Windows & Doors Articles

Window condensation freezing happens when moisture in indoor air meets a glass surface cold enough to first condense into liquid, then turn to frost or ice on the room-facing pane. It is one of the most common winter complaints in Edmonton, and one of the most frequently misread.

Choose the casement on an exposed wall where the sash can swing clear of the deck, the walkway, and the downspout. Choose the slider where the sash cannot project, or where the opening is wide and low, and a crank sash would be the wrong shape.

Retrofit installation fits a new assembled unit inside the existing frame, replacing the sash, glass and hardware while leaving the frame, jambs, and trim in place. Full frame replacement, commonly called brick-to-brick, removes everything down to the rough opening.

Single slider vs double slider windows comes down to which sash moves. A single slider has one sash that slides and one that stays fixed. A double slider has two sashes that both slide.

A window safety restrictor is a mechanical device fitted between a window sash and its frame that limits how far the window can open, normally to a clear gap of no more than 100 mm, so the window still ventilates a room without creating a fall hazard.

Triple-pane windows are a sealed insulating glass unit with three panes of glass and two gas-filled cavities between them. The extra pane and the second cavity keep the room-side glass warmer through an Edmonton winter than a comparable two-pane unit of the same size.

The phrase is descriptive, not technical. No certification is called extreme cold, and no product category has fixed specifications. What exists is a set of components that together keep the interior glass surface warm enough to stay dry and comfortable at minus 30.

Factory direct windows are windows bought straight from the company that manufactures them, with no distributor, dealer or retail contractor in the supply chain. Whether that structure saves money and simplifies a project depends entirely on how much the company actually controls.