What the last two years did
- March 14, 2024. Supercells produced 3-to-4-inch hail across the St. Louis metro — 2.5 to 3 inches in O'Fallon, 3 to 3.75 inches in St. Charles County and Madison County, the largest report 3.75 inches at Livingston, Illinois — plus five EF-0 tornadoes including one in Charlack in North County. (NWS St. Louis event summary.)
- May 16, 2025. An EF-3 tornado touched down in Clayton, crossed Richmond Heights and the City's central and north-side neighborhoods (published damage accounts include Skinker DeBaliviere, Fountain Park, The Ville, O'Fallon and the North Riverfront), and ended in Madison County, Illinois outside Granite City. Its path was 3,168 yards wide, the widest recorded in the St. Louis forecast area since 1950; the National Weather Service logged more than 10,000 damage points in its one-year reassessment. By May 25, 2026, Missouri insurers had paid more than $475 million on over 10,000 claims from that storm, about 90% of it residential property (Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, June 2026).
Those neighborhoods are also the oldest in the metro — brick, pre-war, many of them in City Historic Districts. A storm-damaged window in Skinker DeBaliviere or The Ville is a historic-district replacement as well as a claim, and the Cultural Resources Office review still applies. We handle both.
Storm damage or pre-existing? What an adjuster looks at
| Likely covered as storm damage | Usually treated as pre-existing or maintenance |
|---|---|
| Cracked, broken or missing glass with an impact origin | Fogged insulated glass (seal failure) with no impact mark |
| Bent, dented or cracked frames and sash | Rotted sills and jambs |
| Hail spatter and gouges on the frame, screen and sill that match the roof and siding damage | Worn balances, sash that will not stay open |
| Seal failure with a corresponding hail strike on the glass | Peeling paint, failed glazing putty |
| Water intrusion that began with the storm | Long-standing water staining |
Our measure visit after a storm produces a window-by-window photo record with a note on each: storm-caused, pre-existing, or both. If you want pre-existing windows replaced at the same time — which is often the most economical moment — the quote separates the lines so your claim and your own spending are clear.
Documenting before anyone touches anything
- Photograph every damaged window from inside and out, close enough to show the impact point, wide enough to show the elevation.
- Photograph the matching damage on the roof, siding, gutters and screens on the same side of the house — that is what ties the window to the storm.
- Keep the broken glass or bent sash until the adjuster has seen it, or at least photographed it in place.
- Board or film the opening to stop water; keep the receipt. We can do this as a first visit.
Matching, upgrading and the "like kind and quality" question
A claim pays to put back what was there — like kind and quality. In St. Louis that question gets interesting:
- A 1990s builder vinyl window is matched with a current vinyl window of similar grade; upgrading to fiberglass or clad-wood is your cost above the claim payment.
- An original wood sash in a historic district cannot be matched with vinyl because the district will not approve it; the approved-list product is the like-kind replacement, and we document the CRO requirement for the adjuster. See historic district windows.
- A steel casement in a 1960s ranch is no longer made in the same form; the nearest like-kind replacement is a modern casement, full-frame. See full-frame replacement.
- Partial replacement. If four of twelve windows were hit, the claim covers four. We can quote the other eight so you can decide whether to do the house at once.
Timelines when every crew is booked
After a metro-wide event, lead times stretch. Stock vinyl that would normally arrive in four to eight weeks can run ten; replica units for historic districts can run twelve to sixteen. We say what the realistic date is on the quote, and we do temporary glazing in the meantime. Starting the estimate online rather than waiting for an in-home appointment is, after a storm, the fastest route to a written number.
What is included
Photo documentation and a storm/pre-existing note per opening; temporary weatherproofing on request; removal and disposal; replacement units matched to the like-kind standard or upgraded at your choice; lead-safe practices on pre-1978 houses (most of the 2025 tornado path); CRO handling in historic districts; permit handling where it applies; cleanup and walkthrough.
Not ready to talk yet?
Start with the planning layer: the complete St. Louis replacement window guide, and comparing window quotes before you sign anything with a contractor who knocked on the door after the storm.
Frequently asked questions
Will you work directly with my insurance company? We provide the documentation, the itemized quote and the like-kind reasoning the adjuster needs. You remain the policyholder; the claim is yours.
My windows fogged up after the hail. Is that covered? Only if there is an impact mark that caused the seal to fail. Fog without a strike is seal failure from age, and it is usually not covered — but it is a straightforward glass-unit replacement; see window repair.
Do I have to use the contractor the adjuster suggests? No. You choose the contractor.
Is there a deductible issue with replacing only some windows? That depends on your policy; what we can do is make the storm-damaged lines unmistakable on the quote.