Need New Windows? Prepare To Wait

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Delays are making it extremely difficult to make changes to your home, especially if you need new windows.

One local contractor says it used to take between four and six weeks for a new window to show up at your door. But these days, it takes anywhere between 24 and 32 weeks, leaving homeowners with few options.

Replacing a wall of windows damaged in a 2020 storm was supposed to be a simple project. But Chanhassen homeowner Matt Batinich will tell you it was just the opposite.

"Every three or four weeks we we'd find out there was a window on backorder," said Batinich. "And then they finally started kicking it out months."

Batinich's general contractor is Emma White, owner of Mission Contracting.

"It's the middle of January and we were hoping to have these in August," White said.

She says some orders are taking an extra six months right now.

"It's every single week. We basically get a list from the window manufacturer every week saying these are the addresses that will receive some windows. We don't know how many," White said.

And it's not just an inconvenience. White tells us people are delaying their closings, and in some cases people are re-designing their homes around the windows they can get.

"Those things aren't simple things to do, and when you have to have windows and there's nowhere you can go to get them, it's a very unique issue," she said.

This issue sprouted in the spring, but is continues to grind on with persisting labor crunches, as companies scramble to honor orders locked in at certain prices.

"Normally when you've got a shortage of labor you increase your prices and you pay your people more," White said. "They quoted these six months ago. They can't afford to pay their people more, so it's just a wait it out."

She expects prices to go up soon, but one hack for homeowners is to try and find overstock windows at local warehouses. Some openings on existing homes can be adjusted. But a word to the wise?

"If you've got a window project you can wait on, maybe wait on it," White said.

Andersen Windows, which is based in Minnesota, tells WCCO raw material shortages, transportation issues and labor constraints are all leading to extended lead times for select products. Below is the company's full statement:

Over the past 18 months, homeowners across the country have made investing in their homes a priority, resulting in high levels of demand for building materials, including windows and doors. As building materials companies continue to ramp up production to help homeowners make their dreams a reality, the industry is facing many of the same global supply chain issues that are impacting virtually all industries (i.e., raw material shortages, congestion across the global transportation system and labor constraints). This is not unique to the window and door industry, but is resulting in extended lead times for select products.