Markham and nearby
Markham neighbourhoods, and the window work each one tends to need
We're a free referral service for Markham and the towns along its edges. Tell us your street, send a photo, and we pass the request to an independent local professional who takes that kind of work. Areas are grouped by what their houses need, because a heritage sash on Main Street and a fogged half-round over a 1990s foyer call for different people.
Heritage villages: Unionville, Markham Village, Thornhill, Buttonville
Markham has four heritage conservation districts, and they are where the window rules change. Every property inside one needs a heritage permit before exterior changes, windows included, and the district plans ask for original frames and sash to be repaired before anything is replaced.
- Unionville: tall double-hung sash and arched gable windows.
- Markham Village: the city's oldest houses, original glass worth keeping, and Main Street shopfronts.
- Thornhill: Markham's first heritage district, on the east side of Yonge.
- Buttonville: the old hamlet on Woodbine Avenue.
The heritage district guide explains the permit and the City's heritage grant.
1960s–80s neighbourhoods: Milliken Mills and parts of Thornhill and Buttonville
Many houses here are on their second set of windows or due for one, and original 1980s sealed units and casement hardware are wearing out now.
- Milliken Mills: mostly 1980s two-storey houses, next to the busy plazas at Steeles and Kennedy.
- Thornhill's postwar streets and Buttonville's 1960s estate lots raise the same question: fix the window that's there, or replace it properly.
1990s–2000s communities: Cornell, Berczy Village, Angus Glen, Cathedraltown, Box Grove
Several of these communities were planned to look like older towns, with traditional fronts, colonial grilles and garages on rear lanes. The earliest are at the age when first sealed units fog, and the work is mostly about matching: the same grille pattern in a new unit, or an arched transom cut to the existing frame.
- Berczy Village and Angus Glen: building began in the mid-to-late 1990s, so fogged units are the common call now.
- Cornell: townhouses, semis and detached homes with rear garages, begun in the late 1990s.
- Cathedraltown: Georgian- and Regency-inspired fronts from the mid-2000s on.
- Box Grove: built from the late 1990s onward, so one street can hold several ages of glass.
Markham Centre condos
In the towers of Markham Centre, windows and balcony doors are usually common elements, so the condominium corporation decides who works on them and how. Check with management before asking for a quote: sometimes the corporation arranges the repair, sometimes it approves an owner's contractor under a section 98 agreement.
Richmond Hill and Stouffville
Both border Markham but have their own building departments, so Markham's permit rules and heritage grant don't carry over. Richmond Hill built most heavily in the 1990s, so its original sealed units are a similar age to Berczy's. Stouffville's biggest wave of building came in the late 2000s. Coverage in both depends on which pros take work there; send the request and we'll check your address.
Common questions
Do you cover my neighbourhood?
Anywhere in Markham, yes, whether or not it has a page of its own. Wismer, Greensborough, Cedarwood, Raymerville and the rest are handled the same way: tell us the street and the job, and the request goes to an independent pro working in your part of the city. Start a request with a photo of the whole window.
What about North Scarborough south of Steeles?
Ask. South of Steeles is the City of Toronto, and coverage there depends on the job and who is taking work in that direction. Put your address on the request and we'll check, and say so plainly if nobody covers it.
Are permit rules the same in Richmond Hill and Stouffville?
Don't assume so. Each has its own building department, and Markham's building permit page describes Markham only. Before enlarging an opening or changing a wall in Richmond Hill or Stouffville, check with that municipality. Markham's heritage grant applies only inside Markham's heritage districts.
My Thornhill address is west of Yonge. Whose rules apply?
Vaughan's. Yonge Street divides Thornhill, with the east side in Markham and the west side in Vaughan, and each side has its own heritage district and permit office. Our Thornhill page covers the Markham side. For a Vaughan-side address, send the request anyway and we'll check whether a pro covers it.
Is my house inside one of Markham's heritage conservation districts?
The four districts are Unionville, Markham Village, Thornhill and Buttonville, and their boundaries are set by the district plans, not by the age of a house, so some newer homes fall inside. The City's heritage districts page is the place to start, and heritage staff can confirm an address.