Kitchen Window Replacement — Over-Sink Reach, Casement or Slider
The window over your sink is foggy, stuck or leaking at the sill, and whatever replaces it has to open from behind the counter and meet the tile cleanly.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
Kitchen window replacement is mostly about the window over the sink: it sits behind a counter, so it has to open and lock from a reach. JMB Builders replaces kitchen windows across the Twin Cities metro, casement, slider or awning, set as inserts or full-frame, with the stool and apron tied into the backsplash and counter. Priced per window, quoted from photos or at a free in-home estimate, with a reply within one business day.
- Priced per window, windows supplied or yours
- Casement, slider or awning picked for the reach
- Sill and apron tied into the backsplash
A kitchen window takes more abuse than any other window in the house. Steam from the sink and stove hits it every day, water splashes the stool, and the sash gets opened and shut with wet hands. Fogged glass between the panes, a swollen or black stool, and a sash that will not latch are the usual reasons the call comes in.
The reach is the first thing we settle. A double hung over a deep counter means leaning across the sink and lifting a sash at arm's length. A casement cranks open from the bottom corner, a slider pushes sideways with one hand, an awning tilts out with a short crank and sheds rain while it vents. Which one fits depends on the counter depth, how wide the opening is and whether a faucet or a pot filler sits in the way of a crank handle.
The second thing is the tie-in. Most kitchen windows meet a tile or stone backsplash, and sometimes the counter runs right into the opening. On an insert the existing stool stays and only the stops change. On a full-frame install the old stool comes out, and the new one is cut to sit on the backsplash with a clean caulk joint. Painting is quoted as a separate line — or leave it primed and caulked and paint 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 (casement, slider, awning or double hung), color and glass
- Whether the stool stays wood, goes to a PVC or stone sill, or gets tiled
- Photos from inside with the counter in the shot, from outside, and a close-up of the stool
- Your paint or stain color if you want us to finish the new trim
What JMB supplies
- In-home measure of the opening and the counter depth before anything is ordered
- The window, ordered to size, or installation of a window you bought
- Old sash, frame or whole unit removed and hauled away
- Rot repair at the stool and sill framing when the old unit comes out (quoted from the photos)
- Sill pan, flashing and low-expansion foam on full-frame installs
- New stool and apron cut to the backsplash, with a caulk joint that can be wiped down
- Exterior capping or trim to finish the outside
- Photos of the finished window 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 the old frame vs. full-frame with the stool and apron replaced
- Casement or awning hardware vs. a slider or double hung
- A stool that has to be cut around tile, stone or a counter edge
- Rot in the sill framing under a stool that has been wet for years
- Changing the opening size to fit a wider window over the sink
- Glass package, grilles and exterior color
Send one photo standing at the sink with the counter and window in frame, one from outside and one close-up of the stool where it meets the backsplash.
How long it takes
One kitchen window as an insert: a morning. Full-frame with a new stool cut to the backsplash: most of a day. The kitchen is back in use the same evening.
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
Casement over the sink
One crank at the bottom corner opens the whole sash, so it works from a reach across a deep counter. The screen sits inside. Pick the hinge side so the open sash does not swing into a faucet or a corner cabinet.
Slider over the sink
Opens with one hand pushing sideways, no crank to bump. A good fit for wide, short openings over a long counter. The screen is outside, so bugs stay off the sill.
Awning over the sink
Hinged at the top, it tilts out a few inches and vents even when it rains. Common under a fixed unit on a tall opening. The crank is short and sits low where you can reach it.
Kitchen window in a stained kitchen
Where the cabinets and casing are stained oak or maple, the new window gets stain-grade jamb extensions and a matched stool, or a stone or PVC stool with stained casing above it.
Kitchen Window Replacement — Over-Sink Reach, Casement or Slider: questions, answered
What kind of window works best over a kitchen sink?
A casement or a slider, in most kitchens. A casement opens fully with one crank at the bottom corner and seals tight when it is cranked shut. A slider needs no crank and opens with a push, which suits a wide, short opening. A double hung is the hardest to work from behind a counter because you have to lift a sash at arm's length. An awning is the pick when you want to vent in the rain.
Can you replace a kitchen window without damaging the tile backsplash?
Yes, on an insert install. The new window sets inside the old frame, the stool and the tile below it are not touched, and only the interior stops change. On a full-frame install the old stool comes out and the new one is cut to sit on the tile with a caulk joint. The tile itself stays unless the opening is being resized.
Why does the wood sill behind my sink keep getting black and soft?
Water from the sink and condensation off the glass sit on the stool, and a wood stool with paint worn through soaks it up. If the sill framing under it is still sound, the stool is replaced along with the window. If the framing is soft, that is repaired when the old unit is out, before the new window goes in. A PVC or stone stool stops it from happening again.
Can I make the window over my sink bigger when I replace it?
Often, yes. Going wider means a new header and moving the king and jack studs, which is framing work done from inside with the siding opened up around the window. Going taller is limited by the counter below and the cabinets or soffit above. We look at the wall at the in-home estimate and tell you what the opening can take.
Should the kitchen window match the other windows in the house?
From outside, yes: same color, same grille pattern, same exterior profile, or the front of the house looks patched. Inside, the style can differ. Many houses have double hungs everywhere and a casement or slider over the sink only, because that is the one window nobody can reach.
Do you install kitchen windows I bought myself?
Yes. Send a photo of the label or the order sheet with your opening photos and we check the size and the hinge side before you commit. We supply the sill pan, flashing, foam, stool and trim and install the unit you bought, priced per window.
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.
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Read morePage reviewed October 10, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All windows pages
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