Window Replacementin Long Beach, CA
Window replacement in Long Beach needs a permit, and the Express version covers same-size, same-type change-outs outside the Coastal Zone and historic districts. Replacement windows must meet the City's U-factor and SHGC limits, and bedroom windows must keep a 5.7 square foot egress opening. Historic districts add a Certificate of Appropriateness.
Long Beach windows tell the city's age. The 2024 American Community Survey puts 34.1 percent of housing units before 1950 and 77.1 percent before 1980, and the City's Housing Element says 71 percent of its housing is over 50 years old. The city grew from 142,032 people in 1930 to 344,168 in 1960, so many of its original windows are older than the energy code that now governs their replacements.
This page covers lead and old frames, the City's permit and Express Permit rules, bedroom egress, energy numbers, glass and wind, historic districts and what the work costs. Regional prices and materials are on our windows page.
What the Long Beach Permit Center says about window replacement
Where windows permits come from in Long Beach: City of Long Beach Community Development Department.
- The City says installation of replacement windows requires a permit, and its page names replacement windows next to patio covers, gazebos, sinks, toilets and dishwashers as work that needs one.
- Express Permit item B1 allows replacing existing windows with the same size, opening type and location, with a maximum U-factor of 0.30 and SHGC of 0.23 where the window area is over 75 square feet, and 0.40 and 0.35 where it is 75 square feet or less. Windows serving habitable rooms must also meet the emergency escape rules in IB-006. Express Permits are not available in Coastal Zones or Historic Districts.
- The emergency escape and rescue opening bulletin (IB-006, revised 09-19-2024) requires every sleeping room, basement and habitable attic to have an operable opening with at least 5.7 square feet of net clear area (5 square feet at grade floor or below grade), at least 24 inches high and 20 inches wide, with the sill no higher than 44 inches above the floor.
- Windows and doors are listed among the common projects that need a Certificate of Appropriateness in a landmark or historic district, even where a building permit is not required.
Replacement windows in a pre-1950 Long Beach house: what lead paint and old frames mean
About 34.1 percent of Long Beach housing units were built before 1950, and frames from those years are usually painted wood, which is what the lead-safe rules are about. EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies to paid work that disturbs paint in homes built before 1978, which covers most of the 77.1 percent of units built before 1980. The City's Housing Element notes that HUD funded a $4,100,000 lead-based paint hazard control program for Long Beach in fiscal 2019.
A window job disturbs the frame, the stops and the trim, so assume the rule applies and ask for the firm's lead-safe certification in writing. Ask how the opening will be sealed off, what happens to the old sash, and whether the proposal covers repair of the plaster or stucco around the opening, because insert units and full-frame replacements leave different amounts of patching. Say who paints the finished trim, too. If the unit is one of the 39.6 percent in buildings of five or more units, the windows may belong to the association, so ask management before ordering.
Do you need a permit to replace windows in Long Beach?
Yes. The City's Do I Need A Permit page says installing replacement windows requires one, and it lists them beside patio covers, gazebos, sinks, toilets and dishwashers. The Express Permit service, bulletin IB-058 item B1, issues that permit without plan review for replacing existing windows with the same size, opening type and location, outside a Coastal Zone or Historic District. A bigger opening, a new location or a different opening type falls outside item B1, so ask the Permit Center before ordering. We did not confirm whether a window swap in the Coastal Zone needs a coastal permit, so that question goes to the Planning Bureau.
Where plan review applies, it is priced at 85 percent of the building permit fee with a floor of $154. A permit lasts two years from issuance and lapses if work has not started within 180 days. MDG Builders, CSLB #1040337, pulls the permit as the general contractor, and licensed subcontractors do the installation, so ask for the installer's license number and certificate of insurance before the crew arrives. Our posts on how general contractors use subcontractors and how to check a contractor license explain what to ask for and where to verify it.
What bedroom egress window size does Long Beach require?
Bulletin IB-006 requires every sleeping room, basement and habitable attic to have an operable emergency escape and rescue opening. The net clear opening must be at least 5.7 square feet, or 5 square feet at the grade floor or below grade, at least 24 inches high and 20 inches wide, with the sill no higher than 44 inches above the floor. Those figures describe the opening with the sash open, not the glass, which is why a new window that looks the same can fail. Express item B1 says windows serving habitable rooms must also meet this bulletin.
A smaller replacement in a bedroom, a fixed pane where there was a slider, or a casement with a thick frame can drop the net opening below the line, so we check the unit's opening dimensions against the bulletin before ordering. The same test applies where a garage or room becomes a bedroom, as in a conversion on our Long Beach ADU page.
U-factor and SHGC for Long Beach replacement windows: what the Express item requires
Item B1 sets maximums: a U-factor of 0.30 and a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.23 where the window area is over 75 square feet, and 0.40 and 0.35 where it is 75 square feet or less. U-factor measures how fast heat moves through the window, and SHGC measures how much solar heat gets in. Lower numbers mean less heat transfer and less solar gain. Check them on the NFRC label of the unit, not on a sales brochure, and write them into the contract. The City states the threshold as window area, so we ask the Permit Center whether it counts per unit or across the whole job.
NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Daugherty Field station show a January average high of 67.4 F, an August high of 83.2 F and about 23 days a year at or above 90 F, so a low SHGC on west-facing glass earns its place. We did not confirm Long Beach's Energy Commission climate zone, which sets the Title 24 values, so we rely on the City's published numbers and the NFRC label. The federal 25C home improvement credit is not allowed for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, per the IRS, although many older articles still advertise it.
Does Long Beach require fire-rated or tempered glass in replacement windows?
Not for wildfire, as far as the maps we sampled show. In the County's copy of CAL FIRE's local-responsibility hazard map, revised August 21, 2025, all 92 grid points that returned a zone across Long Beach came back Non-Wildland. That is a sample, not a parcel map, so check an address on the CAL FIRE viewer. A Very High zone would change the glass, as it does on our Los Angeles window page.
Tempered glass is a separate question. Safety glazing in hazardous locations, such as beside doors and around tubs, falls under section 2406 of the California Building Code, and we did not read how the City applies it to replacements, so we ask the Permit Center and note the answer on the proposal. Wind is the Long Beach variable: the City sets a 95 mph design wind speed, with Exposure D for sites near the shoreline, so ask the manufacturer for the unit's rated design pressure when the house sits near the water.
Window replacement in a Long Beach historic district: when a Certificate of Appropriateness comes first
Windows and doors are listed among the common projects that need a Certificate of Appropriateness in a landmark or historic district, even where no building permit is required. The City has 18 districts, from Belmont Heights and Bluff Park to California Heights, Rose Park, Wrigley and the Hellman Street Craftsman district. Express Permits are not issued there, so the order is historic review first, then the regular building permit.
Interior alterations and ordinary maintenance with no exterior change need no historic review, so ask Historic Preservation at (562) 570-6194 whether repairing existing wood sash, glazing putty and weatherstripping counts as maintenance. Ask staff what they approve for your district before choosing a material. The City posts district design guidelines, and we could not read which blocks fall inside each district, so ask the office to confirm an address. The City says there is no fee for historic review of paint or re-roofing, and we found no fee statement for windows, so ask whether one applies.
What do replacement windows cost for a Long Beach house?
Remodeling magazine's 2025 Cost vs. Value report for Los Angeles puts a vinyl window replacement job at $23,783 and a wood one at $27,913, with 83.2 percent and 81.9 percent recouped at resale; the public page does not show how many windows the reference job has. Angi's Los Angeles page, updated July 8, 2026, reports an average of $19,356 and a typical range of $16,359 to $22,377. ConsumerAffairs lists vinyl at $550 to $1,150 per window installed and 10 to 15 windows at $14,000 to $28,000, without stating a cost method.
The Long Beach pages we read show about $290 per window from retailer sample pricing on one and $600 to $1,500 with no method on another, and neither separates materials, glass or patching, so we do not rely on them. Tempered glass adds about $200 to $700 per window in Angi's Los Angeles data. Stucco repair, trim, lead-safe work and a wider opening are where a quote and a final bill drift apart, so ask for each as its own line.
Window details from Long Beach area projects
Frames, flashing and finished openings from window projects near Long Beach. Tap a photo to enlarge it.
What windows costs around Long Beach
The numbers on our windows page run about $550 to $1,150 for a vinyl unit installed, $950 to $2,400 for wood or fiberglass and $14,000 to $28,000 for a whole house of 10 to 15 windows, all from Los Angeles area sources. We found no Long Beach survey with a stated method, and the City's permit fee depends on the job, so it appears as its own line. Neighboring cities decide differently, as window replacement in Los Angeles, Glendale and Pasadena show. A new window opening can start a bigger job, so see our Long Beach room addition page and bathroom remodeling in Long Beach, or painting in Pasadena for trim and exterior finishes.
| What it covers | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Vinyl window, installed, each | $550 to $1,150 |
| Wood or fiberglass window, installed, each | $950 to $2,400 |
| Whole house, 10 to 15 windows | $14,000 to $28,000 |
| Glass options, per window | Double-pane $500 to $2,000. low-E $300 to $1,100. tempered $200 to $700. |
| Remodeling Cost vs. Value 2025, Los Angeles | Vinyl $23,783. wood $27,913. |
| New or enlarged egress opening | $3,200 to $6,500 |
Other work we manage in Long Beach
Long Beach window permit, egress, energy and historic questions
Do I need a permit to replace windows in Long Beach?
Yes. The City's permit page says installing replacement windows requires a permit. The Express Permit covers replacements of the same size, opening type and location outside the Coastal Zone and historic districts, and it is issued without plan review. A larger opening or a new location needs more review. The Permit Center can confirm the path at 562.570.PMIT (7648).
How much does window replacement cost in Long Beach?
Regional sources put a vinyl unit at about $550 to $1,150 installed and a whole house of 10 to 15 windows at about $14,000 to $28,000, with wood and fiberglass costing more. Those are Los Angeles area figures, not Long Beach quotes. Glass type, stucco repair and trim move the total, so ask for a written line-by-line proposal.
What size does a bedroom egress window need to be in Long Beach?
Bulletin IB-006 requires an operable opening of at least 5.7 square feet net clear (5 square feet at the grade floor or below grade), at least 24 inches high and 20 inches wide, with the sill no higher than 44 inches above the floor. Measure the opening with the sash open, not the glass, and check the replacement unit's net clear dimensions before ordering.
Do replacement windows have to meet energy limits in Long Beach?
Yes. The Express Permit item lists maximums: a U-factor of 0.30 and SHGC of 0.23 where the window area is over 75 square feet, and 0.40 and 0.35 where it is 75 square feet or less. Replacement windows should carry an NFRC label showing both numbers. We could not confirm the city's climate zone, so we rely on the City's figures.
Can I replace windows in a Long Beach historic district?
Yes, after a Certificate of Appropriateness where the exterior changes. The City lists windows and doors among common projects needing one, even without a building permit, and Express Permits are not issued in historic districts. Repairing existing sash as ordinary maintenance may need no review, so ask Historic Preservation at (562) 570-6194.
Is replacing windows worth it in Long Beach?
Partly. Remodeling magazine's 2025 Cost vs. Value report for Los Angeles shows 83.2 percent of a vinyl window replacement's cost recouped at resale. The federal 25C tax credit ended for property placed in service after 2025, so do not count on it. Comfort, noise and a lower SHGC on sunny walls are the other reasons, and we do not promise energy savings figures.
Should I test for lead before replacing old windows in Long Beach?
Ask about it for any house built before 1978. EPA's lead-safe rule covers paid work that disturbs paint in those homes, and window replacement disturbs frames and trim. Ask the firm for its certification, and have a lab test any suspect paint before work starts instead of guessing.
How long does it take to install new windows in Long Beach?
Made-to-order windows have lead times set by the manufacturer, which we get in writing before you sign. Installation then depends on the number of windows and the stucco and trim work around them, and we state the crew's expected days in the schedule.
What is the difference between vinyl, fiberglass and wood replacement windows?
Mostly price, upkeep and look. ConsumerAffairs lists installed Los Angeles prices of $550 to $1,150 for vinyl, $950 to $2,100 for wood and $1,100 to $2,400 for fiberglass per window, without a stated method. Wood may suit a historic district where staff approve it, and fiberglass costs more than vinyl. Compare the NFRC numbers, not only the frame.
Tell us about your Long Beach windows
Send the neighborhood, the year the house was built, how many windows and whether any are bedroom windows, and whether the address is in a historic district or near the coast, and we will plan the visit around that.