The windows and doors are the face of your home. They define the quality of the house to your guests and the right selection enhances the beauty of the home. We encourage you to be involved in the selection process of the windows and doors in your home.
Windows and doors also play a big role in the energy efficiency of the home. Some products are up to 30% better at keeping the heat out than a similar product with different glass.
Our experts will guide you through selecting the right product for your budget and for the aesthetics that your home needs. You can sit down with us in our showroom and review your plans and then see and touch the products we are recommending.
Below we will discuss some of the typical operational types of windows and doors. In the sections below, you will be able to click to a gallery that shows photos of each product type.
Windows
Casement – This style of window has a single sash that is hinged on one side of the window and projects outward. Modern casement windows either have hidden hinges and are equipped with a crank mechanism to move the window open, or they have a push-out style lock where the user unlocks the window and pushes it open. Quality windows will have a sequential or multi-point locking system to lock the window in multiple places along the side of the frame.
Double-hung – A double-hung window features two sashes that slide up and down past one another. The lower sash sits to the interior of the window and has a lock on the top rail that locks into the lower rail of the upper sash. Most modern versions of this window tilt in so they can be cleaned easier.
Storefront – Modern homes feature large expanses of fixed glass that often run floor to ceiling and resemble those of a storefront. Entire walls made out of glass are also common. Most of the projects where we provide these storefront windows, we use a clad/wood product. As opposed to a field-assembled aluminum storefront system, the factory-assembled clad product offers many advantages: superior warranty, factory glazed, and certified performance.
Steel or Steel-looking – The thin lines and historic appearance of steel windows is quite popular now. Instead of accepting a non-thermal, locally made iron window or door, we suggest you consider one of two alternatives we offer. The first is the high-end, thermally-broken steel window made with profiles from the Italian firm Secco. This product has U-values similar to a wood window but can be made in breath-takingly slim profiles. The second option would be a clad window with a thin frame and thin muntin bars designed to create the look of steel at a fraction of the price.
Specialty – Ovals, segment tops, ellipticals, and other unique windows fall into the specialty category. We can produce these products with a variety of our brands.
Doors
Folding doors are one of the hottest things to have in your home. They allow you to have a wall of glass when the door is closed or to open the room up to the outdoors when the door is open. The door panels are typically 39” or less in width and are hinged together so that they can fold off to one or both sides of the door opening. The top-performing doors of this type are all hung from the top so the weight of the door hangs on the header as opposed to rolling on a sill track. Top hung systems eliminate the problem of dirt and trash getting into the sill that you can experience with bottom rolling doors. Folding doors will fit into a 2×4 wall since all of the panels are in one plane.
Multi-slide doors are another way to have a wall of glass and still be able to open most of it up to the outdoors. You can have much larger door panels in a multi-slide door than in a folding door, so when the door is closed the view is more open. Multi-slide doors require a deeper wall the more panels you add because each panel has its own track.
Lift slide doors are sliding doors fitted with special hardware that lifts and lowers the door panel to make it operable. The lift slide door has a greater ability to keep out water than a typical sliding door. It also has a much greater weight-bearing capacity, up to 800 lbs per panel.
Standard sliding doors from a clad-wood manufacturer are available in 2-, 3- and 4-panel configurations where 1 or 2 panels operate. These doors offer more glass and larger panel size than a swing door and at a lower cost than typical swing doors. Standard 2-panel doors are available in 8-0 x 8-0 nominal sizes.
Swinging doors – Single and Double doors that swing in or out are available from Loewen and Windsor and from LaCantina Doors. These doors come in full glass, 3/4 glass and half light configurations and feature a multi-point locking system for added security and longevity.
Entry doors – The entry door of your home is the focal point of the front of the house. It should stand out and should reflect a quality and elegance befitting the design. We offer custom made wood entry doors and entry products from various manufacturers in fiberglass. Many of the fiberglass doors have the look and feel of a real wood door without the drawbacks.