VLX 80 Awning Window

VLX 80 Awning Window in Los Angeles, CA | Sightline Windows & Doors

The VLX 80 Awning Window is a top-hinged aluminum window that opens outward from the bottom, letting you run ventilation even during one of Los Angeles’s occasional light rain showers. It’s built around a thermal break that separates the interior and exterior aluminum, which keeps your conditioned air where it belongs when August temperatures climb past 90 in the Valley. Sightline Windows & Doors is an authorized ViewLux installation partner, which means we handle the product, the permitting, and the install under one roof. If you’re pricing replacement windows in Los Angeles, call (509) 265-6387 for a line-item quote.

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Product Overview - VLX 80 Awning Window

The VLX 80 is the kind of window that belongs over a kitchen sink, in a bathroom, or anywhere you want airflow without the sightline of a center rail. Because it hinges at the top and cranks outward, the sash itself acts as a small awning, deflecting rain while the opening stays unobstructed. That’s the practical reason this design has stuck around for decades. The less obvious reason is durability. At a hair under eight-hundredths of an inch thick, the aluminum wall section on the VLX 80 is engineered to hold its shape over decades of thermal cycling, which matters in Los Angeles where windows on a west-facing wall can hit 140 degrees in direct sun and fall back to 60 at night. The frame profile measures 1.97 inches across, giving the window enough mass to carry a substantial glass unit without sagging or binding over time. Buyers choose the VLX 80 when they want the clean lines of aluminum, the low maintenance of a factory-finished frame, and an awning configuration that gives them ventilation options beyond a sliding panel or a fixed picture window. For Los Angeles homeowners in mid-century modern homes or newer contemporary builds, the narrow profile and square corners read as intentional and architectural rather than bulky. And because Sightline Windows & Doors installs the VLX 80 as a ViewLux authorized partner, our team pulls permits, installs to AAMA standards, and stands behind the finished opening.

Technical Specifications

Here’s what the VLX 80 brings on paper, translated from the spec sheet into plain language.

• Frame material: Extruded aluminum with a built-in thermal break separating interior and exterior metal.
• Wall thickness: 0.079 inches on the aluminum extrusion walls, which is the structural backbone that resists racking and keeps the sash square over time.
• Profile width: 1.97 inches from interior face to exterior face, which keeps sightlines slim without sacrificing thermal performance.
• Glass options: Clear insulated, Low-E, Frosted (often specified for bathrooms), Tempered (safety glass for code-required locations), and Impact-Resistant Laminated for homes in wind-prone or hillside areas.
• Finish options: Premium Black, Pure White, Anodized Silver, Bronze, Champagne, and Teak Wood.
• Screen options: Fixed Screen for year-round protection, or Retractable Screen when you want the screen to disappear when the window is closed.
• Performance standards: AAMA 2400/2410 compliant installation, AAMA 812 low-expansion foam sealant at every perimeter joint, NFRC-rated thermal performance, and wind-load ratings suited to Southern California climate requirements.

Every finish is factory-applied, which means you’re not painting aluminum on a ladder three years from now. The anodized silver option is a true anodized finish rather than a paint, which some architects specify for coastal Los Angeles homes because it won’t chalk or peel in salt air the way painted aluminum can.

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Performance Features

These are the six things we talk about most when a Los Angeles homeowner asks whether the VLX 80 is worth the investment.

1. Thermal Efficiency

The thermal break inside the VLX 80 interrupts the natural heat path through the aluminum, so the frame doesn’t conduct summer heat from the exterior surface to the interior surface the way non-thermal-break aluminum does. Pair that with Low-E glass and you get an NFRC-rated assembly that can genuinely reduce air-conditioning load during Los Angeles summers.

2. Acoustic Performance

If you live near the 405, the 101, or under the LAX approach path, the glass package matters. Laminated glass is the single biggest upgrade for sound control, and the VLX 80 accepts it as a factory option. Even with standard insulated glass, the compression seal around the sash perimeter cuts more exterior noise than an old aluminum slider with worn weatherstrip.

3. Airtightness & Weather Seal

An awning window seals with mechanical pressure rather than a sliding brush, which is inherently tighter. When the crank closes the sash against the frame, the gasket compresses around all four sides, giving the VLX 80 a lower air-infiltration rate than typical sliding windows. That’s a real number for buyers who care about dust in Santa Ana season, too.

4. Waterproofing

The top-hinged geometry works in your favor. The sash slopes away from the opening, so water hits the glass and drains outward along the sill design. The frame itself is factory-sealed at the corner welds, and the gasket contour directs any moisture that does find its way past the glass to the exterior drainage path rather than toward the interior.

5. Wind Resistance

Los Angeles building departments require wind-load calculations on replacement window permits, especially in hillside zones and canyon exposures. The 0.079-inch wall thickness and 1.97-inch profile depth give the VLX 80 the structural capacity to carry the required design pressures. If your property sits in a high-wind zone, the impact-resistant laminated glass option adds a physical barrier that standard annealed glass simply does not.

6. Security & Hardware

The multi-point locking mechanism on the VLX 80 engages at more than one point along the frame, which is a meaningful step up from a single cam latch. The crank mechanism itself acts as a second line of defense when closed, since the window cannot be pulled open from outside without destroying the operator. Tempered glass is optional, and laminated glass adds a further delay against forced entry.

Color & Glass Options

The six finish options on the VLX 80 are more than color swatches; they are finish systems engineered for a specific environment. Premium Black and Pure White are the two we quote most often in Los Angeles, because they anchor both the crisp stucco modern homes in Echo Park and the white-framed coastal cottages in Playa del Rey. Bronze is the sleeper choice for Mediterranean and Spanish-style homes, blending with tile roofs and wrought-iron accents without disappearing into the wall. Anodized Silver has a metallic depth that photographers love, and because it’s anodized rather than painted, it’s the most resistant option for beachfront properties where salt air eats paint. Champagne reads as a warmer alternative to silver, closer to a soft pewter. Teak Wood is the one we specify for homeowners who want the warmth of wood grain without ever re-staining; it’s a powder-coated woodgrain finish that matches cedar and redwood trim from a distance. For glass, clear insulated gives you energy efficiency without changing the view. Low-E is the default recommendation for any sun-exposed Los Angeles wall, because it cuts solar heat gain before it enters the room. Frosted is for privacy without curtains, tempered is for safety-glazing locations like bathrooms and doors, and laminated is the do-it-all upgrade for noise reduction and impact resistance.

Installation by Sightline Windows & Doors in Los Angeles

We install the VLX 80 the way a window should be installed in this city, which means we start with the wall before we ever touch the frame. Every project begins with a pre-install inspection of the rough opening. In Los Angeles, that often means discovering dry rot in a stucco opening, an out-of-square rough opening in a 1950s ranch, or a water intrusion pattern around a window that was flashed backward. We address that condition before the new window goes in, because a $1,200 window mounted into a compromised opening is a $1,200 failure waiting to happen.

During installation, we set every VLX 80 level, plumb, and square, with a tolerance that leaves the sash opening and closing with one hand. The perimeter gets a continuous application of AAMA 812 low-expansion foam sealant, which seals micro-gaps without applying pressure to the frame. The entire installation complies with AAMA 2400/2410 standards, which is the North American benchmark for residential window and door installation. Once the window is set and sealed, we run a water test, operate the window through its full range of travel, and clean the work area down to the last shim. We also pull permits on every replacement window project, because Los Angeles enforces its energy and egress codes, and a no-permit install can come up as a problem at resale. The manufacturer’s warranty on the VLX 80 only applies when the window is installed correctly. If a crew sets the frame out of square, fights the sash, or skips the perimeter seal, the manufacturer won’t cover the resulting failure. That’s the single best reason to buy through an authorized ViewLux installer like Sightline Windows & Doors rather than ordering the window from a distributor and hoping it goes in correctly.

Frequently Asked Questions - VLX 80 Awning Window

Get a Quote - VLX 80 Awning Window in Los Angeles

If you’re planning a full-house window replacement or you just need one awning window above the sink, start with a number. Call Sightline Windows & Doors at (509) 265-6387 and we’ll schedule a free on-site measurement, walk through the glass and finish options, and give you a written line-item quote for your Los Angeles project. No pressure, no guesswork, just exact numbers.

Written by the team at Sightline Windows & Doors, serving Los Angeles, CA with premium window and door installation through our ViewLux authorized partnership.