Start with a record
Note where it’s happening, when it started, how weather seems to affect it, how it’s changed, and any past work. A few photos and rough measurements go a long way in that first call.
Read the local context
Establish what is actually installed and what the house is, because the two answers differ sharply across this city. Mill-era and early neighborhood housing was built to tight budgets with openings that are rarely standard sizes, and the original wood sash is frequently worth assessing for repair before replacement is priced -- and in stock that old, the paint layers govern how the work may be carried out. Postwar housing carries aluminum and early insulated units where the frame is the weak point and replacement is straightforward.
Ask what will be hidden
How it’s flashed in, what the sill and frame are made of, the glass package, and the trim work afterward all shape the outcome as much as the window itself. The scope in writing should spell out prep and verification steps that get covered up once the job’s finished.
Read the whole scope, not the total
Check for protection measures, access plans, materials, permits, testing, cleanup, restoration, exclusions, warranty terms, and change-order rules.
What official local sources add
For this trade the stormwater department is simply not part of the conversation, and saying so is more useful than manufacturing a link. Local historic-district information is the record that matters, and in Gastonia it points at the textile-era neighborhoods: on a designated property, windows are among the exterior elements most closely reviewed, and that review can reach sash configuration, material and profile rather than merely thermal performance -- sometimes with an expectation that original sash is repaired rather than replaced. None of that applies to an undesignated house on the same street, so confirm status by address rather than by how the block looks.
Sources were reviewed June 20, 2026. Flood zone status, historic-district rules, and current permit requirements should be confirmed with the relevant authority for your specific parcel before authorizing work.