Larson Storm Window Installation — Install Storm Windows You Bought
The old wood windows are staying, the old storms are shot, and the new Larson storms from Menards are leaning against the garage wall. We measure, mount and seal them so the house is tight before the first hard frost.
You can install storm windows you bought without the store: JMB Builders installs Larson and other exterior storm windows over your existing wood windows, labor only, across the Twin Cities metro. We are an independent installer. We measure before you order, take down the old storms, mount the new frames plumb on the blind stop or casing, seal the top and sides, leave the weeps open, and fit the expander to the sill. Priced per window.
- Priced per window, labor only
- Larson triple-track, two-track and basement storms
- Measured before you order, mounted plumb, weeps left open
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
A lot of older Twin Cities houses still have their original wood windows, and the right move for many of them is a good exterior storm, not a replacement. Larson sells aluminum storm windows in stock sizes and special order at Menards, Lowe's and Home Depot, and none of the stores install them. That is the gap this page fills: your storm windows, our ladder and our sealant, done in a day or two.
A storm window is only as good as its fit and its seal. It has to be measured to the blind stop or the outside of the casing, whichever it mounts to, and ordered a little under so it sits inside without forcing. It has to go on plumb and square or the sashes will bind in the tracks. The top and sides get sealed to the casing; the bottom does not, because the weep holes in the sill expander are what let condensation out. Caulk the bottom and the wood sill under it rots. We see that on half the storms we take down.
This page is about storm windows. For a Larson storm door, see the Larson storm door page linked below. We install both, but they are different jobs.
What you supply
- The storm windows: Larson or another brand, sized to the openings we measured or confirmed from your photos
- The order printout or the label on each frame, so each storm goes on the window it was ordered for
- Color choice: white, brown, sandstone or whatever the store offers, matched to your trim
- Special-order sizes for odd openings, ordered after we measure; stock sizes for the openings that fit them
- Paint for the casing if it is bare or peeling under the old storms — painting is quoted as a separate line, or paint it yourself
What JMB supplies
- Measuring every opening before you order, from your photos or a visit for a whole house
- Removal and haul-away of the old aluminum or wood storms, screen hangers and hooks
- Filling the old screw holes and scraping the loose paint where the new frame lands
- Stainless or painted screws into the blind stop or casing, shims to plumb the frame
- Exterior sealant at the head and jambs, with the sill expander set and the weeps left open
- Adjustment of the sashes and screen so they slide, latch and lock in every track
- A wood or PVC mounting surface where the casing is too narrow or has rotted
- Photos of every finished storm in your job folder
- Painting of the casing when you want it, quoted as its own line
How it is priced: per window
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- First-floor openings vs. second-floor and dormer windows that need ladders or staging
- Whether old storms have to come down and their holes filled first
- Condition of the casing the storm mounts to: solid and square is fast, rotted or narrow needs a mounting board
- Stock sizes vs. odd openings that need special-order storms and a measuring visit
- Wide or tall units that take two people to hold plumb on a ladder
- How many windows in the same visit; a whole house is priced far below one at a time
- Painting the casing before the storms go on, quoted as its own line
Send a straight-on photo of each window from outside, a close-up of the casing at one corner, a tape across the opening at the blind stop, and the Larson box labels if you already bought them.
How long it takes
First-floor storms on sound casing: eight to twelve in a day. Second-floor and dormer windows: fewer, depending on the ladder work. A whole house is usually two days.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Triple-track storms
The standard Larson unit: two glass sashes and a screen in separate tracks, so you can open the bottom for air in summer and close both in winter. Mounted to the blind stop or casing, sealed at the head and jambs, weeps open at the sill.
Two-track and fixed storms
For windows that never open, or a picture window that needs a single fixed panel. Less hardware, same mounting and sealing. We tell you which opening wants which from your photos.
Basement storms
Small fixed or sliding storms over basement hoppers, mounted to the buck or the concrete with masonry anchors and sealed. If the old steel basement window itself is failing, our Menards basement window page is the better fix.
Storms on painted or rotted casing
The storm screws into the casing, so the casing has to be solid. We scrape and fill where the frame lands, replace a rotted piece of casing or build out a mounting surface, and quote the casing paint as its own line.
Larson Storm Window Installation — Install Storm Windows You Bought: questions, answered
Do you install storm windows I bought myself?
Yes. You buy Larson or another brand of exterior storm window at Menards, Lowe's, Home Depot or a lumberyard and JMB Builders installs them anywhere in the Twin Cities metro, labor only. We are an independent installer, not a Larson dealer. Send photos of the windows and a tape shot and you have a per-window quote in one business day; we confirm the sizes before you order.
How do I measure for a storm window?
Measure from the outside, where the storm will sit: the width between the blind stops (or the inside edges of the casing if there is no blind stop) at the top, middle and bottom, and the height from the sill to the head at both sides. Use the smallest numbers. The storm is ordered slightly under so it fits without forcing. If the window is out of square, send us the numbers and we pick the size that lets the expander take up the difference.
Do you caulk all the way around a storm window?
No, and it matters. We seal the head and the two sides to the casing so wind and rain stay out. The bottom is left open at the weep holes in the sill expander so the moisture that collects between the storm and the old window can drain out. A storm caulked shut at the bottom traps water against the wood sill and rots it. If we take down old storms that were caulked at the bottom, we check the sill for rot before the new one goes on.
Can you put storm windows on a house with old wood windows and no storms?
Yes. Most older wood windows have a blind stop, the strip the storm sits against, and the storm screws to the casing beside it. If the casing is narrow or the window has an odd profile, we build a wood or PVC mounting surface first. Storms are a good option when the original windows are in decent shape and you want them tighter without replacing them.
Do you also install the Larson storm door?
Yes, but it is a separate job with its own page: see our Larson storm door installation page. A storm door mounts on the entry door trim with a hinge rail, closer and sweep; a storm window screws to the casing and seals at the head and sides. We do both in the same trip if you have both, and the door is priced per door on the same quote.
Will you take down the old storm windows first?
Yes. Old aluminum storms come off, along with the hooks and hangers from wood storms if those are still there, and go in our trailer. We fill the old screw holes, scrape the loose paint where the new frame lands, and check the sill and casing for rot before the new storm goes on. Casing that needs paint is quoted as its own line, or paint it yourself before install day.
Can you remove old aluminum combination storm windows?
Yes. Old triple-track combination storms are unscrewed from the window's exterior casing, the old caulk is cut and scraped off, and the screw holes are filled. The casing under them is often rotted at the sill, and we show you that before anything new goes on. Then new storms go on, or the casing is repaired and painted if you are not replacing them.
Should I put storm windows on my 1920s bungalow's single pane windows?
Often, yes. Good storm windows over sound single-pane wood windows cut drafts and keep the original sashes, trim and look of a 1920s bungalow. Interior or exterior storms both work; exterior storms also protect the old sashes from weather. We fit each storm to the opening, and fix loose glazing or rotted sills on the old windows first when they need it.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 27, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All install what you bought pages
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