Mudroom Window Replacement — Back Entry Window Beside the Door
The window by the back door takes slush off the boots, salt off the dog and a slam every time someone comes in, and the sill has given up.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
Mudroom window replacement is the window beside the back or garage entry, next to a door that slams and a floor that is wet half the year. JMB Builders replaces mudroom windows across the Twin Cities metro, tempered where the code requires it near the door, with a stool that takes slush and salt, matched to a new back door. Priced per window, quoted from photos or at a free in-home estimate, with a reply within one business day.
- Priced per window, often paired with the back door
- Tempered glass where the code requires it near a door
- PVC or clad stool for wet boots and salt
The mudroom window is the hardest-used small window in a Minnesota house. It sits at the back or garage entry where boots, bags and the dog come in, so the stool gets wet every day from November to April and salt gets ground into the paint. The door beside it slams a dozen times a day, which loosens an old sash and cracks the caulk. On many houses the window is a single pane or a cheap builder-grade slider that frosts over inside.
Two things make this window different from the others. First, its position: a window within reach of a door swing, or with a sill low to the floor, needs tempered glass where the code requires it, and we check that before ordering. Second, the water: a wood stool at boot height in a mudroom rots, so the replacement gets a PVC or clad stool and apron that wipe clean.
If the back door is being replaced at the same time, the window is ordered to match it in color and grille pattern so the entry reads as one piece from the driveway. 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 (slider, casement, awning or fixed), exterior color and glass
- Whether the stool and casing go PVC or wood to match the house
- Whether the back door is being replaced too, so the two are ordered to match
- Photos of the window with the door in frame from inside and outside, and a close-up of the stool
What JMB supplies
- In-home measure of the opening, and a check of the glass rules near the door and at the sill height
- The window, ordered to size, tempered where required
- Old unit out and hauled away
- Rot repair at the stool and sill framing (quoted from photos)
- Sill pan, flashing and low-expansion foam on full-frame installs
- PVC or wood stool, apron and casing finished to the mudroom's bench or wainscot
- Exterior capping or trim matched to the entry door trim
- 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:
- Tempered glass where the position next to the door or a low sill requires it
- Insert in a sound frame vs. full-frame with the stool and framing replaced
- PVC trim vs. wood matched to a mudroom bench, lockers or wainscot
- Rot in the sill framing from years of wet boots
- Done alone vs. with the back door, laundry or bathroom windows in the same visit
- Exterior color and grilles matched to the door
Send a photo from inside with the door and window both in frame, one from outside, and one close-up of the stool. Say whether the door is being replaced.
How long it takes
One mudroom window: two to three hours as an insert, a half day full-frame. Add the back door and it is a one-day entry package.
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
Window beside the back door
Within reach of the door swing, so the glass is tempered where the code requires it. Ordered in the same color and grille as the door, with casing that lines up with the door casing inside.
Window over a mudroom bench
A low window above a built-in bench or lockers. The stool is set so the bench back or hooks fit under it, and the apron is skipped or shortened where the bench meets the wall.
Garage entry window
The window in the hall between the garage and the kitchen. Usually a small slider or fixed unit; replaced with a sealed unit so garage air and cold stop coming through the loose old sash.
Door and window together
The back door and the mudroom window ordered as a matched pair, set the same day, with one run of exterior trim or capping across both. The entry reads as one piece from the driveway.
Mudroom Window Replacement — Back Entry Window Beside the Door: questions, answered
Does a mudroom window next to the back door need tempered glass?
Often, yes. Glass within a set distance of a door, or with its bottom edge close to the floor, has to be tempered where the code requires it. The distances are set by the code and we measure your opening against them at the estimate. When it applies, the unit is ordered with tempered glass and it is marked in the corner of the pane.
What stool holds up in a mudroom with wet boots and salt?
Cellular PVC, or a clad stool that comes with the window. Both wipe clean, do not swell and do not blacken. A wood stool works if it is well sealed and the boots stay on a mat, but in most mudrooms the wood stool is what rotted, so we do not put another one back.
Should the mudroom window match the back door?
From outside, yes. The door and the window beside it are the first things seen from the driveway, and they should share the exterior color and grille pattern. If the door is being replaced too, both are ordered at once so the colors are from the same supplier's chart and the trim runs across both.
Can the mudroom window be done when the back door is replaced?
Yes, and that is the easiest way. The old door and window come out the same morning, the openings are flashed together, and one run of exterior trim covers both. Doing them in one trip costs less than two visits, and the entry is finished all at once.
Why does my mudroom window frost over inside in winter?
Wet boots, coats and the dog put a lot of moisture into a small room, the door opens and shuts all day, and the old glass is cold enough to freeze that moisture. Insulated glass with a warm-edge spacer stays warm enough not to frost in a normal mudroom. If it still does, the room needs air moving through it, not a different window.
Can a mudroom window be made bigger for more light at the back entry?
Usually, yes. Mudroom windows are often small because the builder put the smallest unit there. Going wider means a new header and jack studs, and going lower means tempered glass where the code requires it near the floor. We look at the wall and the door framing at the estimate and tell you what the opening can take.
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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