Window Replacement in Chanhassen, MN
The 1990s built more of Chanhassen than any other decade, and the windows from that era are now 25 to 30 years old and showing it.
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.
How to tell your Chanhassen windows are at the end
The symptoms that bring homeowners to us are the same three things, and they are common in windows of Chanhassen's age. Fog, haze or a water line between the two panes of glass that no cleaner will touch, which means the insulated glass seal has failed. A double-hung sash that will not stay up, or that needs to be propped, which means a broken balance. And a draft at the edge of the sash, usually strongest on the side of the house facing open water or open trail land, which means the weatherstripping has flattened out. Casement owners add a fourth: a crank that grinds or spins without pulling the sash tight. None of these is unusual in a window that is 25 to 30 years old, and in Chanhassen that describes a great many of them.
Chanhassen by decade: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s
The median Chanhassen home was built in 1994. Of roughly 10,200 housing units, 28 percent were built in the 1990s, the largest single decade, with 19 percent from the 1980s and another 19 percent from the 2000s. The 2010s add 13 percent. Only about 20 percent of homes predate 1980, and about 7 percent were built before 1960. About 68 percent of the city's housing is single-family detached and 20 percent is townhome-type, with 84 percent owner-occupied.
The 1980s houses generally came with builder-grade wood windows, some with a thin cladding, and the common problems are rotted sash bottoms, fogged glass and cladding lifting at the corners. The 1990s houses, the heart of Chanhassen, straddle the shift from clad wood to builder-grade vinyl, and both types are now failing on schedule. The 2000s houses have builder-grade vinyl crossing the 20-year mark, with seal failures and broken balances arriving in groups. Homes from the 1970s and earlier, about one in five, have aluminum sliders, early casements or original wood, and anything built before 1978 gets EPA lead-safe handling. The Window Guys is an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm with certified renovators.
Chanhassen's permit rule names window replacement
The City of Chanhassen states that building permits are required for many projects, including but not limited to new construction, additions, alterations, decks, finished basements, pools, demolition, roofing, siding and window replacement. Window replacement is named outright. Permits are handled by the city's Community Development Department through Building Permits and Inspections, and applications go in through the city's online BS&A portal. Our office submits the permit before your job is scheduled and coordinates the inspection. You will not have to deal with the city yourself.
Inserts for the 1990s, a closer look at the 1980s
An insert replacement fits a new window into your existing frame. A full-frame replacement removes the old frame to the rough opening and rebuilds frame, sill, exterior trim and interior casing. In Chanhassen's 1990s and 2000s homes, the frames are usually sound and the sashes, glass and hardware are what have failed, so an insert is the right tool: the interior trim stays, the exterior gets a new aluminum wrap and the job moves quickly. In the 1980s homes we take a closer look. If the wood sill or lower jamb has rotted behind the cladding, and on windows of that age it often has, full-frame is the honest repair. We will tell you which one your house needs after we probe the frames on the in-home visit, not before.
Matching a 1990s exterior: grids, colors and cladding
Chanhassen's 1990s houses have a look: colonial or prairie grid patterns in the front windows, plain glass on the sides and back, and trim painted or clad in a color that was chosen once and never changed. A replacement that ignores that look stands out from the street. We match grid pattern, glass tint and exterior color to what is there, or change them deliberately if you want a cleaner look, and we wrap the exterior trim in color-matched aluminum so the finished window and the old trim read as one piece. On a townhome row, that matching is usually a requirement rather than a preference.
Two counties, one crew: how we work in Chanhassen
Chanhassen sits mostly in Carver County with a small portion in Hennepin County, and both are among the nine counties we serve. We work throughout Carver County, from the neighborhoods off Highway 5 and Highway 41 near the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to those along Highway 212, whether your kids attend Eastern Carver County Schools or the Minnetonka district on the north side. With five public beaches and about 70 miles of trails, plenty of Chanhassen houses back onto open land or water, and those exposed walls are where we look first.
The Window Guys is owner-run. The owner has installed more than 10,000 windows over 24 years and still works alongside the crews. ProVia is our main window line, with Andersen and Marvin also available. Exterior aluminum wrapping and interior wood trim, jamb, casing and stops, are done by our installers. Chanhassen is a bit over an hour from our base in East Bethel without traffic. Use Quick Price, our online pricing tool at build.windowguysmn.com, to get a real number first, then book an in-home visit. Minnesota residential contractor license BC809328.
We install windows year-round, and winter is often when a failed window bothers you most. The crew works one opening at a time: the old unit comes out, the new one goes in, gets shimmed, fastened, insulated and sealed, and the room is closed back up before the next opening is touched. The house is never open to the cold for more than a few minutes at any one spot. Sealants and foams we use are rated for cold-weather application, and interior trim work proceeds normally. A one-day insert job in July is a one-day insert job in January.
Chanhassen window questions we hear most
Does Chanhassen require a permit for replacement windows?
Yes. The City of Chanhassen names window replacement, along with roofing and siding, among the projects that require a building permit. Permits go through the city's Community Development Department, Building Permits and Inspections. Our office submits the application and coordinates the inspection.
Can fogged glass in my 1990s Chanhassen windows be fixed without replacing the window?
The fog itself means the insulated glass seal has failed, and only a new glass unit fixes that. On a 25- to 30-year-old builder-grade window, the balances, weatherstripping and hardware are usually close behind, so a new insert window in the existing sound frame is normally the better path. If just one window is affected and the rest are fine, we will say so.
Can you match the trim and grid pattern in my Chanhassen townhome?
Yes. About 20 percent of Chanhassen's housing is townhome-type, and matching the existing exterior color, grid pattern and trim profile is standard practice for us. If your association needs product details before approving the work, we can provide them ahead of scheduling.
How long does a Chanhassen window job take?
Most Chanhassen homes take one to two days. Insert replacements on a 1990s or 2000s house are often done in a day. Full-frame work on a 1980s home with rotted frames and new interior jamb and casing takes two. We plan the job as a full day given the drive from East Bethel.
Ready to price your Chanhassen 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: Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Shakopee, Prior Lake, Plymouth.