Replace High Horizontal Windows — Ribbon Window Bands Done Together
Your bedrooms have a row of short windows up by the ceiling. They are drafty, the sliders stick, and you are wondering whether to keep them that size or make them bigger.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
To replace high horizontal windows, the short strips set up near the ceiling in rambler bedrooms and contemporary homes, JMB Builders measures every band in person, orders them as one package so frame color and glass match, and installs room by room. Each band can stay the same size or be lowered into a taller window. Twin Cities metro, priced per window. Send photos for a reply within one business day, or book a free in-home estimate.
- Priced per window, line by line on the quote
- Every band measured in person before ordering
- Same size, or lowered into a taller opening
Ribbon windows are the short, wide windows set high in a wall, often two or three side by side in one band. Ramblers from the 1950s and 60s put them in bedrooms so a bed or dresser fits under them. 1970s and 80s contemporaries used them as a strip along a vaulted or flat-roof wall. Most are small sliders or awnings in aluminum or wood, and most of them are tired: the tracks drag, the latches do not pull tight and the frames sweat in January.
The real question on these is size, and it gets settled at the measure, before anything is ordered. Same size is the simple job: the new units go into the old openings and the trim goes back. Lowering the sill makes a taller window with more light and, in a bedroom, can be sized to meet egress. That means cutting the wall down below the band, patching the siding and drywall under it, and pulling a permit when the city requires one. Widening the band is a bigger job, with a new header sized to code, or by an engineer when the span calls for it.
A house with ribbon windows usually has several bands, so the job runs like any whole-house window project. Every band is measured once, the order goes in as one package so the frame color and glass match room to room, and the install goes one room at a time so no room is open overnight. The quote lists each window as its own line, so you can do the bedrooms this year and the rest later if you need to.
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 band inside and out, with the bed or furniture under it
- A decision before ordering: same size, lowered or widened, room by room
- Your frame color, glass and operation choices (slider, awning, casement or fixed)
- Beds and dressers pulled away from the wall on install day, or help us plan around them
What JMB supplies
- One in-person measure of every band before anything is ordered
- One order for the whole house so color and glass match
- A line-item quote by window, easy to compare or split into phases
- Old units out, new units set on a sill pan, flashed, foamed and sealed
- Siding and drywall patched below a lowered opening; permit pulled when the city requires one
- Floor and furniture protection, and each room closed up before the crew leaves
- Interior casing reset or new; painting quoted as a separate line, or paint it yourself
- Haul-away of the old windows and finished photos 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:
- Number of bands and windows in each band
- Same size vs. lowered or widened openings
- Operation: slider, awning, casement or fixed glass
- Siding type outside where an opening is cut down (vinyl, wood, stucco, brick)
- Interior trim reset vs. new jamb extensions and casing
- Height of the band and access outside on walkout or sloped lots
- Brand and line chosen; the lead time depends on the brand and is written on the quote
Send one photo per band from inside and outside, and tell us which bedrooms you might enlarge. We reply within one business day.
How long it takes
Same-size bands: several per day once the windows arrive. A lowered or widened opening adds about a day each for framing and patching. Lead time depends on the brand and is written on the quote.
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
Same size, new units
The fastest version. New sliders, awnings or casements go into the existing openings, trim goes back, and the rooms keep the same wall space for furniture.
Lowered for light or egress
The sill comes down so the window gets taller. In a bedroom it can be sized to meet egress. Siding and drywall are patched below and a permit is pulled when the city requires one.
Widened band
The opening gets wider across the wall. That needs a new header, sized to code or by an engineer when the span calls for it, and more siding and drywall work.
Phased by room
Each window is its own line, so the bedrooms can go first and the rest of the bands later, ordered to the same color and glass.
Replace High Horizontal Windows — Ribbon Window Bands Done Together: questions, answered
What are ribbon windows?
Ribbon windows are short, wide windows set high in a wall, often several side by side in one band. Ramblers used them in bedrooms so furniture fits underneath, and contemporary homes used them as a strip of light along a tall wall. Most original ones are aluminum or wood sliders or awnings.
Can high bedroom windows in a rambler be made bigger?
Usually, yes. The common change is lowering the sill so the window gets taller, which can also be sized to meet bedroom egress. The wall below is cut down, a new window goes in, and the siding and drywall are patched. A permit is pulled when the city requires one.
Should I replace all my ribbon windows at once?
Measuring and ordering them at once is what keeps the color and glass matching from room to room. The install can still be phased. Every window is its own line on the quote, so you can do some bands now and the rest later from the same order details.
What kind of window goes in a high horizontal opening?
Sliders, awnings and casements all fit short wide openings, and fixed glass works where you only want light. Awnings vent in rain and are easy to reach with a crank. Sliders are the most common replacement for the original style. The choice is made at the measure, band by band.
Do I need to move the bed to replace a high bedroom window?
The bed or dresser under the window needs to be pulled a few feet off the wall so the crew can work from a ladder inside. We help move what is heavy, cover the floor and what stays in the room, and close each room up before we leave it.
How long do replacement ribbon windows take to arrive?
It depends on the brand and line you choose, and the lead time is written on the quote. Nothing is ordered until every band has been measured in person and you have settled the size of each opening.
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 9, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All windows pages
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