Bloomington, Minnesota
Practical Window Replacement in Bloomington, MN
The windows we take out of the ramblers and split-levels in Bloomington are usually the second set, not the first: aluminum frames retrofitted in the 1980s over the original wood, thermal break long gone, frost forming on the inside edge every January. Each retrofit steals glass area, so by now the picture window in the living room is a smaller hole than the builder drew.
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Two retrofits deep, and the opening shrank
Oxboro, Penn American and West Bloomington are full of long low elevations where the glass is grouped: a fixed center lite with an operable flanking each side. When one of those has already been retrofitted, the second retrofit is where people get surprised. Going insert again buries another inch and a half of frame in the wall, so we usually pull back to the rough opening and reset the whole unit. Sills sit close to grade on a rambler, and snow that gets pushed off a low roof plane piles against them and stays there until April, so the framing under the sill is the first thing we probe. Where the wall below a picture window has gone soft, we open it, dry it, and put back sheathing, siding and interior drywall so the wall is closed before the weather turns.
Window Replacement in Bloomington
What replacement fixes on a Bloomington rambler
Frames that stop icing up
Aluminum conducts cold straight through to the room side, which is why those frames run with water and grow ice in January. A modern frame breaks that path and the sill stays dry.
Glass area back to full
A retrofit inside a retrofit costs you sightline every time. Where the framing allows it, we go back to the rough opening so the picture window looks the size it was drawn, not two inches smaller.
Soft framing under the sill
Snow pushed off a low roof plane sits against a rambler sill for months. We probe below every opening, and where the framing has gone soft it gets cut back to solid wood and rebuilt.
Lower level bedrooms sized right
Split-level lower bedrooms often have a small original window set high in the wall. If a room is used for sleeping, we look at whether the opening can be enlarged for proper egress while we are there.
One sightline across a long wall
Ramblers show a long unbroken elevation, so mismatched frames and different grille patterns read badly from the street. Replacing a run together keeps the heads, sills and colors lined up.
Cranks and rollers that work
Sixty-year-old awning and casement hardware seizes, and the operator strips before the sash moves. New units come with hardware you can work standing up instead of leaning over a sofa.
Our approach on a 1950s or 1960s house
We probe before we quote
Rot under a sill is the number one surprise on these houses. We check for it during the estimate so the scope you agree to is the scope we actually do.
One elevation open at a time
We take out and reset a wall's worth of openings in a day where we can, so the house is closed, locked and weather tight every night.
Siding trade comes with us
Going back to the rough opening means cutting siding and re-trimming. We do siding as well, so the wall closes up in one visit instead of waiting on a second contractor.
We start with the worst wall
If you would rather do this in stages, we will tell you which elevation is taking the weather and the snow load, and start there instead of at the front door.
Reviews you can go read
Orange Exteriors is family run and rated 5.0 across 217 Google reviews. Read what people say about the finish work before you call anyone, us included.
What people near Bloomington say
Orange Exteriors did an excellent job with my new roofing install. Very professional, on time and hard working crew. Completed the job in one day.
Dick JohnsonRoof installation We live in Eden Prairie. Orange did an excellent job on our siding replacement and provided great customer service all the way through.
Thomas DeSutterSiding replacement, Eden Prairie, MN Fantastic guys to work with, did an excellent job of fixing our siding. You can tell it’s a high integrity company. Definitely recommend.
Carolyn MillerSiding repair
Bloomington window questions
What people in Bloomington ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
My Bloomington rambler had windows put in during the 1980s. Do those need replacing already?
Often, yes. The aluminum retrofits from that era have no meaningful thermal break, and the sealed glass in them is now decades past its seal life. If the frames sweat, the corners have opened up or you can see haze between the panes, they are done. If they are wood units from that era, we look closer before condemning them.
Should the big picture window stay one fixed piece of glass?
It depends on the room. A fixed lite is the cleanest look and the tightest seal, but it gives you no air and it is heavy to handle and to clean. Most people keep the center fixed and put operable units on each side, which is how these living rooms were laid out to begin with.
Do lower level bedrooms in a Bloomington split-level need bigger windows?
If the room is being used as a bedroom, that window is the way out, and the small high units in a lot of these lower levels were not built for it. Enlarging an opening means cutting block or framing and rebuilding the header, so it is real work. We will tell you what you have and what changing it takes.
Book a look at your Bloomington windows
We will measure every opening, check what the last retrofit left behind and probe the framing under the sills. You get a written scope and no obligation to use us.
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Tell us what is going on with your roof, siding, windows, or gutters. We will take a look and give you a straight answer, including when the answer is that you can wait.
- Phone(612) 600-8529
- Emailadmin@orange-exteriors.com
- Office6600 City West Pkwy Suite 375, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
- HoursOpen 24 hours, Sunday to Saturday
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Rated 5.0 from 217 Google reviews