South Windsor · Devonshire
South Windsor and Devonshire: glass, screens and storm repairs
In South Windsor the window questions start in May. The slider comes open for the season, the screen has split along one edge, and the latch that was fine in March won't catch. None of that calls for a new window. We hand your request to an independent glass pro in Windsor-Essex who takes on that sort of repair, and whoever rings you back actually wants the job, even if it's one screen.
At a glance
- Housing
- A mix of home ages and window types
- Common jobs
- Screens, slider latches and rollers, blown seals
- Permits
- City of Windsor
- Coverage
- Inside the City. See every area we cover
Screens and sliders for long summers
Between the last frost in April and the first one around Halloween, a South Windsor patio door gets opened more times than anyone counts. The small parts wear first, and each can usually be fixed by itself:
- Window screens: a torn screen rescreened in its frame, or a bent one made to measure.
- Sliding patio doors: dragging, or a latch that misses, mostly comes down to rollers, an adjustment or a lock.
- Slider windows: worn rollers, a broken latch or tired weatherstrip are parts jobs.
- Screen doors: a new closer, handle or insert buys another summer.
Storm-broken glass: what to do first
People here still mark 3 April 1974, when a tornado struck the south end of Devonshire Mall and then the curling club on Central Avenue, and nine people died. Windsor gets more thunderstorms than Toronto, and a summer storm is the likelier culprit now: a limb through a bedroom window, a patio chair blown into a door.
The order is the same whatever the cause. Kids and pets go to another room first. Take your insurance pictures before a single shard is swept, from both sides of the wall. After that the hole needs closing; a pro can board it up or fit a temporary panel while the new glass is made.
Blown seals, and when a new window makes more sense
A blown seal is the local name for a failed sealed unit, the double-pane glass some people call thermal glass. Once the seal around its rim gives, damp air seeps into the gap and leaves a cloudy film you can't wipe.
On a muggy morning, check the outside first. If it wipes off, it's dew; our guide to summer condensation explains why. If it's between the panes, there are three fair options: defogging, a fresh sealed unit in the old frame, or a new window. A new unit suits a sound frame. Go for a whole new window if the frame itself is split, or cloudy units are turning up all over the house. The foggy sealed unit page weighs all three.
Rentals near St. Clair College
St. Clair College's main campus is on Talbot Road West. If you rent a house out nearby, turnover is when the small jobs show up: a screen pushed out of its frame, a sticky slider, a cracked basement pane. One request can cover all of them, itemized for your records. Looking after several addresses? See the property manager page.
Permits come from the City of Windsor
South Windsor and Devonshire are inside the City, so its building permit page applies. The City lists porches, sunrooms, walkouts and structural changes to a window or door opening as permit work. A new window in the same opening generally goes ahead without one, but the page is silent on it, so phone before you book. A few South Windsor properties are on the City's heritage register, so check before changing a street-facing window. Over the line in LaSalle, the Town issues permits instead.
South Windsor and Devonshire questions
A storm broke a window at my South Windsor house. What comes first?
Safety, pictures, then a cover, in that order. Shut the door on that room so nobody walks through the shards. Before any cleanup, take photos from indoors and from the yard; insurers like both. Next, plywood or a temporary panel over the hole keeps the rain out. Once things are safe and dry, a pro measures for replacement glass, which is usually made to order.
Is an old aluminium slider window worth repairing?
Often, yes. Tired rollers, a dented track, a snapped latch and a blown seal are each a fix of their own. It's time for a new one when the frame itself has bent or cracked, or nobody makes parts for it anymore. Take one picture of the full window and one of the track up close, and attach both to your request.
Our patio door won't latch anymore. Do we need a new door?
Probably not. A sliding door that won't latch has often dropped a little on worn rollers, so the latch misses its keeper, or the lock itself has worn. New rollers and an adjustment fix a lot of these. Price a replacement door only if the frame is damaged or the track has worn right through.
I rent near St. Clair College. Who deals with a broken window, me or my landlord?
Start with your landlord. Tell them in writing, with photos and the date. The lease, and how the window broke, settle who pays, and that's between the two of you. Either of you can send us the request; the pro quotes the same job either way. If the glass is sharp or the opening exposed, get it covered first.