Most homeowners have never heard the phrase, which is a problem, because you cannot ask whether a quote includes something you do not have a name for.
Trim wrap is one of the biggest differences between a window that looks finished and one that looks like new glass stuck in old trim, and it is one of the most common late add-ons in a window quote. It comes up on a full window replacement, where the whole unit comes out; if only the glass has failed, replacing the foggy glass leaves your trim exactly as it is.
What it actually is
Aluminum coil, pre-finished at the factory in a fixed color, bent on site with a brake to match the exact profile of your exterior window trim, then fastened and caulked over the wood.
You will also hear it called capping or cladding. Same thing. The wood stays where it is; it just stops being the surface exposed to the weather.
Because every house has a slightly different trim profile, it is bent to fit rather than bought as a part. That is why it is labor, and why it shows up as its own line on most quotes.
What it does for the house
- No more painting. Pre-finished aluminum does not peel, does not chalk, and does not need a ladder every few summers. This is the reason most people end up glad they did it.
- Rot stops here. Keeping the wood dry is what prevents rot, and rot around a window rarely stays at the window; it travels into the sheathing and the framing behind it.
- It closes gaps. The capping is caulked as it goes, which shuts the seams between trim and siding where air was moving.
- It looks finished. New glass framed by peeling trim still reads as an old window from the street. This is the part people notice from the driveway.
Four colors, four real jobs
Our own installs in the Charlotte metro, not stock photography.
Want to know if your windows have wood trim to wrap?
Full window replacement from $834 (tax not included)
Text us a photo of the window from outside and a rough size. We reply with a written price, usually within the hour during business hours, and we only come out to measure once you approve it.
What it costs, and why you hear about it late
Quoted separately, trim wrap commonly runs $135 to $185 per window in this area. On a ten-window house that is $1,350 to $1,850 that was not in the number you first heard.
It tends to arrive late in a sales conversation for a simple reason: it is easier to add once the window price has been agreed and you are already committed to the project. That is also why two quotes can look $1,500 apart and actually be identical, or look identical and be $1,500 apart.
What this adds to our quote
$0
Built into our installed price rather than sold as an upgrade. That is not generosity, it is that we think a window is not finished without it.
How it is done
- Measure and inspect the trim. Every profile is measured, and every board gets checked for soft spots before anything is covered.
- Bend the coil on site. The aluminum is run through a brake and folded to your exact profile. This is why it fits your house rather than approximately fitting most houses.
- Fasten and caulk. The capping goes on and every seam gets a clean bead, so water runs off instead of sitting behind the metal.
When it is the wrong answer
If the wood underneath is already rotted, wrapping it just hides it. The moisture stays in, the rot keeps going, and now nobody can see it happening. Bad sections have to be cut out and replaced first, or the trim is simply not a candidate.
And if your trim is already vinyl or fiber cement, or the window sits in brick with no wood exposed, there may be nothing to wrap at all. In that case we will say so instead of finding something to charge for.
Colors
Stock colors cover white, almond, bronze, black, clay and a range of greys. Because the finish is applied at the factory rather than brushed on at your house, it holds its color instead of chalking the way exterior paint does after a few Carolina summers.