Window Replacement in Eagan, MN
Eagan boomed after the Cedar Avenue bridge opened in 1980, and the 1980s windows that came with that boom are now the ones fogging and failing.
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.
Eagan's 1980s: a third of the city in one decade
Eagan had about 20,700 residents in 1980 and more than 47,000 by 1990. The city's largest growth came after Highway 77, Cedar Avenue, was relocated and expanded with a new six-lane bridge over the Minnesota River in 1980, and after I-35E was finished in the middle of that decade. Suddenly Eagan was a short commute, and the builders arrived.
The housing numbers show it. The median Eagan home was built in 1988. Of roughly 28,800 housing units, 34 percent were built in the 1980s and another 23 percent in the 1990s, so more than half the city dates to those two decades. The 1970s contribute 16 percent, and only about 25 percent of homes predate 1980. Anything before 1960 is rare, about 3 percent. About half of Eagan's housing is single-family detached, a fifth is townhome-type, and the rest is in buildings with two or more units.
What a 1980s builder-grade window looks like at 40
The windows installed in Eagan during the 1980s boom were mostly builder-grade wood, sometimes with a thin aluminum or vinyl cladding on the outside, and by the early 1990s builder-grade vinyl. These were volume products chosen for the price point of a new house, not for a 40-year life. What we see in them now is consistent. Insulated glass seals fail and moisture fogs the space between the panes. Wood sash bottoms rot where water pooled against the glazing, and the rot works its way into the sill. Cladding pulls away at the corners. Double-hung balances snap and sashes will not stay up. Casement operators strip out.
The 1970s homes, about one in six in Eagan, have an older set of problems: first-generation aluminum sliders and early wood casements with single-pane or early double-pane glass. Aluminum frames conduct cold straight through, so they frost and sweat on the inside every winter, and the sliders rarely lock tight anymore.
The 1990s houses, nearly a quarter of the city, sit in between. Most came with builder-grade vinyl or vinyl-clad wood, now 25 to 30 years old, and their failures are the vinyl kind: fogged glass, snapped balances, weatherstripping gone flat, and sashes that no longer sit square in the frame on the sunny side of the house. The frames themselves are usually still sound, which is why these homes are often insert candidates.
The Eagan townhome question
About one in five Eagan housing units is a townhome-type home sharing a wall with a neighbor, and many of those rows went up in the same 1980s and 1990s boom as the detached houses. The windows fail on the same schedule. What differs is the process: most associations have rules on exterior color and grid pattern, and some prefer to coordinate replacement across a row so the exterior stays uniform. We match the existing exterior as a matter of course and can supply product information for your board before anything is scheduled. The permit is still pulled through the City of Eagan in the normal way.
Eagan's permit is straightforward for same-size replacements
The City of Eagan states that a building permit is required for new or replacement windows or doors. The good news for most homeowners is what the city's Building Inspections handout says next: replacing windows in existing openings does not require plan review. Only altering the size of a window or door opening triggers plan review and a framing inspection. For a like-for-like replacement, the inspections are insulation and final. Our office pulls the Eagan permit and schedules the inspections; you do not have to do any of it.
Bays, bows and any opening we enlarge get the framing inspection, and we plan for it. If you want to turn a small 1980s bedroom window into a larger one, or convert a slider to a casement of a different size, tell us at the in-home visit so we can build the plan review into the schedule.
Full-frame or insert on a 1980s Eagan home
An insert replacement sets a new window inside your existing frame. Full-frame replacement removes the old frame back to the rough opening and rebuilds the frame, sill and trim. On a 1980s Eagan house the answer depends on what the old wood frame looks like once we get the sash out. If the jamb and sill are sound, an insert gives you a modern window without disturbing the interior casing. If the sill or the bottom of the jamb has rotted, and on 1980s wood windows that is common, full-frame is the right fix, because setting a new window into rotted wood only hides it. For 1970s aluminum sliders the frame is removed either way, and the surrounding wood decides the rest.
Owner-run, ProVia, and a little over an hour from East Bethel
The Window Guys is an owner-run company. The owner has installed more than 10,000 windows over 24 years and still works with the crews. ProVia is our main window line, with Andersen and Marvin also available. We do the exterior aluminum wrapping and the interior wood trim, including jamb, casing and stops, which matters when a full-frame job needs new casing that matches the rest of a 1980s interior. For the roughly one in four Eagan homes built before 1980, the work follows EPA lead-safe practices; The Window Guys is an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm with certified renovators.
Eagan is a little over an hour from our base in East Bethel without traffic, down I-35E. We work throughout Dakota County as one of the nine counties we serve, from the neighborhoods near Lebanon Hills Regional Park to those along Highway 13, Highway 55 and Cedar Avenue, whether your kids go to District 196, 191 or 197 schools. Get a number first with Quick Price, our online pricing tool at build.windowguysmn.com, then book an in-home visit. Minnesota residential contractor license BC809328.
Eagan window questions we hear most
Does Eagan require a permit to replace windows?
Yes. Eagan requires a building permit for new or replacement windows or doors. Replacing windows in existing openings does not require plan review; only altering an opening does. For a same-size replacement the city inspects insulation and final. Our office pulls the permit and schedules both inspections.
My 1980s Eagan wood windows are rotting at the bottom of the sash. Insert or full-frame?
It depends on whether the rot stopped at the sash or reached the sill and jamb. If the frame is still sound, an insert works and your interior casing stays. If the sill or lower jamb is soft, full-frame is the right repair, because a new insert set into rotted wood only hides the problem. We probe the frames at the in-home visit and tell you which one your house needs.
Can you replace windows in an Eagan townhome?
Yes. About a fifth of Eagan's housing is townhome-type, and the installation is the same as a detached house. Your association may have rules on exterior color or grid pattern, and we match existing exteriors as standard practice. We can provide product details for your board before the job is scheduled.
How long does a typical Eagan window job take?
One to two days for most homes. Insert replacements on a 1990s house can often be finished in a day. Full-frame replacements on a 1980s house with new interior jamb and casing usually take two. Enlarging an opening adds the city's framing inspection to the schedule.
Ready to price your Eagan 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: Burnsville, St. Paul, Woodbury, Bloomington, Lakeville.