Window and siding replacement in University City
What the code and the permit desk actually require here — and what the houses in University City tend to be hiding behind the siding.
- People
- 35,065
- Homes
- 18,019
- Size
- 5.88 square miles
- From downtown
- About 6 miles west
- Founded or incorporated
- 1906
Incorporated in 1906 by Edward Gardner Lewis. The Delmar Loop–Parkview Gardens Historic District (NRHP-listed 1984) covers 84 acres and 289 contributing buildings, construction of which began in 1911 in Bungalow/Craftsman, Tudor Revival, and Georgian Revival styles.
University City
Median house/condo built is 1945; the city's population peaked at 51,249 in 1960 and declined afterward. Its southern half retains streetcar-suburb-era architecture from the early 20th century along Delmar Boulevard, while post-wwii development dominates the northern sections.
What that vintage turns up
The original units are single-pane — wood double-hungs on the frame houses, and steel casements on a good number of the brick ones. Steel casements rust along the bottom of the sash and frame first, the exterior putty fails, and the sash goes out of true until there is a visible gap along the closing edge. They are worth knowing about because they are a real decision rather than an obvious one: the National Park Service documented a job repairing sixty-five of them at roughly $360 a window, which was about what replacing them would have cost, and the replacements could not match the narrow original sightlines and cut the glass area by a fifth.
This is asbestos-cement shingle country. The grey or pastel shingles with the wavy bottom edge on so many houses of this age are a Category II non-friable asbestos material, and they are perfectly inert until somebody breaks, saws, sands or power-washes them, at which point the work practice itself is what makes them regulated. Missouri exempts a single house of four units or fewer from the inspection and notification requirements, which makes the paperwork disappear and does nothing at all to the material. Get it tested before anyone touches it.
The one to watch on a house of this age
Low-slope porch roofs tying into a wall are the classic leak on this vintage, and the tie-in is exactly where a kickout flashing belongs and usually is not. Whatever is going on behind that wall has been going on for a while.
Lead paint. Near certain. These houses predate 1978 by a wide margin. 69.2% of the homes in St. Louis 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 Delmar Loop.
Historic districts
University City has 1: Delmar Loop–Parkview Gardens 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.
Next door
University City shares a boundary with St. Louis City, Olivette, Ladue and Northmoor. Where we have a page for a neighbour it is linked; where we do not, the rules there are still different from the rules here.
The rules in University City
Siding replacement Conditional
University City Building Code Section 105.2 (Work exempt from permit) - which Section 500.030 makes the operative exempt-work list for residential work too ('University City Building Code Section 105.2 shall define work exempt from permit') - expressly lists: 'Siding, exterior, new pre-finished metal or vinyl installed over existing walls, soffits, fascia boards and overhangs, with no change to the size or location of existing wall openings.' Re-siding is therefore listed among exempt work, but on three conditions: the material must be pre-finished metal or vinyl, it must be installed over the existing walls (not a tear-off and rebuild), and existing wall openings must be unchanged in size and location. Fiber-cement, wood, stucco and other materials are not covered by the exemption as written, nor is a re-side that involves removing the existing wall covering.
Window replacement, same opening Permit required Enlarging or cutting an opening Permit required
University City is unusually explicit and goes the opposite way from its siding rule: the code provides that 'The addition, removal, or change-out of any type of glazing in the thermal envelope of a building,' including skylights, requires a permit under Section 105.1. A like-for-like insert or pocket window replacement is a change-out of glazing in the thermal envelope and therefore requires a permit even though the opening is unchanged. Enlarging an opening or cutting a new one is squarely covered as well. The only related exemption is 'Storm windows or storm doors installation with no modifications to the size or location of the wall openings.'.
A replacement window here has to be U-0.32 or lower
City Code Section 500.210 (Chapter 500, Article VII, Energy Conservation Code): 'The International Energy Conservation Code, 2018 Edition, as published by the International Code Council, Inc.,. Paired with the 2018 IRC at Section 500.030 ('The International Residential Code, 2018 Edition, including Appendixes E, F, H, J, K, M, N, O, Q, R, S and T.
That figure comes from the 2018 edition this jurisdiction has adopted.
A window fitted here must also carry an SHGC of 0.40 or lower.
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
City Code Section 190 of the adopted building code: 'Anyone performing work in the scope of this code is required to be registered as a contractor with the City of University City.' Registration runs one year with annual renewal. The Building Commissioner may suspend or revoke a registration for fraud, code violations or unsafe conditions. This reaches a siding or window contractor directly, since that work is within the scope of the code. No registration fee amount, bond amount or insurance limit was found in the accessible sections.
What the permit costs
Section 109 of the adopted building code: a $35.00 application fee; permit fee scaled to construction cost - construction cost under $1,400 is $35, and $1,400-$4,999 is charged at $25 per $1,000. A surcharge of up to $1,000 applies to work started without a permit.
Local quirks
The most explicit and the most counterintuitive pairing in this metro: University City expressly exempts pre-finished metal or vinyl siding installed over existing walls, while expressly requiring a permit for 'the addition, removal, or change-out of any type of glazing in the thermal envelope' - i.e. a like-for-like window swap needs a permit but a vinyl re-side does not. The glazing rule is written in thermal-envelope terms, which ties it to the 2018 IECC rather than to structural concerns. Note also that the siding exemption is material-limited: a fiber-cement re-side is not inside the exemption as drafted. Contractor registration is required of 'anyone performing work in the scope of this code,' which is broader than the trade-specific licensing schemes elsewhere in the county.
Who to call
- Official
- Not published. Any site printing a name here is guessing.
- Permits
- Department page
How University City compares with the rest of St. Louis County
Same county, same climate, same houses. Not the same rules.
| Place | Permit to re-side | Permit for a window | Window must meet |
|---|---|---|---|
| University City | Depends | Yes | U-0.32 |
| Affton | Depends | Depends | U-0.34 |
| Ballwin | Yes | Yes | — |
| Brentwood | Yes | Not published | U-0.28 |
| Chesterfield | Depends | Depends | U-0.34 |
| Clayton | Yes | Yes | U-0.30 |
| Creve Coeur | Not published | No | U-0.35 |
| Des Peres | Yes | Yes | U-0.32 |
| Ellisville | Not published | Not published | — |
| Eureka | Depends | Depends | — |
| Florissant | Depends | Yes | U-0.30 |
| Kirkwood | Not published | Not published | U-0.30 |
| Manchester | Depends | Depends | U-0.34 |
| Maryland Heights | Not published | Yes | U-0.35 |
| Mehlville | Depends | Depends | U-0.34 |
| Oakville | Depends | Depends | U-0.34 |
| Richmond Heights | Not published | Not published | U-0.28 |
| Town and Country | Depends | No | — |
| Unincorporated St. Louis County | Depends | Depends | U-0.34 |
| Webster Groves | Yes | Yes | U-0.35 |
| Wildwood | Depends | Depends | U-0.34 |
Work we have done in University City
No completed job in University City on the books. Every other page on this site is sourced, so this one stays honest too.
Where these facts came from
Everything on this page about University City was read off a published source. Where a question has no published answer we have said so rather than filling the gap.
Sources: ecode360.com · ecode360.com · ecode360.com
Thinking about it in University City?
A measurement and a written scope costs you nothing and takes about an hour.
Tell us about the house
We answer the phone. If we miss you, we call back.