The brands we install · CWS/Pella
The windows we install most
Custom Window Systems — CWS — makes most of the windows this family installs, week in and week out. Their impact windows are built in Ocala, Florida, about an hour up the road from us. Here’s what we install from them, and why — in plain terms.
Why CWS
A Florida company with big-company muscle
CWS has been building windows and doors in Ocala, Florida since 1986 — and their impact windows are still built right there in Florida, about an hour up the road from us.
And since 2019 there’s serious muscle behind it: Pella Corporation owns Custom Window Systems — the company describes itself as “CWS, a Pella brand.” That means many CWS windows are, in every way that matters, Pella windows built for Florida. We can sell Pella-badged product too, and once in a while we do — but for most Nature Coast homes, CWS is the smarter buy from the same family.
We are a CWS dealer — that’s who we buy from, directly. No middle layer between the factory and your install crew.
What we install
The three CWS lines we reach for
- Non-impact · our flagship Comfort Shield The window we install more than any other — over 80% of our projects are non-impact, and this vinyl line is our go-to for them. Low-E insulated glass that works on the power bill, in every style a Florida home calls for.
- Impact · single-hung & fixed StormStrong Our go-to impact window for single-hung and fixed (picture) windows — vinyl frames, laminated impact glass, and honestly the design we like best in those styles. No shutters, no plywood, no storm prep.
- Impact · sliders Hurricane Guard What we reach for when the opening slides: horizontal roller (sliding) windows and sliding glass doors, in the same laminated impact glass.
Every impact product we install carries a state-issued Florida Product Approval number, and your written quote names the exact product — so you can look it up yourself.
Under the glass
Inside the window we install most
A window is a sandwich, and the layers are where the money goes. Here’s a Comfort Shield, sliced through the bottom rail — our drawing, CWS’s published construction.
- Dual-pane insulating glass Two sealed panes doing the work one pane never could — the space between is the insulation.
- Low-E coating An invisible metallic layer (Low-E 270 or 366) that lets the light in and bounces the Florida heat back out.
- Argon gas fill Insulation you can’t see: heavier-than-air gas between the panes slows heat from crossing.
- Warm-edge spacer & premium seal CWS strips the Low-E coating where glass meets sealant so the seal truly bonds — their extra step against fogged-up glass.
- Fully welded vinyl sash Corners welded, not screwed — stronger, quieter, with metal reinforcement available.
- Multichambered frame A honeycomb of air chambers — 52% stronger than ordinary vinyl. The sash bottom rides in a channel that braces it against wind pushing in and sucking out, the taller inside leg is the water-stop, and the outer sill slopes down to shed rain away from the house.
Our drawing, simplified on purpose; construction facts and numbers are from CWS’s published Comfort Shield brochure (opens their PDF in a new tab). On our impact lines — StormStrong and Hurricane Guard — the glass unit becomes laminated impact glass: panes bonded to a clear interlayer that holds together when hit.
Colors & glass
The colors we sell
Three solid colors — where the color runs all the way through the vinyl, so minor dings and scratches stay practically invisible — plus two two-tone frames: white inside, a rich laminate color outside. No repainting, ever.
On the glass side, you pick for your exposure: Low-E 270 or the stronger sun-blocking Low-E 366, both with argon — plus options like bronze tint, obscure (privacy) glass, tempered glass, and grilles sealed between the panes, where they never need dusting. Screen-door colors and hardware are matched to the frame. We’ll walk the choices at your kitchen table.
Straight talk
What this means for your quote
When you ask us to quote your house, CWS is usually where we start — for most Nature Coast homes it’s the strongest window for the money, from a manufacturer we’ve trusted with our own reputation for years. When another builder in our lineup fits your project better, that’s what we’ll tell you — including Pella-badged lines when the name on the glass matters to you.
Either way the install is ours, the permits are ours, and the lifetime warranty on products and labor is ours. The manufacturer builds the window; we stand behind the whole job.