Window Replacement in Bloomington, MN
Bloomington grew from under 10,000 people to over 80,000 in twenty years, and the windows from that postwar rush are the ones we replace most.
Owner-run. The owner has personally installed more than 10,000 windows over 24 years in Minnesota. Licensed residential contractor, MN Lic. BC809328. EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm.
Bloomington's permit rule is the clearest in the metro
Bloomington does not leave room for interpretation. The city's FAQ on replacement windows and doors asks, "Do I need to get a permit to replace existing doors and windows?" and answers: "Yes. Use the Residential Building permit application. A permit is required for ALL window replacements and exterior door replacements, including the door from the garage to the house."
The details matter too. A like-for-like replacement needs a final inspection only. A bay or bow window, or any increase in opening size, needs a framing inspection and a final. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors have to be installed and working at the final inspection. Replacement windows must meet the state energy code maximum U-factor of 0.32, and bedroom egress windows have to provide at least 5.7 square feet of net clear opening (5.0 at grade floor), 24 inches high and 20 inches wide, with a sill no higher than 44 inches.
Our office handles the entire process through the city's online portal under license BC809328, including the detector check before the final. You do not touch the paperwork.
A postwar city: six in ten homes from the 1950s to 1970s
Bloomington had 9,902 residents in 1950, 50,498 in 1960 and 81,971 in 1970. The housing tells the same story. The median home was built in 1972. Of the city's 39,261 housing units, 22.3 percent are from the 1950s, 17.7 percent from the 1960s and 20.5 percent from the 1970s, which together put six in ten homes in that postwar window. Another 15.7 percent are from the 1980s, and the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s together add up to only about 16 percent. Two-thirds of the stock, 66.8 percent, predates 1980, and about 66 percent of homes are owner-occupied.
In practice, a Bloomington window call usually lands in one of these groups.
- 1950s homes: original wood double-hungs, often with weight-and-pulley sashes and exterior storms, and large picture windows in the one-story homes of that era. Rot at the sill and sashes painted shut are routine. The paint predates 1978, so EPA lead-safe practices apply.
- 1960s and 1970s homes: first-generation aluminum sliders and early wood casements, single-pane or early double-pane. These frost on the inside during a cold snap and leak air around the meeting rails.
- 1980s homes: builder-grade wood or early vinyl with fogged glass from seal failure and soft wood at the sash bottoms.
The Window Guys is an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm with certified renovators. On the two-thirds of Bloomington built before 1978, containment, dust control and cleanup to the federal standard are simply part of the job.
Why full-frame is so common in Bloomington
Insert replacement keeps your existing frame and fits a new window inside it. Full-frame replacement removes the whole window, including the frame and sill, and rebuilds the opening. In a city where most homes are 50 to 75 years old, full-frame is the more frequent recommendation. Original wood sills have absorbed decades of water, frames have racked, and first-generation aluminum frames are not worth building a new window into. Full-frame also lets us re-flash the opening and insulate around the frame, which is where most of the draft in an old window actually comes from.
Inserts still have a place in Bloomington, particularly in 1980s homes with sound frames and on sheltered elevations of older homes where the wood is dry and square. We probe every sill and check every frame during the in-home visit, then tell you which method fits each window.
East Bloomington, West Bloomington and everything between
We work throughout Hennepin County, and Bloomington is a big piece of it: East Bloomington, West Bloomington, Oxboro, the Penn-American District, the Normandale Lake District and the South Loop around the Mall of America, which opened in 1992 on the site of the old Metropolitan Stadium. Homes near Bush Lake and Normandale Lake, along Nine Mile Creek, and up against the Minnesota River bluffs take more wind and driven rain than homes deeper in the grid, and we account for that in how we flash and seal those elevations.
Whether you are off I-35W, near MN-77 on the east side, along Old Shakopee Road or in a Bloomington Public Schools neighborhood near Hyland Lake Park Reserve, the crew, the windows and the process are the same.
The postwar grid also means a lot of nearly identical houses built by the same builders in the same years. If your neighbor's 1958 house has fogged picture-window glass and a soft sill under the kitchen window, yours probably does too, and it is worth checking before winter.
Owner-run, ProVia windows, our trim crews
The Window Guys is owner-run. The owner has personally installed more than 10,000 windows over 24 years and still measures every job. We are based in East Bethel, about an hour from Bloomington via I-35W or I-494, and we serve nine counties.
ProVia is our main window line, with Andersen and Marvin available when a project calls for them. Exterior aluminum wrapping and interior wood trim (jamb, casing and stops) are done by our crews, which on a full-frame job in a 1950s home is what makes the new window look like it belongs. Start with our online pricing tool for a working number, then we schedule an in-home visit for exact measurements and a firm proposal. Most Bloomington homes take one to two days; full-frame with new interior trim throughout takes longer. Call (612) 408-0569 with questions.
During the in-home visit we measure every opening, probe the sills, and note which windows need full-frame and which can take an insert. On installation day the crew protects your floors, works one opening at a time so the house is never open to the cold, and hauls away the old windows and debris.
Bloomington window questions we hear most
Do I need a permit to replace windows in Bloomington?
Yes, for all window replacements and exterior door replacements, including the door between the garage and the house. Like-for-like replacements need a final inspection only, and smoke and CO detectors must be working at that inspection. Our office handles the permit and the scheduling.
What about lead paint in a 1950s Bloomington home?
Homes built before 1978 may have lead-based paint, and that covers two-thirds of Bloomington. The Window Guys is an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm with certified renovators. We contain the work area, control dust and clean to the federal standard on every pre-1978 job.
Are the aluminum sliders in my 1960s Bloomington home worth replacing?
Yes. Aluminum frames conduct cold straight through, which is why they frost and sweat in winter, and the glass in them is usually single-pane or an early double-pane unit. Replacing them, usually full-frame, is one of the biggest comfort improvements an older home can get.
How long does a window replacement take in Bloomington?
One to two days for most homes. Full-frame replacement with new interior jamb, casing and stops on every window takes longer, and a home with many openings takes longer than a small one-story home. We confirm the schedule before the windows are ordered.
Ready to price your Bloomington windows?
Get a real number online first, then book an in-home visit when you are ready. No pressure and no sales games.
Also serving nearby: Edina, Burnsville, Eden Prairie, Eagan, Minneapolis.