Window and siding replacement in Granite City
What the code and the permit desk actually require here — and what the houses in Granite City tend to be hiding behind the siding.
- People
- 27,549
- Homes
- 13,130
- Size
- 20.58 square miles
- From downtown
- About 6 miles north
- ZIP codes
- 62040
- Founded or incorporated
- 1896
A "massive flood" in 1903 covered all of West Granite while the rest of the city stayed relatively dry; the city was protected from the 1993 Great Flood by its levee system. Could not confirm formal NRHP/local historic-district status for Lincoln Place or Wilson Park despite their age.
Granite City
Housing includes an early-1900s steel-industry-era layer in neighborhoods like Wilson Park ("turn-of-the-20th-century" homes) and Lincoln Place (first populated around 1906 by immigrant steelworkers, once called "Hungary Hollow"), plus later 20th-century construction; median home age is about 61 years.
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. 62.2% of the homes in Madison 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.
Neighbourhoods
We work across Downtown, East Granite, West Granite, North Granite, Nameoki Strip, Bellemore, Wilson Park, Lincoln Place and Granite Park.
The rules in Granite City
Siding replacement Conditional
Granite City works off a money threshold rather than an exempt list: “A permit is required upon any building repair or series of repairs, costing over eight hundred dollars,” and the ordinance names general construction expressly. A re-side clears $800; a single patched section might not.
Window replacement, same opening Conditional Enlarging or cutting an opening Permit required
The same $800 threshold applies, and plan review is required for construction work generally.
There is no legal efficiency requirement for a window in Granite City
Granite City adopts no energy code of its own.
Which does not make it a good idea to buy the cheapest glass available. It means nobody is going to stop you. ENERGY STAR asks for U-0.25 or lower here and that is the number worth buying to, code or no code.
Contractor registration Depends
Not a licence, but a hard insurance condition on the permit. The building and zoning administrator “shall deny a building permit… for general construction, building repair, roofing, and razing, where the contractor fails to keep current at least one million dollars in comprehensive general liability insurance coverage” from an Illinois-licensed insurer. A permit already issued can be revoked and a stop order issued.
What the permit costs
$50 plus $4.00 per $1,000 of value over $3,000. Residential plan review is $100.
Local quirks
Contractor business licence for general contractors is the strongest published Illinois-side differentiator in this metro after Belleville.
Who to call
- Building dept
- 618-452-6218
- Official
- Greg Koberna, Building & Zoning Administrator (618-452-6218)
- Permits
- Department page
How Granite City compares with the rest of Madison County
Same county, same climate, same houses. Not the same rules.
| Place | Permit to re-side | Permit for a window | Window must meet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granite City | Depends | Depends | — |
| Alton | Yes | Yes | — |
| Collinsville | Yes | Depends | — |
| Edwardsville | Yes | Yes | — |
| Glen Carbon | Not published | Not published | — |
Work we have done in Granite City
None logged in Granite City yet. When there is one it goes here, with the address block and what was actually done to it. An empty section is better than a number you cannot check.
Where these facts came from
Everything on this page about Granite City was read off a published source. Where a question has no published answer we have said so rather than filling the gap.
Sources: library.municode.com · granitecity.illinois.gov · granitecity.illinois.gov · granitecity.illinois.gov · granitecity.illinois.gov · granitecity.illinois.gov · library.municode.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
Windows or siding in Granite City?
Tell us the address. We look up what the city requires before we work out a price.
Tell us about the house
We answer the phone. If we miss you, we call back.