Ezra Vogel, Author at Aluplex Glass and Skylights

Durable Frameless Shower Enclosures

June 30, 2021 By Ezra Vogel

Looking for an update to your bathroom? A built-in, stand-up shower is exactly what you need. Let’s take a moment to consider how a built-in shower with one of Aluplex’s durable, frameless shower enclosures can change your showering experience.

More Space to Shower

Switching to a built-in shower from a tub/shower combo is a massive difference in experience. While a built-in shower comes with a number of positive changes, the biggest ons is having more space to shower.

While a tub/shower combo allows adequate space for most people, there’s not a lot of room for your arms while you clean. This leads to bumping into your curtain or shower door throughout a shower. Or, if you know how to avoid knocking into those, then at least feeling cramped.

When adding a built-in shower, you have the opportunity to give yourself more space to clean. Even if the shower space is shorter than a tub, you can expand its width, creating a square space more suited to your body size. However, what’s to stop you from keeping the length of your old tub/shower combo and simply expanding the width as well? Let yourself shower in luxury.

Shower Together

One great bonus to a bigger showering space is that couples can shower together. A tub is hardly wide enough for two adults to comfortably switch places beneath the water. However, with a built-in shower, you can install multiple showerheads or simply use the additional space to switch places with ease. Having room to clean and also enjoy each other’s company without stepping on each other’s toes is a great experience for many couples.

Ditch the Curtain

Shower curtains come with a number of annoying downsides. When you switch to using durable, frameless shower enclosures from Aluplex, you can say goodbye to these shower curtain issues:

Having to adjust the ends of the curtain each time you shower to keep water from getting out
The bathroom fan’s airflow blowing the shower curtain into your space and against you while you’re trying to shower
The shower curtain coming unhooked from the curtain hooks
Low light levels when showering from the curtain obscuring it
Having to replace a moldy shower curtain every few months and creating plastic waste

Easy-to-Clean Frameless

Installing one of our durable, frameless shower enclosures comes with a bonus. Even compared to many other shower enclosures, these ones are easier to clean. Why is that? Well, a large number of shower enclosures come with frames around the glass. These metal frames make a shower enclosure cheaper to install, as you can use thinner glass and metal hardware to attach the door. However, the drawback is that they allow ridges for mold and mineral buildup.

A frameless shower enclosure is easy to clean with a standard foaming cleaner and a sponge, brush, or cloth. There are no difficult crevices to scrub at where grime has collected. Plus, that easy-to-clean frameless build makes it easy to keep your shower enclosure sparkly clean, allowing maximum light flow and a great view of the rest of your updated bathroom.

Call us today at Aluplex if you’re interested in getting one of our durable frameless shower enclosures and have questions about how to order.

How to Fix a Leaky Skylight Window

June 30, 2021 By Ezra Vogel

If your skylight is leaking, you’re likely rushing for solutions to avoid water damage. Or, maybe it just keeps dripping on your carpet and leaving a wet spot. Either way, getting your leaky skylight window fixed is a necessary step in ensuring damage doesn’t occur. Aluplex, your local skylight experts in Toronto, are here to help.

Check It’s Closed

If you’ve recently moved into a new home and your skylight has leaked every time it’s rained since moving in, the first thing you should check is if it’s closed. Some skylights can be opened, even if they’re not within easy reach. Grab yourself a stool or a step ladder and make sure the window isn’t ajar.

Check the Seal

While you’re up on your stool, the next step is checking the seal of openable windows. Even if it was firmly shut, if the window is able to open and close, there may simply be damage to the seal. This is easy to check for. Look for areas where the rubber strip is coming loose from the window frame. If it’s not loose, look it over for weak points where it’s cracking, has split, or is otherwise damaged.

Look for Cracks

If your seal seems just fine, or if your leaky skylight window isn’t one that opens, the next step is checking for cracks. One of the most common ways a skylight window begins leaking is if debris, such as a tree branch, falls during a storm and leaves a small crack. These cracks aren’t always obvious, as they often happen near the edge of the window. A flashlight will be helpful in searching for small cracks along the glass.

Replacement Skylights

If your window is closed, has a proper seal, and isn’t cracked, a leak means bigger problems. There is likely a leak coming through the frame somewhere. That means potential roof damage, installation issues, and the possible for future water damage within your ceiling. Therefore, the best solution for this kind of issue is skylight replacement.

In order to get a professional diagnosis of your leaky skylight window problems, give us a call at Aluplex. We know skylights the best in the area and can help you find the problem and fix it. We can also replace your skylight for you as soon as possible to prevent further water damage.

Leaky Skylight Window Repair

If your skylight is leaking because of a broken seal or cracked glass, the repair solution is simpler than replacement. Skylight glass can often be replaced without having to reinstall the entire skylight, frame and all. Sealing strips can be bought from a hardware store and attached with a strong glue or adhesive. For either of these repairs, call us at Aluplex and we can help with questions and repairs.

Why Is My Window Frame Molding?

June 1, 2021 By Ezra Vogel

Tired of the mold lining the cracks of your window frame? Unfortunately, a moldy window frame is a common problem for people – especially those in older housing. The question people are asking is, why? Why is your window frame molding, and how do you prevent it from happening? The answer is actually fairly straightforward. Let’s see what’s causing your window mold problem and how to fix it.

Long-Term Accumulation

The good news is, some of you homeowners are simply dealing with long-term accumulation. If you don’t have cleaning your window frame on your chore list, it’s possible that your windows have simply been growing mold for years. A little bit of moisture is all a window frame needs to start accumulating mold in the cracks and crevices. If left to its own devices, that mold can spread across the window track and leave it looking coated in grime. The solution is to simply buy some mold killer or a powerful cleaning spray and clean the window track out.

Rapid Accumulation

If cleaning your window frame has only temporarily solved your problem and mold has returned in less than a year, you are dealing with rapid accumulation. This isn’t caused by simply time; it’s a sign that your windows aren’t doing so great. Let’s look at why that is.

Window Insulation

Modern windows are made with two panes of glass. The space between those two panes is filled with an insulating gas. This insulating gas is heavier than air, which makes it hard for temperature to pass from the outdoors to the indoors, or vice versa.

As windows age, the seal between the window panes and window frame begins to weaken. As it weakens, the insulating gas can leak out. When the insulating gas is diminished or has leaked out entirely, you’re left with an uninsulated window.

Old Windows Cause Mold

When old windows have lost their insulatory properties, they become susceptible to two things: moisture leakage and temperature leakage. Both contribute to window mold.

Let’s start with moisture leakage. If the seal between your window panes has been damaged or weakened, rain water can begin to leak into the space between window panes. You can tell if this is happening if, on warm days, you can see condensation on the inside of your window panes. You can frequently spot this moisture along the edges of the panes. This is not a normal occurrence with functioning windows. This moisture can than cause mold growth between the window panes or further seep past the second pane and into the window track, encouraging mold growth there as well.

Next, we have temperature leakage. You know how a cold glass of lemonade will sweat with condensation on a hot, summer day? If windows aren’t properly insulated, they’ll do the same thing during winter. The cold temperature outside, if not mitigated by insulation, will leave both panes of your window cold to the touch. This cold will draw condensation from your warm interior toward the window. This is why your windows may fog up when it’s cold out. And, as the condensation collects, it will run down the windows and into the window track, leading to window frame molding.

Replacing Old Windows

The only solution for rapid window frame molding is to replace old or damaged windows. Aluplex offers high quality windows to the GTA and we look forward to helping you with your window replacement. Improve the appearance of your home and the quality of your air by ridding your home of window frame molding. Call us today if you have questions about our windows or the installation process.

How to Fix a Broken Door in 3 Steps

June 1, 2021 By Ezra Vogel

If you’ve got a broken front door, you’re probably in a hurry to figure out how to fix it. After all, the front door, or even the back door, are both vital to home security and insulation. Fortunately, you can fix a broken door with these three steps.

1. Buy Supplies

It’s easy to put the cart in front of the horse and want to remove the door right away to fix it. However, if you need to replace broken parts, you’ll want to make sure you have them first. Otherwise, you’ll end up letting in the summer heat, bugs, and the eyes of your curious neighbors. So, the first step is always to stock up on what you need.

If you’ve got broken hardware, such as a hinge, lock, or door handle, head to your local hardware store. Bringing measurements and pictures with you can help an employee direct you to the right replacements.

If the body of your door is broken, you’ll want to buy a new one entirely. Trying to repair a broken door, especially a fiberglass or foam-injected one, is not really possible for a layman. It’s better to replace it entirely. If, however, you’ve got a solid wooden door, you might be able to repair it temporarily with some strong wood glue and some sanding. Just remember, this kind of door is already substandard as it is. Relying on a door with a new weak point where you repaired it is a recipe for disaster.

2. Remove Your Door

When you have the supplies you need to fix a broken door, it’s time to remove your door. If you’re simply replacing a knob or lock, this part isn’t necessary and can be skipped.

Removing a door is easier than you might think. You’ll simply need to remove the pin from each hinge. Some hinge pins have a screw on the bottom and some don’t. After removing any screws in place at the bottom of the pin, simply line up a screwdriver with the bottom of the pin and tap the handle with a hammer. The narrow end of the screwdriver will push the pin out of the top of the hinge’s knuckles. If your screwdriver has a plastic handle, we recommend holding a folded cloth over the end to avoid damaging it with your hammer.

The entire door removal process is best done with two people. One person will need to hold the door in place while the other removes the hinges. Trying to do this alone is both dangerous and nearly impossible. With each hinge removal, the door will bear down more on the remaining hinge, tightening its grip on the pin. When the last hinge is free, it’s liable to fall and could cause serious injury. Please work in a team for door removal.

3. Replace What’s Broken

Last, but not least, it’s time to replace the broken part of your door. Replacing a lock or knob is easy to do without removing the door. Simply unscrew what’s broken and follow the instructions on the part you bought to replace it.

Replacing a broken hinge requires a bit of screwing and unscrewing. Lay your door down on the ground and begin unscrewing the half of broken hinge that’s still attached to it. Then, do the same for the half in the door frame. Ensuring your new hinge is positioned in the right direction, screw your new hinge into the side of the door.

With the new hinge completely assembled, begin reconnecting the previous hinges with their pins, ensuring the loose half of the new hinge is in place before affixing the others. When the other hinges have been reconnected, the loose half of your new hinge will hang in place by the door frame, making screwing it into the proper place easy as pie.

Replacing a broken door with a new one requires much the same steps as replacing a hinge. However, you’ll attach all three hinges to the new door before having your partner hold it in place. You can then screw the hinges into the door frame, using the old screw holes for guidance.

Skylight Installation Professionals in Toronto

April 30, 2021 By Ezra Vogel

Skylights can be truly transformative centerpieces to otherwise simple spaces. This is true for many kinds of interiors. From family homes to sprawling office buildings, skylights can really make the difference. So, when you want to take a space to the next level, who do you call? The simple answer is: Aluplex. Aluplex has the skylight installation professionals you need, all across Toronto.

Big or Small

Skylights come in all shapes and sizes. Some glass and construction companies only offer services for one or the other. Small-scale construction companies may be happy to help install a skylight over your kitchen, but aren’t qualified nor interested in taking on something larger. Some commercial names are happy to take on big projects but don’t have time for small, residential window installation.

Aluplex is here for you no matter what size skylight you want installed. If we sell it, we can put it in for you. Skylights are one of our specializations and we take that to heart. If you need help making your skylight needs a reality, you can count on us to make it happen.

Any Style You Want

Skylights aren’t a one size fits all kind of design feature. Sure, small rectangular skylights are pretty standard in housing, but that doesn’t mean they’re right for everyone. This is especially true when beginning to scale up. Larger buildings have a lot more ceiling room to accommodate things like dome or pyramid skylights. With more options to choose from, who wouldn’t want to get creative?

No matter what style you’re after, we know how to help. Different types of skylights will require different kinds of buildings, connections, anchoring, and more. Our skylight installation professionals know how to expertly install any of our offered skylights.

Emergency Repair Services

No one is immune to incident, especially not skylight owners with trees around their home. Skylights aren’t impervious to damage. And, because of their position on the roof of a home or office, a damaged skylight can mean a damaged interior. After all, water has been known to do quite a number on flooring and furniture alike. If a skylight is what’s keeping the rain out, a damaged skylight is bad news all around.

Fortunately Aluplex’s skylight installation professionals are also skylight repair specialists. If you have emergency repair needs, call us right away and we’ll be out to help you as soon as we can. Even if it’s still storming, we’ll be there for you. After all, it’s better to get your window back in working order while the rain is still coming down.

Broken Skylight Replacements

Whether you need emergency skylight repair services or not, we’re also happy to help with broken skylight replacements. As we said, a broken skylight can cause all kinds of problems. Therefore, if a broken skylight is plaguing your home, we can replace it with one that will do its job. Just give us a call when you’re ready to get your skylight replacement and we’ll make it happen.

How High Windows Improve a Business Interior

April 30, 2021 By Ezra Vogel

Want to make your business interior more compelling for those who drop in? Designing a new shop or office that you want to blow away the competition? Let’s take a moment to talk about one of the often overlooked design elements of a business interior: the windows. In fact, let’s specifically talk about high windows and their benefits. High windows come with a lot of upsides that most people aren’t aware of. Let’s make sure you’re not one of those people.

Improved Lighting

Tall windows that reach up toward the ceiling of your interior may seem excessive. However, they do come with quite a few benefits, the first of which is improved lighting. One of the most overlooked parts of interior design is natural lighting. People simply love the clear and natural feeling of sunlight through a window. When compared to people’s opinion of electric lights, there’s a clear winner. Businesses with a lot of natural light are preferred destinations to those that feel more closed off and reliant on bulbs.

Opting for taller windows allows more of this beloved sunlight to make its way indoors, providing great light for reading, eating, seeing the faces of coffee dates, and so much more. In office spaces increased natural light can also improve employee morale and even mental health.

Greater Curb Appeal

High windows improve business exteriors as well. If you saw two shops, one with a small window, covered in cheap blinds, and one with tall windows, perhaps with a set of nice shades in front of them, which do you suppose you’d be drawn to? For most people, the answer is the latter. People love tall windows as much from the outside as they do from the inside.

Exterior Visibility

One such reason that people enjoy tall windows on the exterior of a building is because of the improved visibility. You don’t know what lies behind that small window with the cheap blinds. However, tall windows are happy to reveal the contents of a shop. Seeing the smiling faces or beautiful displays on the other side of a tall window is great for luring in potential customers.

High Class Feeling

We can’t overlook the psychological perspective on tall windows. People don’t just like them because they offer more sunlight. They’re also loved for offering a higher class feeling to an interior. Perhaps this impression is leftover from the days when glass was harder to afford. No matter how you look at it, sitting next to a window that stretches high above you feels undoubtedly high class.

Rely on Aluplex

When you’re in the market for glass, Aluplex is Toronto’s #1 choice. Give us a call if you need custom windows for your business or office. We look forward to providing you with high quality glass and installation services.