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Transom Window Installation in the Twin Cities
Our Services

Transom Window Installation in the Twin Cities

Fixed and operable transom windows set above entry doors and large picture windows, custom-made and installed by one north-metro crew that never subcontracts.

Licensed & Insured · MN #BC773859

Free In-Home Estimates

4.5-Star Rating · 1,000+ Google Reviews

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Transom Window Installation Twin Cities | TWS Remodeling

You want a transom window set above your front door, or over a large picture window, and you want it done by a crew that will flash and seal the opening so it holds through a Minnesota winter. That's the job this page covers. TWS Remodeling installs transom windows as part of our window program: fixed units for daylight and operable units that tilt open for ventilation, each one custom-made to your opening and set by one employee crew, never a subcontractor. We have installed windows across the Twin Cities for 25 years, we are licensed in Minnesota under #BC773859, and we hold a 4.5-star rating across more than 1,000 Google reviews. TWS is locally and family owned and operated. Call (612) 445-4352 for a free on-site measurement.

Transom work is new-opening and full-frame window work, which is the model we run on every window job: we take the opening down to the rough framing, integrate the unit with the house wrap and flashing, and rebuild the trim. We don't swap interior doors or inserts into a transom that's falling apart, we build the opening correctly from the studs out. What drives the number is the size of the transom, whether the opening already exists or has to be cut above an existing door, the header and framing we find once the wall is open, and whether you want fixed glass or an operable unit. We won't quote a tight range sight unseen, because a half-round transom over a century-old Minneapolis entry and a straight transom over a 1990s builder door in Maple Grove are two different jobs. Every job is different, contact TWS Remodeling for an accurate estimate.

What Is a Transom Window?

A transom window is a window set in the wall directly above a door or another window, named for the horizontal beam, the transom, that separates the two. It sits above the head of the opening and carries daylight into the space behind it. In Twin Cities homes you'll see transoms most often above a front entry door, over a set of patio or French doors, or capping a large picture window to add height and light without widening the wall. Transoms come in a few shapes, and we build each one to the opening rather than forcing a stock size into it: - Straight (rectangular) transoms. The most common form, a clean horizontal unit above a standard door or picture window. - Half-round and arched transoms. A curved top that softens a traditional or craftsman entry. These almost always have to be custom-made, which is exactly the kind of opening a stock unit can't fill. - Segmented and multi-lite transoms. Divided glass for homes where the architecture calls for it. Whether a transom suits your entry comes down to the header height above the door and the wall you're working with. We check that on-site before we quote. Call (612) 445-4352 and we'll tell you honestly whether your opening has the room.

Transom Window Installation Above an Entry Door

A transom above an entry door is the install we're asked about most, and it's a true full-frame job. If the opening already has a transom that's failed, we take it back to the rough framing, confirm the header is sound, and set the new unit integrated with the house wrap and flashing. If the transom is brand new, cut above an existing door, that's a structural change: the header above the door has to be sized and framed to carry the load before any glass goes in, and we handle that framing ourselves rather than hand it to someone else.
"The transom is the one spot right above your front door, the wall takes the most weather there. If the head flashing isn't lapped into the house wrap correctly, that's where water tracks in. That detail is the whole job, and it's why we don't subcontract it."
Matching the transom to the door below it matters as much as the install itself. When we set a transom over an entry, we line up the glass style, the grille pattern, and the finish with the door and any sidelights so the opening reads as one unit instead of two parts that don't quite agree. If you're replacing the door at the same time, our entry door replacement page covers that side of the work, and we can do both openings on one visit with one accountable crew. Ready when you are. Call (612) 445-4352 or request a free on-site estimate and we'll show you the flashing detail before we talk price.

Fixed vs. Operable Transom Windows

The first decision on any transom is whether it opens. Both have a place, and the right one depends on what you want the window to do. Here's how we talk homeowners through it: - Fixed transoms are the default when the goal is light and height. With no operating hardware, there's less to maintain and one less seal to worry about through a Zone 6 winter. Most decorative transoms above an entry are fixed. - Operable transoms (awning or hopper style) open to release the warm air that collects near the ceiling, which can help a stuffy foyer or a room with high ceilings breathe in summer. They make the most sense where you'll actually reach and use them. - Glass and efficiency matter either way. We install units that meet Minnesota's energy code, and we spec the glass package to the exposure of the wall rather than ordering one package for the whole house.

When a transom isn't the right call

We won't talk you into a transom that doesn't fit your home. If there isn't enough header height above your door to carry a structural opening without major reframing, the cost and disruption often outweigh the light you'd gain, and a different lighting fix makes more sense. If your existing transom glass is only fogged from a failed seal and the frame and header are sound, that may be a repair rather than a full install, our window repair page covers when a repair is the smarter move. We'll give you that read at the consultation, before anything comes off the wall.

Why TWS for Transom Windows in the Twin Cities

Transom work lives or dies on two details that a phone-quote outfit skips: the header framing above the opening and the flashing at the head of the wall. Both are structural, both are exactly where our 25 years of setting windows a few minutes from Brooklyn Park pays off, and both are why we keep this work in-house. We also know the housing stock. Century-old entries in South Minneapolis and Northeast were often framed to the opening rather than to a modern chart, so a transom there is almost always a custom unit, the same way a stock door won't fit those walls. Newer builder construction along the Highway 610 corridor in Brooklyn Park and the developments in Maple Grove are more straightforward, square openings with sound headers. We tell you which situation you're in before we order anything.
"The installer who measures your opening is the TWS employee accountable when the first Minnesota January tests the flashing. That's the whole model, and it's why the head detail gets done right the first time."
TWS is locally and family owned and operated. For more on the full window program a transom is part of, see our window installation page or our guide to window styles for Minnesota homes. Prefer to talk it through? Call (612) 445-4352.

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