MI 1650 vs 3500 for a Whole House
Two MI window numbers keep coming up in quotes and you want to know which belongs on your house.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-250-3621.
MI 1650 vs 3500 for a whole house comes down to how each window goes in: the 1650 is a replacement double-hung built to fit an existing opening, and the 3500 is a new-construction single-hung with a nailing fin for a wall that is open to the sheathing. JMB Builders decides per opening at the measure, Twin Cities metro. Send photos and we reply within one business day, or book a free in-home estimate.
- 1650: replacement double-hung, both sashes move
- 3500: new-construction single-hung with a nailing fin
- Photo reply within one business day, or free estimate
The two numbers are two different jobs. Options such as the MI 1650 are a replacement double-hung from the V3000 series: built to the measured opening, both sashes slide and tilt in, and it goes into a house that already has windows, as an insert in a sound frame or as a full-frame unit where the old frame comes out. Options such as the MI 3500 are a new-construction single-hung: only the bottom sash moves, and it has a nailing fin meant to be fastened to the sheathing and taped to the house wrap before siding goes on.
So the question is what the wall looks like on install day. A house keeping its siding is a 1650 house, opening by opening. A house being resided, an addition, a new garage or a pole barn has the sheathing exposed, and the 3500 with its fin is the simpler, lower-cost window for that wall. Some houses are both: the 1650 in the existing walls and the 3500 in the addition, ordered together in the same white.
The other difference is how the window works. A double-hung tilts both sashes in for cleaning and vents from the top or the bottom; a single-hung opens only at the bottom and costs less. On a whole house, most owners want the double-hung in the rooms they live in. Both come through our supplier on one order so the house arrives together.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-250-3621.
What you supply
- One photo of each window from inside and outside, labeled by room
- Whether the house is keeping its siding, being resided, or adding on
- Which rooms you want to open from the top as well as the bottom
- Frame color, glass package and grilles
- A paint color if you want new trim painted; painting is a separate line
What JMB supplies
- A per-opening call at the measure: 1650 as insert, 1650 full frame, or 3500 with a nailing fin
- One in-person measure of every opening before the order
- The house on one order through ABC Supply so the white and glass match and the windows arrive together
- Inserts set in pocket-prepped frames; full-frame and fin units set on sill pans and flashed to the wrap
- Interior and exterior trim as written, haul-away and photos in your job folder
How it is priced: per opening
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Double-hung vs. single-hung: the 1650 costs more per window than the 3500 in the same size
- How many openings are inserts, how many full frame, and how many have the sheathing exposed
- Frame color, glass package and grilles, which are options on both
- Exterior finish: capping on an insert, new trim on a full-frame, siding over the fin on a 3500
- Interior trim on full-frame and fin units
- Rot found when the old windows come out, priced as written on the quote
Tell us whether any wall will be open to the sheathing this year. That one fact sorts the house into 1650 openings and 3500 openings.
How long it takes
Both are built to order; lead time is on the quote. Install runs two to four working days for most houses; fin units during a siding job are timed to the open wall.
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 reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 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
All 1650, house keeping its siding
Every opening gets the replacement double-hung, as an insert where the frame is sound and full frame where it is not. The common whole-house order.
All 3500, house being resided
The siding is coming off anyway, so every opening gets the fin window fastened to the sheathing and taped to the new wrap before siding. Single-hung, lower cost, flashed the way a new house is.
1650 in the house, 3500 in the addition
The existing walls get the replacement double-hung; the addition or new garage gets the fin single-hung. One order, one white, one install.
MI 1650 vs 3500 for a Whole House: questions, answered
What is the difference between the MI 1650 and the MI 3500?
The 1650 is a replacement double-hung: both sashes slide and tilt in, and it is built to fit an existing opening as an insert or a full-frame unit. The 3500 is a new-construction single-hung: only the bottom sash moves, and it has a nailing fin that fastens to the sheathing and is taped to the house wrap. One is for a house with windows in it; the other is for a wall that is open.
Which MI window should I use to replace all the windows in my house?
If the siding stays, the 1650. It is built for a replacement opening and gives you a double-hung in every room. If the house is being resided this year, the 3500 is worth pricing, because the open wall lets its fin be flashed to the wrap properly and it costs less. Many houses end up with both, and we write the call on each line.
Can a 3500 new construction window be used in an existing house?
Only where the wall is open to the sheathing, such as during a siding job, or where the siding around the opening is cut back and patched to let the fin in. Forcing a fin window into a finished wall means cutting siding at every opening, which costs more than ordering the replacement window built for it.
Is a single hung window a big step down from a double hung?
It is a simpler window. The top sash is fixed, so you vent only from the bottom and you cannot tilt the top in to clean it from inside. On the main floor that is minor; upstairs, cleaning the outside of a fixed top sash means a ladder. Most owners want the double-hung in the rooms they live in and accept the single-hung in a garage or addition.
Can the 1650 and 3500 be ordered together?
Yes. Both are MI vinyl windows in the same white, and they go on one order through our supplier so the house arrives together. From outside, a 1650 full-frame unit and a 3500 fin unit in the same wall read alike once trimmed.
Will the 1650 fit as an insert in my old wood frames?
If the frame is square, dry and solid, yes; that is what a replacement double-hung is built for, and the interior trim stays. If the frame has rot at the sill or is out of square, the 1650 goes in as a full-frame unit instead with a sill pan and new trim. We check each frame at the measure.
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 the builders we work with. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Related jobs we do
MI V3000 Whole-House Replacement
You want every window in the house from one series so nothing looks like an afterthought. The V3000 covers the styles a typical house needs, and this is how the whole house goes in.
Read moreMI Windows Whole House Replacement — Ordered, Installed, Trimmed
MI windows fit the budget for a whole house. What you need is someone to measure every opening, order them right the first time and put them in.
Read moreMI Windows Installation, Labor Only — V4500, V3000 and V2000
You got MI windows through a dealer at a good price, and the dealer does not install or cannot get to you soon.
Read moreNailing Fin or Block Frame Replacement Window? Which One to Order
You have decided on a full tear-out, and the order form asks whether the new window comes with a nailing fin or as a block frame. The right answer depends on what the outside of your wall is made of.
Read moreReplace Every Window Before the Siding Job
You are residing the house next season. The windows should go in while the walls are open, not be patched into new siding a year later. Here is how the two jobs line up.
Read moreSingle Hung Window Replacement — Bottom Sash Opens, Top Stays Put
You want new windows that open from the bottom and cost less to build than a double hung, and you want to know what you give up.
Read morePage reviewed October 25, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All whole-house projects pages
Where we work
Whole-House Window & Door Projects near you
Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: