Hidden Gems: Meet Garrett Cichowitz of Windows Well Covered – Custom Window Well Covers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Garrett Cichowitz.

Hi Garrett, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Ever since I was a kid, I had this dream of going into business with my dad. He was a serial entrepreneur, and I watched firsthand how a small business can change people’s lives, employees growing in confidence, families provided for, customers genuinely helped. I saw a lot of meaningful relationships open up through business. That stuck with me. When I went to college I studied business because I thought, someday I want to build something with my dad.

Along the way, I fell in love with education and ended up spending 10 years serving students and families. Most of my career was in startup schools, so even though it was education, it was still very entrepreneurial, building systems from scratch, solving messy problems, and learning how to lead with clarity and care.

Four years ago, that original dream came full circle. My dad and I started Windows Well Covered – Custom Window Well Covers because we saw a real need where most homeowners had window wells that were unsafe, messy, and stressful, especially for families with young kids and Colorado weather. We decided to create the kind of product and service experience we valued, clear communication, superior craftsmanship, and treating customers like we’d want our own family treated.

Today I am proud to say that we are really good at designing and building truly custom window well covers locally here in Colorado. What started as just the two of us has grown into a team of six, serving Denver and Colorado Springs. The biggest reason we’ve grown is simple: customers felt cared for and they shared their experience through reviews and referrals.

I miss many aspects of teaching, but the opportunities to connect with so many different people and help them make their home a better place is very rewarding.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When we first started my dad and I actually had a running joke that our third business partner was “Murphy,” as in Murphy’s Law. No matter how well you plan, he always shows up.

Early on, the biggest struggle was simply that everything takes longer and costs more than you think it will. You can build in wiggle room and a runway, and you still find yourself learning in real time, a tool breaks, a supplier is late, a job is trickier than it looked, a schedule gets tight, and you’re doing sales, production, installs, and customer communication all at once.

We did not face anything uniquely dramatic, but we definitely had hard moments, especially in the early seasons when we were still refining our process and figuring out how to deliver consistent quality at speed. However, my least favorite obstacle had nothing to do with window well covers, but was figuring out all the unique sales tax jurisdictions and getting registered correctly with them. Colorado is notoriously complicated.

Anyone who has done a family business knows that stressful times in the business can also stress those familial relationships. That added layer while a times made things harder has been crucial to our success and has strengthened our familial ties.

When I do get discouraged it’s helpful to stop and remember to look back. That is when I realize, wow, look how much we grew, how much we improved, and how we built real capability. Many of those “Murphy” moments were blessings in disguise that forced us to tighten our systems, get clearer with how we were serving customers, and raise our standard. The challenges became the training ground that made the business stronger. It also helped a lot having some great employees who with their fresh eyes and talents suggesting improvements and ways to do things better.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Windows Well Covered is a local, family owned Colorado company that designs, fabricates, and installs custom window well covers across the Denver metro and Colorado Springs area. We specialize in one thing: making window wells safer, cleaner, and better looking with a cover that actually fits right and holds up long term.

What we are known for is precision and integrity. Every cover is custom measured, custom built, and CNC cut in our Colorado Springs shop so it fits the real world quirks of each home, not a generic “close enough” size. We build with premium UV-treated polycarbonate and we designed our own locking system and build standards because we saw too many box store “clear covers” that looked fine at first but used thin aluminum, weak fasteners, and shortcuts that fail over time. We also offer different design options depending on what the homeowner wants, including breathable sloped covers for airflow and water management, or a cleaner flush look when that fits the space better.

What sets us apart is the experience. We do not train our team to sell a cover, we train them to solve a problem. That means we take time to understand the why behind the request, kids and pets, basement safety, debris and water issues, curb appeal, and then we recommend the right solution, even if that is not our product. We communicate clearly, we show up when we say we will, and we finish with craftsmanship we are proud to put our name on. Most of our growth has come from customer reviews and referrals, which tells us we are earning trust, not just closing transactions.

Brand wise, what I’m most proud of is that we have stayed true to our values as we have grown. We started as just my dad and me, and now we have a small team, but the standard has not changed: treat people like family, do it right the first time and make it right when a mistake happens. We love making people’s homes safer and more enjoyable, and getting to connect along the way.

We also try to make the process easy for homeowners. Many customers add a window well clean out before install, which is one of those “hard to find someone to do it” jobs, and it makes a huge difference in the final result. And looking ahead, we are excited to expand into window well liners later in 2026 to help homeowners who want to elevate the aesthetic side of their window wells, not just the safety and functionality.

If there is one thing I want readers to know, it is that our covers are not an off the shelf product, they are a locally built, custom solution backed by a team and 10 year warranty that genuinely cares about the homeowner on the other side of the door.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Over the next 5 to 10 years, I think the window well and broader home services space is going to be shaped by three big shifts.

First, I think we are moving from a fully globalized mindset to a more multipolar world that rewards resilient, domestic supply chains. Homeowners and contractors are going to care more about where materials come from, how consistent availability is, and whether a company can actually deliver on timelines. We are early to that game. We source from a US based plastics manufacturer, with raw inputs sourced in the US, and that kind of stability matters more when the world is choppy.

Second, AI is going to change the back office of home services in a major way. Estimating, scheduling, routing, customer follow up, review requests, marketing creative, and internal training, those areas will get faster and cheaper. We are excited about those efficiencies. But I do not think AI “solves” what we actually do. The market we serve is still physical, custom, and craftsmanship driven. A homeowner’s trust is earned in person, by showing up, communicating well, and doing the job right.

Third, I think the industry will get more competitive, and the real differentiator will be the human experience. There will be a temptation to over automate, to push everything through bots and generic systems. Convenience matters, but most homeowners still want to talk to a real person, especially when it is their home, their kids, their safety, and their money. I think the companies that win will be the ones that combine modern tools with old school service, high responsiveness, clear communication, and pride in the craft.

So the trend line, in my opinion, is higher expectations, faster response times, more transparency, and more competition. The opportunity for a small family business like ours is to stay personal, stay local, and use technology to support the relationship, not replace it.

Pricing:

• $400-$600 depending on size.
• While our covers are custom made, we have a simple pricing model. We price our covers into a small, medium, or large price point based on how big the window well is.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.windowswellcovered.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/windowswellcovered
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/windows-well-covered-custom-window-well-covers-greenwood-village-2
• Other: https://www.bbb.org/us/co/colorado-springs/profile/window-wells/windows-well-covered-0785-1000017141

Image Credits
All photos from real jobs completed by Garrett and Brian Cichowitz