Window and siding replacement in Belleville
What the code and the permit desk actually require here — and what the houses in Belleville tend to be hiding behind the siding.
- People
- 41,370
- Homes
- 20,212
- Size
- 23.2 square miles
- From downtown
- About 14 miles southeast
- ZIP codes
- 62220, 62221, 62222, 62223, 62225, 62226
- Founded or incorporated
- 1819
Founded in 1814 and incorporated as a village in 1819, Belleville was heavily settled by German immigrants (an estimated 90% of the population was German-born or of German descent by 1870); their legacy includes 'German street house' row homes alongside later American Foursquare, Queen Anne and other Victorian-era construction concentrated in its historic districts.
Belleville
The housing here is a mix of pre-1940 housing (about 26% of homes, including German-built row houses) and mid-20th-century construction.
What that vintage turns up
Original single-pane aluminium and wood units, most of which have been replaced at least once by now — which means what you are usually looking at is a first-generation replacement window from the 1990s, not the original. Aluminium frames of this age conduct cold straight through and sweat in January, which is what people are describing when they say a room feels draughty in a house with no measurable draught.
Aluminium siding was the default for years and a lot of it is still up. It does not rot and it does not burn; what it does is chalk, so the factory finish oxidises to a powder that comes off on your hand, and it dents and never un-dents. The honest decision on aluminium in decent shape is repaint against replace, and repainting is often the right answer. Later in this window, hardboard and wood-composite lap started going up, and that material has a litigation history rather than a maintenance history.
The one to watch on a house of this age
Plywood and board sheathing under this vintage holds up better than the OSB that came later, which means rot found here is usually local to a flashing failure rather than general. Find the leak, not just the soft spot.
Lead paint. Likely on anything built before 1978, and the rule does not care how much paint there is. 55.3% of the homes in St. Clair County were built before 1980, and on anything pre-1978 the EPA renovation rule applies to both of these trades. Window replacement is never exempt from it, at any size — a single window triggers it. A whole-house re-side clears the twenty square foot exterior threshold on the first wall. What the rule actually requires of a contractor.
Historic districts
Belleville has 4: Belleville Historic District, Old Belleville Historic District, Hexenbuckel Historic District and Oakland Historic District. This matters more for windows than for almost any other kind of work. A visible change to a window on a designated property can need preservation review before a building permit will issue, and in the strictest districts in this metro the material the window is made of is written into the ordinance. Which local rules bite, and which are only advisory.
The rules in Belleville
Siding replacement Permit required
Rests on the city's published general rule, not on a siding-specific line. The Health, Housing & Building Department page states: 'Any improvements to private property within the corporate city limits of Belleville will require appropriate permits' and 'The fees for the permits vary as to the size and scope of the project.' Belleville City Code Chapter 150 (Building Code; Building Regulations) contains NO list of work exempt from permit at all - the chapter runs 150.01 Adoption, 150.02 Definitions, 150.03 Amendments, 150.15-150.19 Building Official, 150.30-150.38 Conditions/Permits/Fees, 150.99 Penalty - so re-siding is not listed among exempt work anywhere. Belleville's 150.03 amendments delete only the Electric Wiring, Plumbing Systems and Signs articles and modify 112.5 and 3.295; they do not create a permit-exemption list.
Window replacement, same opening Permit required Enlarging or cutting an opening Permit required
Windows are named explicitly in the fee schedule: City Code Sec. 150.38 (Permit tables) includes the line 'Individual residential building (sheds, windows, doors): $45 minimum' (commercial equivalent $75 minimum). That establishes that a window permit exists and is charged. The city does not publish any distinction between replacement in the same opening and enlarging or cutting a new opening; both fall under the same general rule ('Any improvements to private property.
Illinois sets this, not Belleville — and we are not going to print a number we have not read
This is set in Springfield, not here. The Illinois Energy Conservation Code is adopted statewide by the Capital Development Board, and under the Energy Efficient Building Act no unit of local government — home rule or not — may regulate residential energy standards either more or less strictly than the state does. The Board adopted the 2024 edition, in force since 30 November 2025. It reaches alteration, renovation and repair work for which the municipality or county requires a building permit, limited to the part of the house being modified, and there is no Illinois exemption for replacement windows as such.
The unamended 2024 code figure for this climate zone is U-0.28. But Illinois publishes its own amendments to that code, it has amended that very table before, and we have not been able to open the current amendment document. So we are not going to state U-0.28 as the number enforced here. Buy to the ENERGY STAR figure below and the question does not arise; if you need the exact legal minimum, the Capital Development Board’s energy code office is on 217-685-4079.
For comparison, ENERGY STAR asks for U-0.25 or lower with an SHGC of 0.40 or lower everywhere in this metro, which is stricter than every code edition in force here. And the code only bites when the sash and the glazing are replaced together — replace the glass alone in an existing sash, or add a storm window over the top, and it does not apply.
Contractor registration Yes
Belleville City Code Sec. 150.36 (Registration): 'No person, partnership, firm or corporation shall engage in the business of a building contractor in the city without first registering his or her name, residence and place of business with the Building Official along with the telephone number of said business.' Sec. 150.35 defines building contractor as 'any person, partnership, firm or corporation who engages in the business of construction, alteration, addition, repair, removal, demolition or maintenance of buildings or structures' - which plainly reaches siding and window contractors. NO registration fee, bond amount, or insurance/certificate requirement is stated in Sec. 150.36; the code text imposes registration only. The department page separately mentions it maintains 'lists of approved Electrical Contractors.'.
What the permit costs
Sec. 150.38 permit tables: 'Individual residential building (sheds, windows, doors): $45 minimum.' Sec. 150.32: building permit fees 'shall be computed based on the total gross floor area (square footage)' using the Sec. 150.38 tables (Permit Fee = Gross Area x Gross Area Modifier x Type of Construction x Permit Fee Multiplier); home remodel permit up to 200 sq ft $45; residential addition up to 400 sq ft $75; additional inspections $75 each; demolition $50 with a $1,000-$5,000 bond; unpermitted work charged double.
Local quirks
No published exempt-work list of any kind, so nothing is carved out for re-siding, re-roofing or windows. Doubled fee for work started without a permit. Contractor registration is a bare filing with the Building Official - no fee, bond or insurance published, which is weaker than a typical Illinois bonded-registration scheme.
Who to call
- Building dept
- 618-233-6817
- Official
- Steven Thouvenot, Building Commissioner (618-233-6518 x4265). Also: Scott Tyler, Director of Health, Housing & Building (618-233-6518 x4240); James Broussard, Assistant Building Commissioner (618-233-6518 x4219).
- Permits
- Department page
How Belleville compares with the rest of St. Clair County
Same county, same climate, same houses. Not the same rules.
| Place | Permit to re-side | Permit for a window | Window must meet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belleville | Yes | Yes | — |
| Fairview Heights | Yes | Yes | — |
| O'Fallon | Not published | Not published | — |
| Swansea | No | No | — |
Work we have done in Belleville
Not yet — Belleville is on our list rather than in our records. We will say so until that changes.
Where these facts came from
Everything on this page about Belleville was read off a published source. Where a question has no published answer we have said so rather than filling the gap.
Sources: belleville.net · belleville.net · codelibrary.amlegal.com · codelibrary.amlegal.com · codelibrary.amlegal.com · codelibrary.amlegal.com · codelibrary.amlegal.com · codelibrary.amlegal.com · codelibrary.amlegal.com · cdb.illinois.gov · cdb.illinois.gov · cdb.illinois.gov · regulations.justia.com · regulations.justia.com · law.justia.com · law.cornell.edu · energysense.uillinois.edu
Work coming up in Belleville?
We will tell you what the rules here are, including when they work in your favour.
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