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Why Many Times Replacement Windows are a Safer Bet than Repair

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There’s no shortage of websites and articles created by DIYers pleading with you to repair your old windows instead of replacing them. While everyone is entitled to their opinion the fact is that in the majority of cases when it comes down to repair or replace, replacement windows are the better choice. Perhaps the only time you should consider trying to resuscitate old, broken down windows is if your Toronto home is of historic significance. Short of that, replacement is typically the smart, cost-effective choice and we’ll tell you why.

Six Signs You Need to Consider Replacement Windows

There comes a time in nearly every homeowner’s life when they’ll be faced with the repair or replace dilemma. Here are six such circumstances:

  • Your Heating bills have gone through the roof – If you’re sitting at the kitchen table staring in disbelief at January’s heating bill and you’re wearing a sweater to defend against the drafts coursing through the house: you can no longer afford to ignore the window problem.
  • Let’s talk about that sweater – You wear a sweater in your home not because you’re trying to make a fashion statement with the pizza delivery guy but because you simply can’t crank the heat high enough to compensate for the cold air rushing in around the rotten casements. Time to take a long, hard look at the windows and decide whether to repair or replace.
  • Your windows are rattling in the wind – You’re trying to talk to your friend on the phone but the rattling of the windows is drowning out their voice. When the rattling began a couple of years ago you thought it added character to the house, now you know that each rattle is costing your money and it’s time to consider repairing or replacing the windows.
  • Your curtains take on a life of their own – If you’re sitting on the sofa trying to enjoy a movie and you notice the curtains bulging and fluttering there’s a better than even chance it’s not ghosts. Every time a burst of fresh, cold air pushes back the curtains, warm air you paid to heat is escaping the house to make room. Time to consider replacement windows.
  • Your windows are nearly impossible to open or close – If your windows are sticking, catching and generally refusing to budge there’s more going on than just humidity. What happens if you need to open a window in an emergency? Time to discuss repairing or replacing them.
  • You can clearly hear conversations of people in the yard – If you’re relaxing at your kitchen table and can overhear every word your kids are saying in the yard through the closed windows, it’s a clear sign that you need to consider either repairing or replacing them.

In all of these cases replacing the old windows will yield increased energy savings, enhanced curb appeal and increased market value for your home. Breaking out the screwdrivers, caulk, putty knives and window insulation kits instead will do little but kick the can of replacement responsibility down the road a bit or into the lap of the next owner. In the meantime you’ll continue to experience higher energy bills and lower home value than you would if you opted for replacement windows.

When it’s time to replace your leaky old windows with new, energy efficient, double-pane aluminum or vinyl windows call the experts at Toronto Doors and Windows. You can rest easy knowing that the GTA’s most trusted and experienced replacement windows company is on the job. In just a matter of days we’ll breathe new life into your beloved home and set it on a sustainable course for the coming years.

Introducing a Number of Desirable Window Installation Finishes

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So you’ve decided it’s time to replace your leaky old wooden windows with new replacement windows from Toronto Doors and Windows. Congratulations! You’re on your way to a more affordable future in which your home will be far more comfortable and will also enjoy significantly enhanced market value. Now that you’ve opted for beauty and energy efficiency over nostalgia it’s time to make some aesthetic decisions related to applying the right “finish” to your new window installation. In this post we’ll look at a few of the more popular finishes homeowners typically choose.

Put the Finishing Touch on Your Replacement Window Installation

By simply installing new vinyl replacement windows you’ll elevate your home’s curb appeal and increase its value. But the window installation process isn’t complete until the details are decided upon and installed. The following represent some of the choices you’ll have to pick from when it comes to window finishes.

For the Home’s Exterior

In almost all cases newly installed vinyl windows will call for some type of trim on the exterior. This trim typically serves to tidy up and seal the edges of the installation while also providing an additional element of aesthetic pleasure. The three most popular forms of exterior finish are:

  • Vinyl brick mold
  • Batten
  • Aluminum capping

Any one of these finishing touches will enhance the look of your home. Which one will be right for you will depend on other elements in play on your home’s exterior.

For the Home’s Interior

Your new window installation will need some finishing touches on the inside as well to help it mesh with your interior decor. In the vast majority of cases these finishing touches consist of some form of casings, mouldings or jamb extensions.

  • Casings – Casings are a popular choice since they’re typically an easy match for various other trims like baseboards. They also set the stage for the easy integration of interior window mouldings. Casings can be as wide or narrow as need be to fit in with the rest of your interior decor and are available in a variety of styles. Vinyl casings will never need to be repainted and will never suffer from the inevitable degradation that befalls wooden casings.
  • Mouldings – If you already have jamb extensions in place and wish to keep them you’ll likely want to install interior mouldings above the windows to give them a properly finished look. Mouldings typically imbue the interior with an elegant, timeless look that is particularly appropriate for older homes and can add a wonderful touch to your window casings.
  • Jamb Extensions – Most windows are not deep enough to occupy the entire depth of the opening in the exterior wall where they’re installed. The solution to this mismatch is the jamb extension which fills the gap between the end of the window and the beginning of the interior wall. As mentioned above jamb extensions will often call for casings and interior mouldings to supply them a properly finished appearance.

Installing new replacement windows in your home will provide you financial benefits for many years to come. If you’re thoughtful in your choice of finishing touches they’ll also provide years of aesthetic pleasure as well and can become a focal point around which other elements of your interior decor revolve.

Talk to the replacement window pros at Toronto Doors and Windows before you settle on a particular style or type of replacement window for your home. We’ll help you make sure the type of windows you choose are the best for each particular room and purpose and that the finishing touches bring the entire window enclosure to life both inside and out.

Window Replacement: Here’s What You’ll Get if You Trust a Rookie with Yours

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When having your windows replaced it is important to choose a firm with an installation team that knows exactly what it is doing. While it is not rocket science, fitting replacement windows correctly is something that only highly skilled and experienced installers are capable of doing properly. A reputable and suitably qualified installation team is the only sensible choice and you should never consider leaving the job to inexperienced rookies. If you decide to ignore this advice, you will almost certainly live to regret your decision. Below, we list a few examples of what could go wrong when entrusting such an important job to a newbie with no knowledge or experience of fitting replacement windows in Toronto.

The Perils of Hiring a Rookie Window Replacement Team

Working with an unskilled installation team that is new to the game could result in the following problems:

  • Poorly Fitted Windows – The most obvious consequence of hiring a team of rookies is replacement windows that are poorly fitted. Given the cost of having every window in your home replaced it is madness to try to save a small amount of money on the total bill by having the work carried out by amateurs. Poorly fitting windows will let heat out in the winter and in during the summer months, increasing your energy bills. Furthermore, they could seriously compromise the security of your home.
  • Damage to Your Property – Inexperienced window replacement teams are far more likely to damage your property during the removal of old units and the installation of new ones. What makes this fact even more worrying is that they are also highly unlikely to be carrying adequate public liability insurance so you could well be stuck with the bill for any repairs to your home that may be needed after their visit.
  • Long Delays – Beginners tend to underestimate the amount of time that it will take them to properly fit new windows so even if they avoid making any major mistakes, they could still cause you problems by taking too long to complete the work for which you hire them. A job that experienced window replacement professionals could complete in a day or two may well take a team of rookies a week or possibly even longer. This could cause you real problems if you have travel commitments and are unable to leave your home unoccupied because your new windows are not yet fitted.
  • Unnecessary Disruption – Rookie installation teams tend to make a lot more noise and mess than is really necessary, which can cause much distress to the homeowners who have the misfortune to hire them. If you would rather have your windows fitted with the minimum of disruption to your daily life, do yourself a favour and only deal with well-established and experienced window replacement companies in Toronto.
  • Worthless Warranties – A 10 or 20-year warranty is only valuable if the company that issues it is likely to be in business to honour it in the future. Rookie installers who have only just started in the industry may well disappear without trace in a year or two, leaving you with nobody to turn to should your replacement windows turn out to be flawed.

These are just a few of the reasons that you should avoid hiring window replacement rookies. If you want the peace of mind that comes from dealing with a well-known and well-respected local expert, call us today and tell us what you need. We will be delighted to provide you with a competitive quotation and can guarantee a hassle-free installation process.

Entry Doors: Here’s Why Realtors Will Tell You to Replace Yours

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If you are trying to sell your Toronto home and you want to get the best price possible, there are a number of small improvements you can carry out to help ensure that potential buyers form a positive impression of your house. One of the most effective in terms of return on investment is the installation of a new entry door. There are a number of key reasons that realtors encourage sellers to perform this particular home improvement before viewings begin, which we have listed for you in the following section.

How New Entry Doors Can Enhance Your Chances of Receiving a Good Offer

Find and fit a brand new front door for your property and you will increase the odds of selling your home at a good price. Prospective buyers are attracted to properties with new doors for a number of very good reasons:

  • Biggest Return on Investment – As touched upon above, the ROI for this particular home improvement is extremely attractive; in fact, it is higher than the return for pretty much every other type of home improvement you care to mention. For this reason alone, it is definitely worth considering: homeowners stand to recoup well over 80% of the money they spend on new entry doors and to sell their properties more quickly as a result of installing them.
  • Makes Property Look Stylish and More Valuable – Houses with doors that look like they were fashionable 20 years ago inevitably come off worse when compared to properties boasting recently manufactured and installed doors. An old-fashioned door can make your home look cheap and unattractive. If this is the first impression that a buyer gets when they arrive, you will have an uphill battle on your hands to change their minds before the viewing is over.
  • Creates Impression of a Well-Maintained Property – If a prospective buyer visits your home and the first thing they see on their arrival is a well-worn front door, they will naturally assume that your property has not been looked after properly. This may well not be the case but it is a natural assumption to make when the first thing they see is a door in very poor condition. Sellers can make sure that potential purchasers know they have looked after their properties well, by investing in high quality replacement entry doors before viewings commence.
  • Increase Curb Appeal – The curb appeal of your property, i.e. how good it looks when viewed from the outside, can have a major influence on the price you are able to obtain when selling. You can add as much as 10% to the value of your home by making sure it looks as good on the outside as it does on the inside. Conversely, you could lose around 10% by not making improvements in this crucial area, and any attempt to improve curb appeal is almost guaranteed to fail if it does not include the replacement of old entry doors.
  • Energy Efficiency – Old doors can be a major source of heat loss during the winter months. By fitting a modern, high quality door, you can improve energy efficiency in your home, something that will appeal to all prospective buyers.

For all of the above reasons, you should seriously consider replacing the front door before putting your home on the market. Whether you are looking for entry doors made from wood, fiberglass, vinyl, steel or aluminum,  please do not hesitate to call and ask about our extensive range. We specialize in the supply and installation of high quality replacement doors and windows in Toronto.

6 of the Most Common Windows and Doors Questions Answered

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Homeowners in Toronto who are considering replacing either the windows or the doors in their properties, or perhaps both, will find that there are many local companies who are only too willing to provide them with what they want. In fact, the choice can be quite bewildering, which is why we put together this short article. In it, we are going to examine some of the most frequently asked questions from homeowners in the city regarding replacement doors and windows, along with the answers to these questions. By asking these questions of every supplier you contact, you should be able to pick the best company quite easily.

Replacement Windows and Doors: The Most Important Questions to Ask

Whenever you get in touch with a firm for the first time, ask the following questions and listen carefully to the answers they give.

  • How Long Will the Installation Process Take?

    – A competent team of installers should be able to replace a single window within a couple of hours. A simple entry door should take around the same time so you can estimate the total by multiplying the windows and doors you wish to have replaced by 2. For an average-sized property, it should be possible to complete all the necessary work within a couple of days. If one of the companies that you contact quotes a considerably longer time, you may want to give them a miss, or at least ask them why it will take so long.

  • Will I See a Reduction in my Annual Heating & Cooling Costs?

    – Some products are more energy efficient than others, so it is a good idea to ask whether those you are thinking of purchasing will reduce the cost of heating and cooling your home throughout the year. If the answer is yes, you should ask for details, so you can compare the windows and doors being offered by different companies more easily.

  • What Kind of Warranty Is Provided?

    – If you are going to be spending a considerable sum on replacement doors and windows for your home, you should make sure that they come with an extended warranty. This warranty should cover any defects in materials or labour that may become apparent after installation. If a company is not willing to offer a decent warranty, you may want to think twice about buying any of their products.

  • Is Vinyl a Good Choice for Door and Window Frames?

    – If you are looking for a low maintenance option, vinyl windows and doors are probably the best choice. On the other hand, if you live in a period property and don’t mind spending a little time on the upkeep of your new doors and windows, wooden frames will look more authentic. Any company that takes the time to consider your particular needs when answering this question merits inclusion on your shortlist of potential suppliers.

  • How Much Experience Does Your Installation Team Have?

    – The more experience the better, as far as installing quality doors or windows is concerned.

  • How Soon Can You Start?

    – Some companies take months to fulfil new orders whereas others can act more quickly. If time is an important factor, be sure to choose a firm that is ready to act fast.

There are many more questions you could ask about replacement windows and doors but the above should at least get you off to a good start when evaluating local suppliers. And don’t forget: no matter where you happen to live in the city of Toronto, you are always more than welcome to call us for help and advice when you are ready to have new doors and windows installed in your home.

Windows and Doors: A Guide to Energy Efficiency Ratings

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 20 years you’ve probably heard about energy ratings on things like doors, windows and appliances. You’ve probably also wondered how these ratings are calculated and who does the calculations. By far the most popular energy rating service in the country – and indeed the world – is Energy Star. In this post we’ll tell you a little about Energy Star, how energy ratings are determined and how to choose the right Energy Star doors and windows.

Assigning Energy Ratings to Windows and Doors

Windows and doors don’t use energy themselves but they are responsible for much of the heat loss in a typical home. Because of the pivotal role they play in the energy use cycle they’re assigned Energy Star ratings based on their insulation value. But what the heck is Energy Star?

  • Energy Star – Energy Star began as an initiative of the US Consumer Protection Agency in 1992. Since then the system has been refined and adopted by many other countries, including Canada. Today, Energy Star Canada is administered by Natural Resources Canada. Energy Star’s mission is to provide information that helps consumers find the most energy efficient products that fit their needs and budget.

Choosing the right Energy Star Doors and Windows

Energy Star Canada publishes energy efficiency ratings for a slew of products including appliances large and small, computers and peripherals and building materials such as windows and doors. More goes into an Energy Star rating than simple energy consumption though, including:

  • Geographical location – Energy Star Canada divides the country up into 3 climate zones. This is important because.
    • The zone for which a door or window is considered Energy Star rated will be displayed on the label.
    • If you buy replacement windows rated for a warmer zone you may find they don’t work very well in your zone.
    • If you live at a high elevation you’ll want windows and doors rated for at least 1 zone colder than your base zone.
  • U-value – The U-value measures the ability of a material to transfer thermal energy. A low U-value means the window or door is not good at conducting heat and will therefore have good insulation qualities.
  • Energy Rating (ER) – The ER rating is another way to look at a product’s insulation value. It looks at 3 aspects of window performance: solar heat gain, heat loss through the frame or glazing and heat lost by leaking air. It can be confusing because whereas a low U-value means good insulation abilities, a high ER means good insulation abilities.
  • In addition – Energy Star windows and doors will typically allow you to save more than 10% on your energy bills. In some cases significantly more. Better insulation also means less street noise invading the house, fewer drafts, greater comfort and less condensation on windows.

It should be noted that Energy Star is not an arm of, or sponsored by, any particular corporation. Nor does it make a profit from the propagation of its stickers. Scores of companies ‘partner’ with the Energy Star program but all products seeking the Energy Star label must be tested by independent 3rd party labs to ensure integrity of the process.

If you’re seeking high quality Energy Star certified windows and doors for your home you need look no further than Toronto Doors and Windows. All our doors and windows are Energy Star certified and installed by the most experienced technicians in the industry. If you have more questions about energy ratings, or would like to discuss the installation of new energy efficient doors and windows in your home call us and talk to one of our window and door experts.