Window Replacement in Roseville, MN
Roseville was built out between the 1950s and 1970s, and its ramblers still carry the picture windows, aluminum sliders and early casements that came with them.
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.
The rambler decades: how Roseville was built
Roseville grew fast after the war, incorporated as a village in 1948, and filled in over the next three decades. The city's own comprehensive plan says its homes were built predominately between the 1950s and 1970s, are typically smaller than new homes, and that single-story, bungalow, rambler and ranch-style houses are found throughout the city. The census numbers back that up: the median Roseville home was built in 1969, and roughly 74 percent of its 16,700 housing units predate 1980. The three big decades are nearly even, 23 percent from the 1950s, 20 percent from the 1960s and 21 percent from the 1970s. Among owner-occupied homes, 83 percent were built between the 1940s and 1970s.
For window purposes, that puts most Roseville houses in two camps. The 1950s ramblers usually came with wood double-hung or wood casement windows, single-pane, with storms hung outside, and by now the sash bottoms and sills have taken sixty or seventy winters. The 1960s and 1970s houses moved to first-generation aluminum sliders and early wood casements with the first double-pane glass, which conducts cold straight through the metal frame and frosts on the inside in January. Neither generation was built to today's standard, and both are past their working life.
The big picture window, and what to do with it
Nearly every Roseville rambler has one: the wide living-room picture window facing the street, often flanked by a pair of narrow double-hungs or casements. It is the largest piece of glass in the house and usually the coldest. Original picture windows are single-pane or early insulated glass in a wood frame, and when the sill starts to soften you will see paint bubbling on the interior stool and feel a draft from the couch.
We replace picture windows two ways. The simplest is a new fixed unit in the same opening, with new operating windows on the sides so you still get airflow. The other is to convert the opening into a large casement or a combination unit if you want more ventilation. Either way the exterior gets a new aluminum wrap over the trim, and the interior gets new jamb and casing that match the rest of the room. That work is done by our crews.
Insert or full-frame on a 1960s Roseville rambler
An insert replacement keeps your existing frame and sets a new window inside it. Full-frame replacement takes everything out to the rough opening and starts over with a new frame, sill and trim. In a 1970s Roseville home with aluminum sliders, the metal frame comes out regardless, so the question is mostly about the surrounding wood.
In the 1950s and 1960s houses we look at the sill and the bottom of the jamb. If the wood is solid and square, an insert gives you a like-new window and leaves your interior trim alone. If the sill has rot or the frame has racked, full-frame is the honest answer, and it lets us insulate the gap between the frame and the wall that most mid-century builders left open. We check with a probe, not a guess, during the in-home visit.
Roseville permits: over the counter, handled by our office
Roseville requires a permit for window replacement. The city's own permit FAQ lists windows, exterior doors and siding among the projects that need one, and notes that window replacement and re-siding permits can be issued over the counter rather than going through a full plan review. That keeps the timeline short. Our office pulls the permit through the City of Roseville's building permit desk before installation and schedules the final inspection after. You will never be asked to handle the paperwork yourself.
The inspector is looking for a few specific things on a replacement job: that the new unit is properly fastened and sealed, that any bedroom window still provides a workable opening, and that the exterior is flashed so water cannot get behind the frame. Those are the same things we check ourselves before we call the job done, so the inspection is a formality on a properly installed window. If your Roseville home is a duplex or part of a small multi-unit building, which describes roughly 38 percent of the city's housing, the permit process is the same and we coordinate with the owner or association as needed.
Lead paint in 1950s Roseville homes
About a third of Roseville homes were built before 1960, and everything before 1978 falls under the federal lead-paint presumption. Original painted wood windows are exactly where lead paint tends to be: on the sash, the stops and the exterior trim. The Window Guys is an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm with certified renovators on the crew. On a 1950s Roseville rambler that means containment plastic on the interior and exterior work areas, no dry sanding or torching of old paint, HEPA cleanup, and old sashes bagged before they leave the room. It is a normal part of our process on any pre-1978 house and not something you need to ask for.
An owner-run crew about 45 minutes from Roseville
We are an owner-run company. The owner has installed more than 10,000 windows himself over 24 years, and he still sets the standard on every crew. ProVia is our primary window line, and we also offer Andersen and Marvin. Exterior aluminum wrapping and interior wood trim, including jamb, casing and stops, are done by the same crew that sets the windows.
Roseville is about 45 minutes from our base in East Bethel without traffic, straight down I-35W. We work throughout Ramsey County, one of nine counties we serve, whether you are near Central Park and Bennett Lake, off Snelling Avenue near Rosedale Center and Har Mar Mall, or up along Highway 36. Start with Quick Price, our online pricing tool at build.windowguysmn.com, to get a real number, then book an in-home visit when you are ready. Minnesota residential contractor license BC809328.
Roseville window questions we hear most
Do I need a permit for replacement windows in Roseville?
Yes. The City of Roseville lists windows, exterior doors and siding among the home improvements that require a permit, and it notes that window replacement permits can be issued over the counter. Our office files the permit and schedules the inspection, so there is nothing for you to submit.
Are the aluminum sliders in my 1970s Roseville home worth replacing?
Yes, and they are usually the first windows we recommend replacing. First-generation aluminum frames have no thermal break, so they conduct cold directly into the room, frost over and drip onto the sill all winter. The glass is single-pane or early double-pane. Because the aluminum frame comes out completely, you end up with a modern insulated window in the same opening, wrapped on the outside and trimmed on the inside.
Can you replace the big picture window in my rambler?
Yes. We can set a new fixed picture unit with new operating windows on each side, or convert the opening to a large casement or combination window if you want more ventilation. The exterior trim gets a new aluminum wrap and the interior gets new jamb and casing to match the room. Picture windows are the largest glass in most Roseville ramblers and usually the coldest, so they make a noticeable difference.
Do you install windows in the winter in Roseville?
Yes. We work year-round. On winter jobs we open one window at a time, so the house is never open to the cold for long, and we seal each unit before moving to the next. A typical Roseville rambler takes one to two days; full-frame jobs with new interior trim run toward the longer end.
Ready to price your Roseville 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: St. Paul, Minneapolis, Blaine, Coon Rapids.