Home glass · MarkhamWindow and glass help for Markham homes, from the 1990s foyer window to Unionville sash
Nearly half of Markham's homes went up between the early 1980s and the mid-2000s, so much of the glass that fogs here is original: the tall foyer unit, the half-round over the front door, a casement with colonial grilles. Where the frame is still sound, a new sealed unit can often be made to that shape. We're a free referral service for home glass, not car glass: we match you with an independent local pro, then check that your request was answered.
What we match
Services at a glance
Choose the card closest to what you're seeing. Screens sit with doors, shower glass with mirrors, and one request can cover a fogged transom and a dragging patio door together.
Part or whole window
Replace the failed part when it makes sense, the whole window when it doesn't
In a house from the 1980s onward, a window problem often comes down to one failed component: a sealed unit, an operator, a roller. If the frame is square and solid, replacing that part leaves the trim and the look of the house alone. If the frame is soft or leaking, a new window is the straighter answer. The pro we match you with starts at the frame and tells you which.
- New sealed unit
- Made to the shape of the old glass, half-rounds included, with the grilles carried over. Frame and trim stay. Not rebate-eligible.
- Hardware or sash repair
- A stripped crank operator, a sagging hinge or a damaged sash, replaced on its own.
- New window
- For a frame that's rotting, warped or letting water in. A full ENERGY STAR certified window can count toward Ontario's Home Renovation Savings rebate.
Send one photo from across the room and one close to a frame corner.
Before and after comparison
Common problems
What goes wrong with glass in Markham houses built from 1981 to 2005
With no windows to sell, we can tell you what's likely before anyone quotes. In houses of this era, these are the problems worth knowing by name.
Fog in the shaped and tall glass
The half-round over the door and the two-storey foyer unit fail like any sealed unit, but they're made to order and may need a lift. The frame can usually stay.
Grilles that have to line up
Colonial grilles sit between the panes in many of these windows. A new unit should repeat the pattern and bar width, so show it in a photo.
Worn cranks, hinges and rollers
Casement operators strip and patio door rollers flatten with use. Replacing the part is often the whole job.
Big fixed glass
Picture windows and great-room glass use large units that take two people to handle, so size and access drive the quote.
How it works
How matching works: describe the job, send photos, hear from an independent local pro
Free to you, with no obligation to hire anyone. The pro who quotes deals with you directly.
Describe it and add photos
Say what you see in plain words. A wide shot of the window and a close shot of one frame corner show the shape, the grilles and how the unit sits.
Photos helpMatched to a pro for that job
Your request goes to an independent glass, window or door business that does this type of work in Markham or nearby York Region.
We check that it was answered
The pro contacts you about size, access and timing, then quotes. We check back, and if the line has gone quiet, another pro gets the request.
No obligation
Start with two photos
Stand back for the whole window, then move in close on one frame corner. If it's a second-storey foyer unit, say so.
Where rules change
Heritage districts and condos: where approval comes before the order
Unionville, Markham Village, Thornhill, Buttonville
Inside the four heritage districts, any exterior change, windows included, needs a City heritage permit first. The district plans favour repairing original sash, and a 2026 City grant can help pay for that repair.
Heritage rules and the grantCondos in Markham Centre and along Highway 7
Windows and balcony doors are usually common elements, so the condo board approves a change, often with a registered agreement, before glass is ordered. Management is the first call.
Markham Centre condosEverywhere else: same-size swaps
Swapping a window or door into an opening of the same size needs no City building permit. Enlarging the opening, or cutting a window down to make a door, is different.
Replacement windowsWhere we help
Neighbourhoods and nearby towns covered
We match requests across Markham and into nearby York Region, and the place can change the job. Cornell and Angus Glen were designed to look like older towns, so replacement glass should keep the grille pattern. On the Markham side of Yonge Street, Thornhill has the city's first heritage district. In Richmond Hill and Stouffville, we'll confirm a pro works at your address before promising anything.
Questions
Questions Markham homeowners ask first
Usually, if the frame is sound. A pro templates the opening, has a new sealed unit made to that curve and sets it into the existing frame, so the trim stays put. Shaped units are made to order. Send a photo that shows the grille pattern. The arched and foyer glass page sets out the options.
Not a building permit. The City lists replacing windows or doors without changing the size of the rough opening among jobs that don't need one; enlarging an opening does. The exception that matters in Markham is heritage: inside the four districts, a heritage permit comes first. The replacement windows page covers the rest.
Approval and approach. Any exterior change, windows included, needs a Minor or Major Heritage Permit from the City first. The district plan asks owners to repair original frames and sash before replacing them, and rules out snap-in or tape grilles. A 2026 City grant can help with eligible repair. The heritage guide links the rules.
Not on its own. Ontario's Home Renovation Savings program rebates complete ENERGY STAR certified windows and doors, usually tied to a home energy assessment, so a glass-only swap doesn't count. For a sound frame, a new sealed unit is often still the sensible choice. The repair or replace guide weighs both.
A middleman, openly. Markham Windows is a free referral service with no installers of its own. Your request goes to an independent local glass, window or door professional who does that work, and we follow up to make sure they got in touch. Price, contract and warranty are settled with that business. How it works explains what we share and why.
Next step
Send a photo of the glass and tell us your neighbourhood
Two photos and a line about what's wrong are enough. It goes to an independent local pro who does that work, and we check that you heard back. Free to you, and the decision stays yours.
