Victorian House Window Replacement — Tall Sashes, Bays, Odd Sizes
Your Victorian has thirty-some windows in twenty different sizes, a bay or two and a tower, and the old sashes rattle all winter.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
Victorian house window replacement means almost no two openings are the same size: tall narrow double hungs, angled bays, a tower or turret and a few odd pieces over stairs. JMB Builders measures every one in person, orders them all custom in one package, and installs them room by room across the Twin Cities metro, keeping original casing where the frames allow. Priced per project, each opening listed. Photo reply within one business day, or a free in-home estimate.
- Every opening measured and ordered custom
- Bays and tower windows planned at the measure
- Priced per project, line item per window
Victorian houses were built before standard window sizes. The sashes are tall and narrow, often wider at the first floor than the second, and the openings drifted out of square over a century. Bays have three or more units set at angles. A tower wall may be curved or faceted. Nothing comes off a shelf.
So the job starts with the measure. Every opening is measured in person, checked for square and recorded, and the whole house goes on one custom order. That is also the step that sets the schedule: custom units take longer to build, and the lead time is written on the quote.
Install is the same careful routine on every opening: sashes and weights out, pockets insulated, a new unit set as an insert where the frame is sound so the original casing stays, or full-frame where it is not. Plaster is protected and each room is closed before the next. The farmhouse page covers a simpler old house; this one is the many-shapes version.
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 763-204-2099.
What you supply
- Photos of each side and each bay or tower from outside
- Which windows stay (stained glass or decorative pieces you want kept)
- Grille pattern, colors and glass choices
- Rooms cleared back from the windows and fragile items moved
What JMB supplies
- In-person measure of every opening, checked for square
- One custom order for the whole house through ABC Supply
- Weights out, pockets insulated, frames checked for rot
- Inserts that keep original casing where frames are sound
- Bay and tower units set on their angles, flashed and sealed
- Ladders, roof brackets or a lift for upper floors
- Plaster and floors protected; old sashes hauled away
- Painting as a separate line, or left primed
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- How many openings and how many distinct sizes
- Bays, tower or curved walls and how they are framed
- Insert vs. full-frame for each opening
- Access to second and third floor windows
- Rot in sills and frames under old sashes
- Grille pattern and glass package
- Windows you keep and which ones we work around
Every Victorian window is custom, so the number becomes firm after the in-person measure.
How long it takes
Custom units set the start date; lead time depends on the brand and is written on the quote. On site, most Victorians take two to four weeks.
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
Flat bay units
A bay is usually three or more flat units set at angles. Each is ordered to its own size and the angle joints are sealed and trimmed.
Faceted tower
Many tower walls are flat facets. Each facet gets its own unit, like a small bay all the way around.
Curved tower wall
A true curve takes either flat units set on short facets or curved units where the window line makes them. That choice is made at the measure.
Windows you keep
A stained glass piece or decorative window can stay as it is. We work around it and leave it in place.
Victorian House Window Replacement — Tall Sashes, Bays, Odd Sizes: questions, answered
Can new windows fit tall narrow Victorian openings?
Yes, when they are ordered custom to each opening. Every window is measured in person and the order is built to those sizes, not to standard ones. Out-of-square openings are measured at several points and shimmed so the new unit runs true.
How do you replace windows in a Victorian bay?
A bay is a group of flat units set at angles on one seat. Each is measured on its own, the angle joints are planned before ordering, and the units are set, flashed and sealed one after another. Rot in the bay seat or roof is quoted before the work starts.
Can a curved tower window be replaced?
Sometimes with curved units where the window line offers them, more often with flat units set on short facets that follow the curve. We look at the framing at the measure and give you the options before anything is ordered.
Can I keep my stained glass windows and replace the rest?
Yes. Windows you want to keep are left in place and the new ones go in around them. The quote lists only the openings being replaced.
Why do Victorian windows take longer to get?
Almost every unit is a custom size, and custom units are built after the order. The lead time depends on the brand and is written on the quote, so the install date is set from that.
Will the original interior woodwork be damaged?
Where the frame is sound, an insert keeps the original casing in place. Where a frame has to come out, the casing is removed carefully and reset. Plaster around the opening is protected and any cracking is patched.
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
Old Farmhouse Window Replacement — Out-of-Square Openings Set Right
A farmhouse that has settled for a hundred years: no two windows the same size, none of them square, and cold air coming from inside the walls.
Read moreBay Window Replacement — Bay and Bow Units, Seat, Roof and Trim
The seat is cold, the roof over it leaks, the glass is fogged or the whole unit has dropped. We replace the bay or bow and finish it inside, outside and on top.
Read moreWindow Replacement in Plaster Walls — Plaster and Lath Kept Intact
Your house has plaster walls and original trim, and you have heard new windows mean cracked plaster. It does not have to, if the casing and returns are handled right.
Read moreDouble Hung Window Replacement — Measured, Ordered and Trimmed
Sash cords snapped, sashes painted shut, or tilt-ins that will not stay up. We replace the double hungs and finish them inside and out.
Read moreAmerican Foursquare Window Replacement — Tall Double Hungs, Dormers
Your foursquare has two full floors of tall double hungs, a dormer in each side of the hip roof and a front porch full of windows, all on ropes and weights.
Read more1970s House Window Replacement — Every Original Window at Once
The house was built in the seventies and so were the windows: cranks that slip, storms you take off every spring, and a slider that never closed right.
Read morePage reviewed October 9, 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: