Window Replacement in Edina, MN
From the 1920s revival homes of the Country Club District to the 1950s Cape Cods and ramblers of east Edina, this is a city of older windows.
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.
Edina by decade, and why it matters for your windows
Edina is one of the older cities we serve. The median home was built in 1971, and 68.1 percent of the city's 24,071 housing units went up before 1980. The breakdown: 7.8 percent before 1940, 4.3 percent in the 1940s, 18.5 percent in the 1950s, 17.1 percent in the 1960s, 20.3 percent in the 1970s and 10.2 percent in the 1980s, with a recent wave of about 10.7 percent from the 2010s that reflects the teardown-and-rebuild trend. The city has turned over roughly 100 homes a year to teardowns in recent years, according to the Star Tribune. Just over 72 percent of homes are owner-occupied.
The oldest layer is well documented. The Country Club District, listed on the National Register in 1980 and described by the city as one of the first planned communities in the United States, holds about 555 homes, 91 percent of them built between 1924 and 1944 in English Tudor, French Provincial and American Colonial Revival styles. Morningside developed in the early 1900s. Then came the postwar, car-oriented expansion of the 1950s and 1960s. The Star Tribune's description of east Edina's Pamela Park neighborhood applies to a lot of the city: original housing stock that is "largely modest Cape Cods and ramblers" from the 1940s and 1950s.
What we find in Edina windows
- Pre-1940 homes (Country Club, Morningside): original wood double-hungs with weight-and-pulley sashes, exterior storm windows, sashes painted shut, and rot at the sill. Full-frame replacement is usually the right call, and because these homes predate 1978, the paint may contain lead. The Window Guys is an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm with certified renovators, so containment and cleanup are built into every pre-1978 job.
- 1940s and 1950s Cape Cods and ramblers: the same wood double-hung story, plus large picture windows in the ramblers that are often single-pane or long-fogged early insulated units. Lead-safe practices apply here too.
- 1960s and 1970s homes: first-generation aluminum sliders and early wood casements, single-pane or early double-pane, cold and drafty. The 1970s is Edina's single biggest decade.
- 1980s homes: builder-grade wood or early vinyl with seal failure and rotted sash bottoms.
Edina homeowners also tend to care about how a window looks from the street, not only how it performs. That shapes what we recommend, and it is one reason ProVia is our main line: it offers profiles and exterior colors that sit correctly on an older house.
York Plaza: 422 windows and patio doors, no one relocated
At York Plaza, 7230 York Avenue South in Edina, The Window Guys replaced 422 windows and patio doors. We completed the project in 2018 at a pace of about four hours per unit, and no resident had to relocate during the work. That schedule only works when the crew has done the same opening hundreds of times and the trim and wrapping are handled by the same crew rather than a second contractor.
The same discipline applies to a single-family home near Centennial Lakes Park or along Minnehaha Creek. Each opening is opened, replaced, insulated, sealed and trimmed before we move to the next one, so your home is never sitting open to the weather.
Edina's permit rule and the Country Club District
Edina's rule is stated plainly in the city's FAQ on when a permit is required. A building permit is "required for any construction, alteration, repair, relocation, enlargement, demolition or change of use or occupancy to any building or structure regulated by the state building code," and the city lists "work to a permanent weather resistive surface (siding, roofing, windows)" as an example. Replacing windows in Edina requires a permit.
Homes in the Country Club District carry an additional layer: the city applies heritage-preservation review to exterior changes there. If your home is in the district, the window choice and the review both need to be handled with care, and we build the time for that into the schedule. Our office handles the permit paperwork under license BC809328, submits documentation and schedules inspections, so you are not chasing the city.
Full-frame versus insert in an older Edina home
Full-frame replacement removes the entire window, frame and sill included, and rebuilds the opening with new flashing, insulation and trim. Insert replacement fits a new unit into the existing frame. With more than two-thirds of Edina built before 1980, full-frame is the more common recommendation here, particularly on wood windows where the sill has been absorbing water for 60 or 70 years. Inserts still make sense in a 1980s home with sound frames, or on a sheltered elevation of an older home where the wood is dry and square.
Our crews do the interior wood trim (jamb, casing and stops) and the exterior aluminum wrapping, which is what makes a full-frame job in an older home look like it belongs. We measure and decide window by window during the in-home visit.
How to get started from anywhere in Edina
The Window Guys is owner-run. The owner has personally installed more than 10,000 windows over 24 years, and he measures every job. We are based in East Bethel, about 50 minutes from Edina via MN-100 or I-494, and we serve nine counties. We also offer Andersen and Marvin alongside ProVia when the project calls for them.
Get a working number first with our Quick Price tool, then we schedule an in-home visit for exact measurements and a firm proposal. Most single-family jobs take one to two days; full-frame with new interior trim throughout takes longer. Whether you are near 50th and France, by Southdale Center, in the Edina Public Schools neighborhoods off the Crosstown, or out by Braemar Golf Course, call (612) 408-0569 with questions.
Homeowners near Nine Mile Creek or Minnehaha Creek should expect us to look hardest at the elevations facing the water, where wind and rain age wood windows fastest.
Edina window questions we hear most
Does Edina require a permit to replace windows?
Yes. The city's FAQ lists work to a permanent weather resistive surface, including windows, as requiring a building permit. Country Club District homes also go through heritage-preservation review for exterior changes. Our office handles the permit and the paperwork.
What about lead paint in a 1950s Edina home?
Any home built before 1978 may have lead-based paint, and that covers most of Edina. 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, at no change to how you live in the house.
Can you match the look of the original windows in a Country Club District home?
That is the goal on every older Edina home. ProVia offers profiles, grille patterns and exterior colors that suit Tudor, Colonial Revival and other period homes, and our crews do the interior wood trim so the finished window reads as original. We also handle the heritage-preservation review the district requires.
How long does a typical Edina window job take?
One to two days for most homes. Full-frame replacement with new interior jamb, casing and stops on every window takes longer, and older homes with many openings take longer than a small rambler. We set the schedule before ordering.
Ready to price your Edina 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: Minneapolis, Bloomington, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie.