I rent in Glendale. Can I get windows replaced?

Not on your own decision — but you can make the case concrete. Photograph the fogging, note which rooms are hardest to cool, and record any water intrusion after rain. A specific written list moves a landlord further than a complaint does.

I own rentals in Glendale. Is this worth doing?

That depends on who pays the utilities and how much of the fogging is visible at showings. It is a different calculation from an owner-occupier's, and any contractor treating it as the same one is not paying attention.

Do I need a permit to reroof in Glendale?

We could not verify Glendale's rule from its adopted code, so we do not state one. Ask the city and get the answer in writing before accepting a permit charge.

My 1980s windows are double-paned but foggy. Is that normal?

It is extremely common in this stock, because the era's aluminum frames and aluminum spacers are the worst-aging combination the Valley has. Once fogged, the insulating layer is gone and cleaning does nothing.

What is the minimum job?

Three windows, or one entry or sliding door.

Windows

Window replacement in Glendale, AZ: three decades of stock, and a different owner picture

Glendale's median home was built in 1986, with 67.6% of its 93,736 units spread fairly evenly across the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s — and 57.2% owner-occupancy, the lowest of the eleven Valley cities we looked at.

Both halves of that matter, and most city pages only tell you the first.

Vincenzo DiGennaro · Renmark · ROC 364596 · Last updated September 15, 2026

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What moves your number in Glendale is which decade your house came from. What moves whether the work happens at all is often who owns it.

Two facts about Glendale housing

Glendale	Figure
Median year built	1986
Built 1970–1999	67.6%, spread across all three decades
Total housing units	93,736
Owner-occupied	57.2% — the lowest of the eleven cities measured

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024, tables B25034 and B25035. Occupant-reported year built; read it at decade resolution, as a description of the city rather than a record for a given parcel.

Let's be straight about the second row. Close to 43% of Glendale's housing is not owner-occupied. If you are reading this as a renter, replacement windows are not your decision and no amount of sales pressure changes that — what you can usefully do is document the symptoms (fogged panes, a slider that will not close, a ceiling stain after rain) and give your landlord something specific. If you are the landlord, the calculation is different from a homeowner's: you are weighing a capital cost against a utility bill you may not pay and a tenant complaint you certainly do hear.

We would rather say that plainly than write a page that assumes every reader owns the house. It also explains something homeowners here notice: identical houses on the same street on wildly different maintenance schedules.

What the build era means for your windows

Glendale's even spread means there is no single answer, so identify your decade first.

1970s. Aluminum frames, no thermal break, frequently single-glazed. Federal guidance is direct: "metal or aluminum window frames conduct heat very rapidly, which makes metal a very poor insulating material," and metal frames "should have a thermal break." This stock generally does not have one.

1980s. Early double glazing in aluminum frames with aluminum spacers — the combination that ages fastest in this climate.

1990s. Better units, usually still with metal spacers, and low-E arriving as an option rather than a default.

The failure sequence is the same in each; only the start point differs:

The aluminum frame conducts and cycles, every day, working the glass edge.
The edge seal degrades. Sealants show six to eight times more permeability at 60 °C than at 20 °C, and the same peer-reviewed study names sunlight "the most important aging factor on IGUs."
Fill gas escapes — and the study found aluminum spacers leaking more than non-metallic warm-edge spacers over seventy weeks of testing.
The unit fogs, and the thermal penalty is already in: gas loss can raise U-factor by up to 32%.
Hardware goes — dragging sashes, failed balances, weatherstrip turned to powder. On sliding doors, the industry test bar is 10,000 cycles under load, which a door opened eight times a day reaches in about three and a half years.

Our intake quiz of 472 Phoenix-area homeowners found roughly 60% reporting metal frames, with 161 of those twenty or more years old and 75 original to the house. Costs and what actually drives them are in the Arizona window replacement cost guide; for the patio slider, door replacement cost in Phoenix.

Check yours

Skip the averages. Get the number for your house.

Roofs on 1970s–1990s Glendale homes

A house with a median build year of 1986 is on its second roof covering at least, and quite possibly its second or third underlayment — but very few owners can say which, because the work predates them.

What the industry publishes about underlayment longevity is almost nothing, and that is worth knowing before anyone quotes you a lifespan. No manufacturer we checked publishes a service life for roofing underlayment. Polyglass, GAF, Owens Corning and Tarco publish warranties, maximum UV-exposure windows and temperature ratings instead. Polyglass's tile-specific Polystick TU PLUS lists a two-year warranty, a 180-day maximum exposure window and approval "up to 265 °F" — that last figure is a survivability rating and not a service life, whatever anyone tells you at a kitchen table. The only longevity guidance available anywhere is the NRCA's principle that underlayment should match the covering's anticipated service life, from an article now twenty-one years old.

On a tile roof the end-of-life job is usually a lift-and-relay rather than a tear-off: tile off, new underlayment, sound tile back. They are different jobs at different prices and most cost pages do not separate them — see roof underlayment replacement cost in Phoenix and tile roof replacement cost in Phoenix. Shingle roofs are covered in the Arizona roof replacement cost guide.

On permits we have a gap and we will say so. We verified reroofing permit rules directly from adopted code for Phoenix, Maricopa County, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Surprise and Scottsdale. Glendale was not among the jurisdictions we were able to verify, so this page makes no claim about it. Most Valley jurisdictions we checked exempt same-material reroofing, but "most jurisdictions" is not your jurisdiction. Ask the City of Glendale, and ask any bidder to show you the rule rather than assert it.

How to date your own windows and roof

Windows. Look for an etched month and year on the spacer between the panes, at the bottom corner of the glass. Check the sash edge and jamb for a manufacturer label. A continuous bare-metal path from the inside face to the outside face means no thermal break, which places you in the earlier stock regardless of what the paperwork says.

Roof. From the ground: exposed, brittle or curling felt at the eaves and rake; slipped or cracked tiles in a run rather than singly; dark streaking on the fascia. Inside: a stain that only appears after long rain. If you bought the house recently, the seller disclosure often names the roof age — that is usually a better record than memory.

What to ask anyone bidding the work

Which decade is my house from, and what did that era's builders install?
Single or double glazing, and is there a thermal break? A bidder should be able to tell you from the opening.
Full-frame or retrofit, in writing, with the reason.
U-factor and SHGC in writing. ENERGY STAR Version 7.0's hotter-zone bar is U ≤ 0.32 / SHGC ≤ 0.23, and federal guidance says low SHGC is the priority in warm climates.
Spacer type — metal or non-metallic warm-edge.
Stucco and sill repair if the old frame comes out damaged: included or change order?
Roof: lift-and-relay or tear-off, plus assumed tile breakage.
Underlayment product by name and its published warranty term.
Permit: required or not, and show me the code.
License number. Ours is ROC 364596.

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The 2026 Phoenix Door, Window & Roof Cost Guide

Every source table we publish, in one place.

Common questions

Frequently asked

I rent in Glendale. Can I get windows replaced?: Not on your own decision — but you can make the case concrete. Photograph the fogging, note which rooms are hardest to cool, and record any water intrusion after rain. A specific written list moves a landlord further than a complaint does.
I own rentals in Glendale. Is this worth doing?: That depends on who pays the utilities and how much of the fogging is visible at showings. It is a different calculation from an owner-occupier's, and any contractor treating it as the same one is not paying attention.
Do I need a permit to reroof in Glendale?: We could not verify Glendale's rule from its adopted code, so we do not state one. Ask the city and get the answer in writing before accepting a permit charge.
My 1980s windows are double-paned but foggy. Is that normal?: It is extremely common in this stock, because the era's aluminum frames and aluminum spacers are the worst-aging combination the Valley has. Once fogged, the insulating layer is gone and cleaning does nothing.
What is the minimum job?: Three windows, or one entry or sliding door.

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