Hayes Window expands into new location, offers storm windows

Lost your storm windows over the years? Have windows you can’t open anymore because they were painted shut? Does the glass rattle in the wind?
These problems don’t mean that you need to replace the windows with new ones that are only guaranteed to last 20 years. Instead, Longfellow-based Hayes Window Restoration can solve the problems and give the windows new life.
The business has recently moved off Hiawatha Ave. to 2508 24th Ave. S, which gives it more space to expand the storm window line.
The window plus storm window combination was the original double-pane window, pointed out Joe Hayes. The issues that plague new double-pane windows (broken panes and seals that lead to interior fogginess) aren’t found with the window/storm window combination. Plus, they have enough air moving through them thanks to weep holes to avoid condensation and rot.
This style of window can be a key architectural feature of older homes, he observed. They safeguard the primary windows by extending the maintenance cycle, reducing the need for frequent upkeep. Unfortunately, many people have misplaced their storm windows over the years.
New wood grown in 10-20 years is prone to rot in 10-20 years. It is comparatively softer and weaker, and less dense. Old growth lumber that grew slowly over hundreds of years has a tighter grain and resin that resists decay.
Hayes didn’t want to jump into the storm window business and offer another product with a low service life. As he researched options, he found Accoya modified wood, a sustainably harvested timber with a 50-year warranty based in the Netherlands. This wood undergoes a non-toxic process, resulting in exceptional resistance to rot, and superior dimensional stability. Essentially, the soft wood is pickled – it is treated with a vinegar (acetic anhydride), which turns it into a hardwood by preventing the cells in the wood from being able to absorb water. This stops the wood from expanding and contracting seasonally. “As a small company, it took a pretty long time to get an order in,” said Hayes. The wood comes from Chicago.
The wood storm windows and screens have traditional mortise and tenon joinery, ensuring longevity and durability, and authentic putty glazing for a traditional aesthetic. Pick from customizable colors and divided-lite configurations.
Those who dread carrying the entire storm window down the stairs are glad to learn they can swap out the screen for the glass pane or vice versa at the turn of a button.
Southwest Minneapolis resident Ann Erickson is a float tech at Hayes Window, and helps manage the glass they buy by the pallet from Minneapolis Glass. She pointed out that many storm windows are caulked and screwed in place, which makes it challenging to perform maintenance as well as trap moisture. She installs sill bulbs and turn buttons to help solve those issue on the windows restored at Hayes Window.

STEADY GROWTH AT HAYES
Hayes Window Restoration officially began with one staff member, Joe Hayes. He had restored the windows in his South Minneapolis bungalow and discovered a passion for the work. He left his teaching career and started a new business in the summer of 2017.
A feature story in the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger just as COVID-19 struck in March 2020 led to enough calls to keep him busy through the transitional months of the pandemic. Since, the business has grown from seven crew members to 20.
Leah Gossman has been the office coordinator at Hayes Window since 2020. The Hayes team is a 50/50 split of men and women. “It feels a lot different than what people tend to think of as construction,” said Gossman. “It’s a breath of fresh air.”
The office area inside 4439 Hiawatha Ave. (where they had been in since 2019) turned into storage as the new storm window line grew. “We were climbing around windows,” said Hayes. “We truly had outgrown the space.” It was time to find a larger location.
(Building owner Reddy Rents plans to expand into that area.)
Hayes Window moved into a much larger building at 2508 24th Ave. S. in July 2024 that they found with the help of Merrie Sjogren of ASSEMBLY MN. Built in the mid 1960s, it previously housed a furniture store, a dry cleaner and even an illegal night club for a few eventful evenings.
Hayes is glad that they located a site in the greater Longfellow neighborhood. “We feel really lucky to have found a spot that is central to the neighborhoods we work in,” he said.
The new building allows for separate bays for different types of work. Plus, there is a breakroom that is large enough for staff meetings.
Like others there, woodworker Bill Dossett has a passion for old homes. He owns an old Victorian along Bryant Ave. in the Wedge neighborhood and his parents had an old house. He said the dust collection system in the new building is an upgrade that has made a big difference for workers. He’s also glad to have a room just for planing.
There’s a containment room with HEPA filters for lead paint striping. Homes built before 1978 are likely to have lead-based paint, and the safety protocol at Hayes Windows is to operate as though lead paint is present on each window.
Windows getting fully restored are first put in a steam box to remove the glazing and putty. Next the glass is taken out. Then all the paint and stain is removed.
Wooden frames are evaluated for the amount of repair needed. Some get new sections.
This summer, staff were working on windows from The Landing (formerly Historic Murphy’s Landing), a living history museum that preserves and interprets 19th century life in the Minnesota River Valley.
They work on large homes and small ones. Some of the window work can be done on site at the home, such as repairing sashes and cords so that windows open and close smoothly, putty work and weatherstripping. For the old growth wood trim left in long-term exterior exposure that has decayed over time (maybe due to failing paint coatings or when inadequate wood was used for small repairs), they do complete window trim replacement using mature growth white pine, sustainably sourced from a family-run operation in Wisconsin.
For full restorations, sash removal, installation, and jamb reconditioning takes place at homes, and the sash restoration takes place at the shop. Hayes has a number of old machines that can create original millwork, including the commonly use historic ogee profile. “It’s the aesthetic work that really makes the window something attractive to have in your home,” observed Hayes.
A customer recently told him, “I should have done this 30 years ago.” Like others, she was so glad once the work was complete and she could open and close her windows easily.
Another customer told him, “You’re the fifth person we’ve had out and the first that said I don’t have to replace the windows.”
“That feels really rewarding,” said Hayes.
“I feel really fortunate to be in the Twin Cities where we have people who own old homes and see themselves as stewards.”
Hayes Window Restoration earned two Preservation Gem awards from the American Institute of Architects Minnesota in 2024, and the Lighthouse Award for Achievements in Historic Preservation at the Rethos Gala Preservation Awards in 2023.
More at hayeswindows.com.