Window and siding replacement in Clayton
What the code and the permit desk actually require here — and what the houses in Clayton tend to be hiding behind the siding.
- People
- 17,380
- Homes
- 6,934
- Size
- 2.5 square miles
- From downtown
- About 8 miles west
- ZIP codes
- 63105
- Founded or incorporated
- 1913
Settled in 1877 and incorporated in 1913 on land donated by Ralph Clayton, the St. Louis County seat's housing stock ranges from pre-war brick walkups, apartment buildings and mansions to mid-century-modern low- and high-rise towers downtown.
Clayton
The housing here is a mix of pre-1940 construction (about 35% of homes) and mid-20th-century mid-rise/high-rise development.
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 Claverach Park, Clayshire, DeMun, Downtown Clayton, The Moorlands, North Clayton, Brentmoor Park, Carrswold, Forest Ridge, Hillcrest, Skinker Heights and Wydown Terrace.
Historic districts
Clayton has 1: Hi-Pointe–DeMun 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
Clayton shares a boundary with City of St. Louis, University City and Ladue. 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 Clayton
Siding replacement Permit required
Clayton's Permitting page states a permit is required to 'construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure' - re-siding is an alteration or repair of a building. Re-siding is not listed among exempt work: Clayton's amended Section R105.2 exempt list is confined to (1) one-story detached accessory structures used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses and similar uses not exceeding fifty (50) square feet; (2) retaining walls not over four (4) feet in height measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, unless supporting a surcharge; (3) sidewalks and driveways not within the public right-of-way, not more than thirty (30) inches above grade, not over any basement or story below and not part of an accessible route; (4) 'Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, countertops and similar finish work'; (5) temporary motion picture, television and theater stage sets and scenery; (6) prefabricated swimming pools less than twenty-four (24) inches deep; (7) swings and other playground equipment in the rear yard accessory to detached one- and two-family dwellings; and (8) window awnings supported by an exterior wall projecting not more than fifty-four (54) inches. No siding or exterior wall covering item appears. The city's page separately confirms that only 'Painting, carpeting, trim work, cabinet installation (without relocation/layout changes), and flooring' do not need permits. On top of the permit, exterior alterations must be 'approved by the Architectural Review Board or receive administrative architectural review.'.
Window replacement, same opening Permit required Enlarging or cutting an opening Permit required
Same basis: a permit is required to 'alter' or 'repair' a building, and Clayton's amended R105.2 exempt list contains no item for windows, glazing, glass or storm windows - the only window-adjacent exemption is window awnings projecting not more than fifty-four (54) inches from the exterior wall. Clayton does not distinguish same-opening replacement from an enlarged or newly cut opening; both are alterations and neither is exempt. A visible window change is also an exterior alteration and so triggers Architectural Review Board or administrative architectural review in addition to the permit.
A replacement window here has to be U-0.30 or lower
The codified text carries the IECC's own amended administrative sections (C101.1 title, C104.3 work commencing before permit issuance, C109.4 stop work order, C110.3 board qualifications, C111.1-C111.4 violations and penalties, and the mirrored residential R101.1, R104.3, R109.4, R110.3, R111.1-R111.4), which confirms the energy code is adopted as an enforced code and not merely referenced. Electrical is the Saint Louis County Electrical Code (County Ordinance 24,439, July 14, 2010) and property maintenance is the 2015 IPMC.
That figure comes from the 2021 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 Depends
Clayton publishes no general contractor registration or business-licence prerequisite for pulling a building permit; the Permitting page addresses only plumbing - 'A licensed Master Plumber (licensed through St. Louis County and the City of Clayton) is required to obtain the permit' for plumbing work - and the codified building code Section 106.4.1 restricts plumbing work to personnel licensed by St. Louis County as Master Plumber, Journeyman Plumber, Registered Plumber or Registered Plumber Apprentice, with Master or Journeyman Drainlayer licensing for sewer installation. So a trade-specific licensing requirement exists but no published requirement was found that reaches a siding or window contractor.
What the permit costs
Planning and Development Services Permit and Application Fee Schedule: 'A fee of $35.00 shall be submitted along with all completed Building Permit applications.' Building permit fee minimum is $125.00 for construction cost up to and including $18,500; above that the fee is calculated at '$6.80 per thousand of construction cost.' Architectural review adds its own fee: standard ARB review $135, administrative ARB review $85, conceptual architectural review $135. Section 109.4 / R108.6 doubles the permit fee for work commencing before permit issuance ('100% additional permit fees').
Local quirks
Clayton is the strictest of the places we cover on the exterior envelope: no siding exemption, no window or glazing exemption, and a mandatory design-review layer on top. 'Exterior alterations require approval from the Architectural Review Board or receive administrative architectural review,' with published fees of $135 for ARB review and $85 for the administrative track - so a re-side or a window replacement carries a design-review cost and a meeting calendar, not just a permit. Doubling of permit fees for starting work before the permit issues (100% additional) is also expressly codified. Plumbing work uniquely requires a Master Plumber licensed by both St. Louis County and the City of Clayton.
Who to call
- Building dept
- 314-290-8463
- Official
- Not published. Any site printing a name here is guessing.
- Permits
- Department page
How Clayton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton | Yes | Yes | U-0.30 |
| Affton | Depends | Depends | U-0.34 |
| Ballwin | Yes | Yes | — |
| Brentwood | Yes | Not published | U-0.28 |
| Chesterfield | Depends | Depends | U-0.34 |
| 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 |
| University City | Depends | Yes | U-0.32 |
| Webster Groves | Yes | Yes | U-0.35 |
| Wildwood | Depends | Depends | U-0.34 |
Work we have done in Clayton
We have no finished work in Clayton to show you yet. This fills in as jobs land, and not before.
Where these facts came from
Everything on this page about Clayton was read off a published source. Where a question has no published answer we have said so rather than filling the gap.
Sources: claytonmo.gov · ecode360.com · claytonmo.gov
Looking at a job in Clayton?
We measure egress and safety glazing on the visit, not after the order goes in.
Tell us about the house
We answer the phone. If we miss you, we call back.