Lower City sash or Mountain slider: find the right fix for your windows
Start with the house. Below the escarpment, plenty of homes still have wood sash behind storms. Up on the Mountain and in newer subdivisions, it's more often a dragging slider or a cloudy sealed unit. We're a free referral service: we pass your request to an independent local pro who does that work, and make sure it doesn't go quiet. Weighing a fix against new windows? Try the repair-or-replace guide.
Start with the house
What kind of window do you have? Wood sash, aluminum slider, vinyl casement
Wood sash, often behind storms
Common on older Lower City streets. Cords, putty and sills wear out; the wood is often sound enough to keep.
Sliders and hung windows from the boom years
Houses from the 1960s and 70s often have aluminum sliders or early double-hungs that now drag, rattle or won't latch.
Casements from 1980 on
Later subdivisions, above and below the escarpment, have sealed units at the age when seals let go and cranks strip.
Vinyl that's already been replaced once
Many older houses got vinyl years ago. Those windows now need their own repairs.
Glass problems
Glass problems: fog between panes, cracks, breaks
Fog between the panes
Haze you can't wipe off means the seal has let go. The sealed unit (some say thermopane) can often be replaced alone.
Cracked or broken glass
A ball, a branch in a windstorm, a break-in. Make it safe first; most panes can then be replaced without a new window.
Glass in a door or sidelight
Glass in a back door, sidelight or patio slider must be safety glass. The pane can usually be replaced without a new door.
Hardware and seals
Operation problems: cranks, balances, rollers, locks, drafts
Short of replacement
Upgrades short of replacement: storms, film, new sealed units
Storm windows
A tight storm over old sash cuts drafts and condensation, as the City's heritage guidance suggests. Heritage districts need a permit.
A better sealed unit
Replacing only the glass puts a new unit into a sound frame, often with a heat-reflecting coating or gas fill.
Window film
Film cuts glare, adds privacy or holds broken glass together. House and shop windows, not car tint.
Before you hire
Choosing between window companies: questions to ask any pro
Can I have that in writing?
Ask for an itemized quote and what could change once the pro has measured.
Would you fix it, or replace it?
A good pro says when a new crank or sealed unit is enough. Ask what they'd do at home.
Is my house in a heritage district?
If so, new windows and even removable storms need a Heritage Permit first. Ask if the pro has been through one.
The whole window
When the whole window has to go
Keep the window and fix the part when
- The frame is solid and the sash closes square
- One or two units have fogged or cracked
- The trouble is a crank, balance, lock or weatherstrip
- It's original wood sash worth keeping
Replace the window when
- The sill or corners are soft, or the frame is split
- Water gets in around the frame
- Several units and parts are failing at once
- Parts are gone and nothing adapts
Questions
Window questions from Hamilton homeowners
Where pros work
Window help below and above the escarpment
Pros cover the Lower City, the Mountain and the former towns. In rural Glanbrook or Flamborough, share your postal code and we'll check coverage.
Tell us what's wrong, and we'll find the right pro
Say which room, roughly when the house was built, and whether you're below or on the Mountain. A photo helps.