1960s House Window Replacement — Wood Casements, Awning Stacks, Storms
A 1960s house with wood crank windows that no longer crank, storm panels clipped on every fall, and a big picture window with awnings under it that leaks at the joint.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
1960s house window replacement is mostly about the first-generation wood casements and awnings: crank-out units with exterior storm panels, stacked under big fixed picture windows, in ramblers, L-shaped ramblers and the first split levels. JMB Builders replaces them across the Twin Cities metro, the picture unit and its awning stack as one assembly, the casements room by room, storms gone. Priced per window, quoted from photos or at a free in-home estimate, with a reply within one business day.
- Priced per window, each unit in a stack counted
- Picture unit and awning stack replaced as one assembly
- Clip-on storm panels removed for good
By the 1960s, builders around the Twin Cities had moved from double hungs to wood casements and awnings: crank-out sashes with a single pane and a clip-on storm panel for winter, often from the big Midwestern window makers. The living room got a fixed picture window with a row of awnings under it. The bedrooms got casements, or a pair of awnings high on the wall. The kitchen got a casement over the sink. It was a good system in 1965.
Sixty years on, the cranks are stripped, the wood sashes are swollen so they do not latch, the storm panels are in the garage, and the joint between the picture window and the awnings under it has been leaking into the wall for years. The frames are often sound, because the wood was good, but the sills under the awning stacks and the mull between units are where the rot is.
Replacement follows the original layout: a new fixed unit with casements or awnings under it, as one factory-mulled assembly flashed as a single opening, and new casements in the bedrooms in the same color. Nobody puts storm panels back. Inside, the stained wood stops and casing of these houses can be kept on inserts or matched on full-frame. Painting or staining is quoted as a separate line — or leave it primed and caulked and finish it yourself.
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
- Your pick of style for each room: casements again, awnings, or a change to sliders or double hungs
- Exterior color, glass and interior finish (stained wood, painted, or white)
- Photos of the front of the house, each window inside, and a close-up of the joint under the picture window
- Your stain or paint color if you want us to finish the interior trim
What JMB supplies
- In-home measure of every opening and the picture-window assembly as a whole
- The windows, ordered as mulled assemblies where the old ones were stacked
- Old sashes, hardware, storm panels and frames out and hauled away
- Rot repair at the sills under awning stacks and at the mulls (quoted from the photos)
- Sill pan, flashing and mull caps on full-frame assemblies, low-expansion foam at every unit
- Interior stops, stool and casing kept, matched or new, stained or primed
- Exterior capping or new trim to finish the outside
- Photos of the finished windows in your job folder
How it is priced: per window
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Insert in a sound frame vs. full-frame where the sill or mull is rotted
- A picture window with an awning stack under it, replaced as one assembly
- Keeping stained interior stops and casing vs. new trim
- Changing styles, casement to slider for example, on a bedroom wall
- Rot at the joint between the picture unit and the units under it
- How many windows: the front assembly only, or the whole house
Send one photo of the front of the house, one of each window from inside with the stops in frame, and a close-up of the joint between the picture window and the units below it.
How long it takes
A 1960s rambler of ten to fourteen windows with one picture-window assembly: two to three days. The big assembly takes most of one day on its own.
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
Picture window with awnings under it
The fixed unit and the row of awnings replaced as one factory-mulled assembly, flashed as a single opening with mull caps, so the joint that leaked is gone. Casements under the fixed unit are the alternative.
Bedroom casements
New casements in the old openings, hinged the same side, egress checked on each bedroom. The stained stops and casing stay on an insert install.
High awning pairs
The pair of awnings high on a bedroom or bathroom wall replaced with new awnings, or with a slider where you want a bigger opening. Egress size is checked if the room is a bedroom.
Stained interior kept
On a house with original stained birch or oak stops and casing, inserts keep them in place. Full-frame openings get stain-grade stops and jamb extensions finished to match.
1960s House Window Replacement — Wood Casements, Awning Stacks, Storms: questions, answered
Can the original 1960s wood casement windows be replaced with casements again?
Yes, and most people do, because the layout works. New casements crank out the same way with a folding handle, seal against a gasket when shut and come with the screen inside. They fit the old openings as inserts when the frames are sound. The storm panels are not needed and go away.
Why is the wall under my 1960s picture window wet?
The fixed picture unit and the awnings under it were set as separate units with a mull joint between them, and that joint was sealed with a bead of caulk that failed decades ago. Water runs down the picture glass, into the joint and onto the sill and the wall below. The replacement is one factory-mulled assembly, flashed as a single opening with a cap over the mull, so there is no open joint.
Do I have to keep putting storm panels on new windows?
No. The clip-on storm panels made up for single-pane glass. New units have insulated glass with a low-e coating and a sealed frame, which does more than the storm did without the fall and spring ritual. The old panels and clips go with the old windows.
Can I keep the stained wood trim in a 1960s house when the windows are replaced?
Yes. On an insert install the new window sets inside the old frame and the stained stops and casing stay; the new stops are stain-grade wood finished to match, or the window's own stops in a matching finish. On a full-frame opening the casing is pulled and reset, and new stain-grade jamb extensions are finished to the existing color.
Are 1960s bedroom windows big enough for egress?
Casements usually are, because the whole sash opens. The high awning pairs often are not. When a bedroom window is replaced it has to keep the clear opening the code calls for, so we measure each one and tell you whether a casement in the same opening or a bigger unit is needed before anything is ordered.
Should 1960s windows be inserts or full-frame?
The frames in these houses are usually sound wood, so inserts work on most openings and keep the stained trim. The exceptions are the sills under awning stacks and the mull under the picture window, where water has been getting in; those go full-frame with a sill pan and flashing. We decide window by window at the in-home estimate.
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
Window Replacement for a 1950s Rambler — Picture Window to Bedrooms
A one-story house from the 1950s with original wood windows, aluminum storms and a big picture window facing the street. The windows follow a pattern, and so does the fix.
Read moreReplace Aluminum Windows With Vinyl — Old Sliders and Single-Hungs
The aluminum sliders in your 1960s or 70s house frost over in January, drip on the sill and rattle in the wind.
Read moreCasement Window Replacement — Crank-Out Windows Measured and Installed
The crank strips, the sash will not pull tight, frost builds on the glass edge. When the casement itself is done, we replace it and finish the trim.
Read moreLiving Room Window Replacement — Picture Unit, Flankers, View Glass
The front window is the one everybody sees from the street and the one you look through every evening: fogged, drafty, or just the wrong glass for a west-facing room.
Read more1940s House Window Replacement — Post-War Wood Sashes and Storms
A small house from the war years with wood sashes behind aluminum storms, odd window sizes, and plaster walls nobody wants opened up.
Read more1.5 Story Dormer Window Replacement — Upstairs Knee Wall Bedrooms
The upstairs windows in the dormers are drafty and hard to reach, and the bedrooms up there are the coldest rooms in the house.
Read morePage reviewed October 10, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All windows pages
Where we work
Window Replacement & Installation near you
Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: