bars with a shadow spacer between panes, authentic divided lite fused-pane sash, aluminum-clad and fiberglass-clad wood frames, operable louvered Bahama and panel shutters, 7/16-inch wood structural panel opening protection — and backs the work with a written workmanship warranty. We serve Charleston and nearby communities including Mount Pleasant, North Charleston, Summerville, Goose Creek.
What We Handle
Everything our wood and clad-wood windows in Charleston covers
One crew, one point of contact, and the full range of wood and clad-wood windows work in Charleston, SC. If it is on this list we do it in house rather than handing it to a subcontractor:
- wood windows Charleston SC
- aluminum clad wood windows
- true divided lite windows
- simulated divided lite windows
- authentic divided lite
- muntin profile matching
- historic district window replacement
- putty glazed sash
- wood window restoration
- custom sash to match existing
- mahogany and cypress sash
- clad wood patio door
- BAR approved windows
- match existing grid pattern
- peninsula window replacement
Not sure which one describes your situation? Describe it in plain words and we will sort it out — or browse the rest of our Charleston services.
Materials, equipment and how we do wood and clad-wood windows
The difference between wood and clad-wood windows that lasts and wood and clad-wood windows that gets redone in three years is almost always preparation and materials, not the finish you see on day one. We work with true divided lites bedded in glazing putty, simulated divided lite bars with a shadow spacer between panes, authentic divided lite fused-pane sash, aluminum-clad and fiberglass-clad wood frames, spec them to the job instead of to the invoice, and write the material grades into the free estimate so you know exactly what you are buying.
Every Charleston job runs the same way: site walk and measurements, written scope and fixed price, protection of the surrounding area, then the work itself with a daily clean-up. Years of window work in the South Carolina Lowcountry means we have already met whatever your property is going to throw at us — awkward access, older construction, an HOA with opinions.
Where we do wood and clad-wood windows outside Charleston
Charleston Window Pros covers Charleston and the surrounding communities of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Crews run out to the same nearby cities every week, so an out-of-town job does not mean an out-of-town price.
- Wood and Clad-Wood Windows in Mount Pleasant, SC — Charleston County, population 90,801 at the 2020 census
- Wood and Clad-Wood Windows in North Charleston, SC — Charleston County, population 114,852 at the 2020 census, split across Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley counties
- Wood and Clad-Wood Windows in Summerville, SC — Dorchester County, population 50,915 at the 2020 census, with parts in Berkeley and Charleston counties
- Wood and Clad-Wood Windows in Goose Creek, SC — Berkeley County, population 45,946 at the 2020 census
- Wood and Clad-Wood Windows in Hanahan, SC — Berkeley County, population 20,325 at the 2020 census
- Wood and Clad-Wood Windows in Ladson, SC — Berkeley County, population 15,550 at the 2020 census, partly in Charleston County
Start on the Charleston Window Pros homepage for a free estimate, or call (844) 511-2320 and describe the job.
Why Charleston Chooses Charleston Window Pros
- ✓We quote elevation by elevation, because the Board's purview is visibility from a public right-of-way and the back of a Charleston house is frequently a different product from the front
- ✓Your address gets placed in the district and building-age matrix the BAR adopted in December 2025 before any brand name is spoken, so you learn what is approvable before you learn what it costs
- ✓We will tell you when the wind code is satisfied by protecting the opening instead of replacing the glass, which on an original sash is usually both cheaper and far easier to get approved
- ✓No vinyl quoted where the policy forbids it, and no relabelling a vinyl-cored product as composite to try to slip it past staff
The standards behind wood and clad-wood windows
Quality here is not a matter of opinion — it is written down. The wood and clad-wood windows work we do in Charleston follows published industry standards: NFRC sets the U-factor and SHGC ratings on every window label, and ENERGY STAR defines the efficiency thresholds by climate zone. If a contractor cannot tell you which standard a detail comes from, that is worth asking about before you sign.
Every wood and clad-wood windows project in Charleston gets the same attention, whether it is a single room or a full commercial job. We show up on schedule, keep the site clean, and stand behind the work — the estimate is free and there is no pressure.
Ready to get started? Call (844) 511-2320 for a free wood and clad-wood windows free estimate in Charleston, or request a quote and we'll get right back to you.