VLX 80 Awning Window

VLX 80 Awning Window in Fort Lauderdale, FL | Hale Windows Fort Lauderdale

The VLX 80 Awning Window is a top-hinged aluminum window built for one thing Fort Lauderdale homeowners understand deeply: hot, humid air that turns into sudden afternoon downpours. You can leave this window cracked open during a storm and get real airflow without water pouring onto your sill or floor. We install it as an authorized ViewLux partner, which means the product ships with its full manufacturer warranty intact and gets set into your opening by a crew that works to AAMA installation standards. If you’re pricing awning windows for a Fort Lauderdale remodel or new build, call Hale Windows Fort Lauderdale at (754) 354-3671 for a free project quote.

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Product Overview – VLX 80 Awning Window

The VLX 80 hangs from the top and pushes outward from the bottom, so the sash itself acts like a small awning over the opening. That geometry is what makes it useful in South Florida. Rain hits the glass and runs off to the ground, while the open gap keeps pulling in fresh air. For homeowners in neighborhoods like Victoria Park, Rio Vista, and Coral Ridge, that means less reliance on air conditioning during the cooler months and a window that works with the weather instead of against it.

The frame is extruded aluminum with a wall thickness of 0.079 inches and a profile width of 1.97 inches. That’s a slender sightline for an aluminum product, which is why architects in Fort Lauderdale specify it on mid-century ranch homes and new coastal modern builds alike. The thermal break separates the interior and exterior aluminum faces, cutting the heat transfer that makes standard aluminum frames sweat and radiate warmth into a room. Buyers choose the VLX 80 over vinyl alternatives when they want the long-term rigidity of metal without the condensation problems older aluminum windows are known for.

We stock and install this series across Broward County. The window suits bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and anywhere you want ventilation placed high on a wall where a casement or slider doesn’t make sense. It also pairs well with fixed picture windows in a combined opening, giving you a wide view plus a small operable section up top or down low.

Technical Specifications

Here are the VLX 80 Awning Window specs we work with on every Fort Lauderdale installation:

• Frame material: Extruded aluminum with thermal break
• Profile width: 1.97 inches
• Aluminum wall thickness: 0.079 inches
• Operation: Top-hinged awning, crank or manual push-out
• Glass options: Clear, Frosted, Low-E, Tempered, Laminated
• Frame finishes: Premium Black, Pure White, Anodized Silver, Bronze, Champagne, Teak Wood
• Screen options: Fixed Screen, Retractable Screen
• Standards: AAMA 2400/2410 installation compliance, AAMA 812 perimeter sealant, NFRC-rated energy performance
• Impact option: Laminated impact-resistant glass for wind-borne debris zones

Every VLX 80 we order for a Fort Lauderdale job is sized to the opening. We don’t force stock sizes into custom openings, and we don’t pad the rough opening with excessive shim stacks. The window gets built for the hole, which matters more than most people realize in older homes where openings drift out of square.

Performance Features

Thermal Efficiency – The thermal break inside the VLX 80 frame interrupts conductive heat transfer between the outside aluminum and the interior face. NFRC-rated glass packages, including Low-E, add a second layer of defense. In a Fort Lauderdale August, that means the interior frame stays cooler to the touch and the air conditioner isn’t fighting window-driven heat gain all afternoon.

Acoustic Performance – Aluminum is dense, and a properly sealed aluminum frame blocks more mid-range noise than thin vinyl. Laminated glass takes it further. If your home faces US-1, Sunrise Boulevard, or any of the busier corridors running through Fort Lauderdale, upgrading to laminated glass on the street-facing side makes a noticeable difference in how the room feels.

Airtightness & Weather Seal – The VLX 80 uses compression gaskets around the sash perimeter and dual weatherstripping at the meeting rails. When the window is closed and locked, the compression on the gaskets creates a positive seal that keeps humid outdoor air from leaking into the conditioned space. That’s the difference between a window that closes and a window that seals.

Waterproofing – Awning windows have a natural advantage: gravity works for you. The top-hinged sash overlaps the frame below, and the sill design channels any water that does get past the lower gasket toward the exterior weep system. Combined with an AAMA 812 low-expansion foam seal at the perimeter during install, the VLX 80 performs well in the daily rain cycles we get across Fort Lauderdale from May to October.

Wind Resistance – The VLX 80 is wind-load rated for coastal climate requirements, and the laminated impact glass option brings it up to the standard needed for wind-borne debris regions in South Florida. The 0.079-inch wall thickness on the aluminum extrusion gives the frame enough structural stiffness to hold glass in place under pressure without flexing or bowing. That matters when a tropical storm sits off the coast and the wind shifts direction every few hours.

Security & Hardware – The multi-point locking mechanism on the VLX 80 grabs the frame at multiple points, not just one latch in the center. That distributes force and makes the sash significantly harder to pry open from outside. Tempered glass is available for ground-floor openings where Fort Lauderdale building code requires safety glazing.

Color & Glass Options

The VLX 80 comes in six finishes. Premium Black is the most requested finish in Fort Lauderdale right now, especially on white stucco homes where the contrast makes the window read as an architectural feature rather than an afterthought. Pure White disappears into traditional coastal styles and works well on older Florida ranch homes in neighborhoods like Plantation and Davie. Anodized Silver has that raw aluminum look that fits mid-century and industrial designs. Bronze and Champagne are warm metallics that pair with earth-tone exteriors and older brick homes. Teak Wood gives you the look of wood grain without the maintenance rot and termite exposure that real wood frames suffer from in South Florida humidity.

On the glass side, Clear is the economical baseline. Low-E adds a microscopically thin coating that reflects infrared heat while letting visible light through, which is the single best energy upgrade for a Florida home. Frosted works for bathrooms and any window facing a close neighbor. Tempered satisfies safety glazing code. Laminated adds impact resistance and sound dampening. Most Fort Lauderdale homes mix these: clear or Low-E on living areas, frosted in bathrooms, tempered on ground-floor and door-adjacent openings, laminated on windward-facing elevations.

Installation by Hale Windows Fort Lauderdale in Fort Lauderdale

An awning window is only as good as its installation. The VLX 80 carries a manufacturer warranty, but that warranty assumes the window was set correctly. A unit installed out of square will bind at the hinges, leak at the corners, and eventually fail at the gaskets. The manufacturer won’t cover that, and the homeowner eats the replacement cost. This is the single biggest reason to have Hale Windows Fort Lauderdale install your VLX 80 windows rather than buying them through a supply house and hiring a day-labor crew.

Our process starts with a pre-installation inspection. We check the existing opening for rot, termite damage, or framing that’s drifted out of square. In older Fort Lauderdale homes, we almost always find at least one opening that’s off by a quarter inch or more, and we correct it before the new window goes in. We then set the unit level, plumb, and square using shims placed only at the manufacturer’s prescribed support points, never arbitrary locations that can bow the frame.

We install to AAMA 2400/2410 standards, the recognized national benchmark for window installation practice. Every perimeter joint gets an AAMA 812 low-expansion foam sealant, fully shingled to shed water outward, never trapping it against the rough opening. After the window is secured and sealed, we run a water test on the assembly and inspect the interior for any sign of moisture intrusion before we call the job done. Finally, we haul the old window, packaging, and job debris off the property. You’re not left with a pile of construction waste at the curb.

Fort Lauderdale’s climate drives all of it: high humidity, daily summer rain, salt air in the eastern zip codes near the Intracoastal, and the annual wind-load requirements that coastal municipalities enforce. A window installed to code in a dry climate may fail here within five years. We install for this climate specifically.

Frequently Asked Questions – VLX 80 Awning Window

Get a Quote – VLX 80 Awning Window in Fort Lauderdale

We’ll measure your openings, review glass and finish options, and put a fixed line-item quote in your hands. No pressure, no change orders after the fact. Call Hale Windows Fort Lauderdale at (754) 354-3671 to schedule your free on-site measurement and project quote today.

Written by the team at Hale Windows Fort Lauderdale, authorized ViewLux installation partner serving Fort Lauderdale, FL.