Windows Archives - Aluplex Glass and Skylights

Maximizing Natural Light: Optimal Window Design

June 30, 2024 By Webmaster

Natural light is more than just a way to illuminate your home; it’s a key element that influences our mood, well-being, and even our connection to the outdoors. What window design is best for your home? Are skylights a good idea? Strategic window design allows you to harness the power of natural light, creating a brighter, more inviting living space while reducing dependence on artificial lighting.

Window Types: Choosing the Right Light Transmitters

The type of window you choose is crucial in how much natural light enters your home. What size window is best? Should you choose double-hung windows or slider windows? And are skylights a good idea for your home? Here’s a breakdown of popular window options and their light-transmitting capabilities:

Double-Hung Windows: These classic windows feature two vertically sliding sashes, allowing for excellent ventilation and light control. The size and placement of these windows significantly impact the amount of natural light streaming in.
Casement Windows: These windows hinge on the side and open outward, offering a wider opening and unobstructed views. Large casement windows maximize light in rooms with limited wall space.
Awning Windows: These windows hinge at the top and open outward, providing ventilation even during rain. While not the best for direct light, they can be strategically placed to bring in natural light from higher angles.
Slider Windows: These windows feature horizontally sliding sashes, offering a sleek and space-saving option. Large sliders can capture panoramic views and maximize light, especially for backyards or patios.

Beyond the Basic Types

Don’t forget the power of natural light from above! Strategically placed skylights in hallways, bathrooms, or even living areas can bathe your space in diffused natural light, creating a sense of openness.

Consider specialty windows for unique light effects. Clerestory windows, placed high on walls, bring in natural light without compromising privacy. Corner windows create a dramatic effect and offer expansive views, while transom windows positioned above doorways allow light to flow between rooms.

Window Placement: Capturing Light Throughout the Day

The location of your windows is just as important as the type. Here are some key considerations for optimal window placement:

South-Facing Windows: These windows capture the most sunlight throughout the day, ideal for living rooms, kitchens, and family rooms where you crave warmth and brightness.
North-Facing Windows: North-facing windows offer softer, diffused light year-round, making them perfect for bedrooms, bathrooms, and home offices where you might desire a cooler and more balanced light.
East-Facing Windows: These windows usher in the warm glow of morning sunlight, perfect for energizing your kitchen or breakfast nook.
West-Facing Windows: While they bring in beautiful afternoon light, west-facing windows can also generate significant heat gain. Consider overhangs, awnings, or strategically placed trees to mitigate the afternoon sun’s intensity.

Think about window size and quantity in relation to the room’s dimensions. A larger window on a south-facing wall might be enough to illuminate a smaller room, while a larger space might benefit from multiple windows strategically placed on different walls.

Natural Light Control: Finding the Perfect Balance

While natural light is desirable, it’s crucial to have ways to manage its intensity. Here’s how to achieve a balanced approach:

Overhangs and Awnings: These exterior features provide shade during the hot summer months, preventing excessive heat gain and protecting your furniture from UV damage.
Window Treatments: Explore a variety of window treatments like blinds, shades, and curtains to control the amount of light entering a room. Consider light filtering options for diffused light or blackout options for complete light control in bedrooms.
Strategic Landscaping: Deciduous trees planted near west-facing windows can provide shade during the summer and allow warming sunlight in the winter when they lose their leaves.

Optimal window design is an art and a science. Consider consulting with an architect or window specialist who can assess your home’s layout, sun patterns, and your specific needs to create a window plan that maximizes natural light while maintaining comfort and energy efficiency throughout the year.

By carefully considering window types, placement, and natural light control strategies, you can transform your home into a light-filled haven that looks beautiful and fosters a sense of well-being and connection to the natural world.

Replace Commercial Shop Doors and Windows

June 1, 2023 By Webmaster

A shop or store is only as good as people’s impression of it. After all, a few negative reviews can tank a star rating and prevent new people from even giving you a chance. The same can be said for your shop’s appearance. Without ever looking at another person’s written experience, people will form an impression of your store based on how it looks. If it doesn’t look so hot, they’re going to assume it isn’t so hot. What does all of this mean? It might mean you need to replace your commercial shop doors and windows. Let’s take a look.

Glass Reveals All

One of the worst things about glass is that, if not cared for impeccably, it will reveal everything that’s ever happened to it. Something sticky got on it? That residue might have gotten left in the very edges of the window frame. That, in turn, collected grime and dust and dirt. Taped up sales flyers years back? The sticky tape residue is pretty hard to clean off sometimes – especially if there’s a lot of it. That, in turn, collects grime and dust and dirt. And so on and so forth, forever.

What we’re saying it, it’s understandable if your windows don’t look fresh out of the factory. After all, you’ve put hard years of work into your store. Heck, you might not have even been it’s first, second, or tenth owner. The problem is, it doesn’t matter what made the windows the way they are. If there are many places of trace history on them, it’s going to age the entire exterior appearance of the store. The same goes for glass doors.

Window Insulation Runs Out

The next problem with old commercial shop windows is that window insulation does run out. Most people aren’t aware of it, but windows are filled with a transparent insulating gas. Those double-panes are double for a reason. It’s that, between them, they hold a gas that’s heavier than air and ensures your windows are insulated while still remaining transparent.

Unfortunately, after many years, a window’s seal gets weaker and that insulatory gas begins to leak out. What happens then? Well, your shop’s insulation becomes very poor indeed. Keeping it cool in the summer and warm in the winter is going to rack up your electrical bill. In the end, it may just be cheaper to replace those windows. It saves you money and gives the shop a facelift.

Glass Gets Damaged

If all else is tolerable, there’s also the fact that glass gets damaged. If you’ve got a crack in your glass door or window, it takes down the appearance of the shop significantly. You may have even gotten that crack repaired to maintain what insulation may be left in it. However, whether the crack is repaired or not will not make a difference to a potential customer. Cracked glass, naturally, will make prospective visitors feel like the shop is run-down or possibly unsafe. If your window or door gets cracked, it’s best to get it replaced.

Replace Commercial Shop Doors and Windows in Toronto

If you’re looking to replace commercial shop doors and windows in Toronto, Aluplex has your back. Therefore, let us know what you’re in the market for and we’ll make sure you get the right windows for your needs. Just give us a call if you have questions or concerns about the ordering and installation process.

Affordable, Aluminum Single-Hung Windows

March 28, 2023 By Webmaster

If your windows are looking worse for wear, haven’t been replaced in over a decade, or you’re having temperature regulation issues in your home, it’s time to get some new windows. If you’re looking to replace single-hung windows, you’ve got some options. Traditional, vinyl windows are, of course, available. However, you could also opt for aluminum. What is it that makes aluminum, single-hung windows different?

What Are Single-Hung Windows?

Shopping for windows can throw a number of new terms at you that you didn’t previously know. After all, isn’t there a standard “window” that everyone gets? Unfortunately, this is not the case. The standard window varies from country to country and from city to city. So, if you have one style in mind, but don’t know the name of it, you’ll need to look up a list of window types.

Today, we’re talking about single-hung windows – aluminum single-hung windows to be specific. These are a very common style in the eastern US and Canada. Single-hung windows are the type of window that sit vertically and have one lower panel that slides upward. If these are the windows you’re after, you’re in the right place. Now to find out if you’re in need of aluminum or vinyl.

Higher Build Quality

Vinyl versus aluminum single-hung windows brings about the question: what’s the difference in build quality? Well, the answer is simple: vinyl is cheaper to produce, and aluminum is not. Therefore, vinyl is a fan favorite due to its affordability to manufacture as well as to buy, as a homeowner or builder. But, if quality is what you’re after, aluminum single-hung windows are the better option.

Aluminum is a hardy, but lightweight material. It’s less prone to cracking if your house shifts or if something hits the window. Instead, it will bend. This can be a good thing. For minor shifts in the house, a bit of flexibility can keep your window sealed.

Temperature Fluctuation

Extreme temperatures can be really bad for certain materials. Something like vinyl can wear down much faster over years of ups and downs in temperature. If you live somewhere especially snowy, those alternating hot summers and freezing winters can really do a number on them.

Metal is much better at handling temperature fluctuation. For someone living in Canada, that makes aluminum single-hung windows a better choice, overall.

Buy Aluminum Single-Hung Windows in Toronto

If you want hardy windows that will last the most extreme winters, aluminum single-hung windows are the ones for you. These windows are great for preventing leaks, as the upper panel rests overlapping the lower panel. Even a battery of heavy rain will run right off a single-hung window. Beat the weather with this great window choice.

Aluplex is happy to help with both production and installation. If you need aluminum single-hung windows installed in your home, you can call us to order and schedule an installation time. Whether you need one window or an entire house of them, we’re here to help.

What Is a Bow Window?

January 31, 2023 By Webmaster

When remodeling or designing a house, there are a lot of considerations to make. For example, what kind of windows should you put in? Window style can completely change the way a house looks! Plus, they don’t only affect appearance; windows also impact lighting, visibility, and insulation. Because windows are so important to home design, our team at Aluplex wants to show you a type of window that’s vastly underappreciated: the bow window.

A Great Alternative to the Bay Window

If you’re already a fan of the bay window, you may be equally impressed with the bow window. What is a bow window then?

What’s the Same?

Both windows project outward from the face of the house and are made up of multiple side-by-side panels
Each style offers a nook space that can be used for seating, storage, shelving, displays, or desk space
Both styles provide more lighting than a flat window

What’s Different?

The bay window is angular while the bow window has more panels that provide a more curved shape
All of the panels in a bow window are the same style while bay windows typically have a larger center window and smaller side windows

Window Seat Friendly

One of the biggest things that draws people to bay windows is the ability to install a window seat. However, the bow window also allows this. If you enjoy sitting by the window and getting a great view of the surrounding area, the bow window provides that as well.

Bow windows come in all different shapes and sizes. Some protrude more, offering larger seating spaces, while others protrude less and are less suited to seating. However, if your window seat doesn’t end flush with the interior wall, you can make it bigger than the depth of your window anyway. Framing your bow window with support posts on either side will draw the eye toward it and also deepen the space available for seating.

Great Visibility

Because the bow window, like the bay window, also protrudes from the face of the house, it offers great visibility. Leaning into the alcove it provides makes it easy to look both ways down the street.

The visibility provided by bow windows is especially useful for someone with children. This is because the added visibility makes it easy to see outside. Make playtime easier on both of you by installing a window seat and relaxing by the window while they play. You can keep an eye on your little ones playing in the front yard without having to leave the comfort of your house.

Dynamic Appearance

Bow windows aren’t just useful, they’re also beautiful. If you want your home to have a more dynamic appearance, they’re a great choice. Say goodbye to boxy houses with no character. Say hello to a dynamic and interesting home that incorporates both squared and rounded shapes into its design.

Buy High Quality Bow Windows in Toronto

If you’re ready to improve your home with a stunning bow window, or add one to a custom build that’s still in the works, Aluplex is here to help. Call us today if you have questions about our windows or would like to make an order. We’re happy to help!

High Quality Awning Windows in Toronto

December 10, 2022 By Webmaster

Windows are such an important part in any building’s appearance and function. Fortunately, if you live in Toronto, you’re nearby a great-quality glass manufacturer. Aluplex serves Toronto’s window needs, from homes to businesses, small-scale to large. If you need high quality awning windows, we’re here to help.

What Are Awning Windows?

Awning windows are those windows that open outward on a horizontal axis. Swinging outward and upward, this design comes with a number of benefits. Some of the great features of awning windows are:

They’re rain resistant, even when open. Because the opened window panel hangs over the screened opening, rain will land on the glass and run right off. That means you can still enjoy a nice breeze without your windowsill getting waterlogged.
It’s easy to open and close them. Awning windows don’t require the amount of exertion it takes to open a sliding window – especially an old stubborn one. Instead, you simply turn a crank or control them with a motorization mechanism.
They insulate well. While any decent window design provides adequate insulation, awning windows have an additional perk. Because the panes don’t overlap, when closed, awning windows can get a better seal.

Bulk Window Installation

Awning windows are one of the most common window types for low rise and high rise buildings. University dorms, apartment buildings, office buildings, and more rely on these windows on every floor. So, if you’re the owner or soon-to-be owner of a large building, you’re in luck. Aluplex is happy to do bulk window installation. If you want awning windows all across your building, we can provide and install them.

Replace Broken Awning Windows

Unfortunately, buying a window isn’t always the sign of a new construction project. If you’ve got an awning window that’s broken, we can help you replace it. A hole in your window is a great way to acquire pests or water damage.

Even cracks can mean necessary window replacement. Did you know that a cracked window can ruin your home’s insulation? That cracked window has just become your insulation’s weakest link. If it snows out, the cold is going to immediately penetrate that window and leave your heater struggling to keep up. And, you know what that means: a hefty and upsetting electricity bill.

Awning Window Maintenance and Repair

If you’ve got awning windows in need of maintenance or repair, Aluplex can give you a hand. Our maintenance and repair services reach all over Toronto and the GTA. plus, we offer emergency services. Rain or shine, we can head to your place and get your window repaired or replaced. We know how important windows are and aren’t going to leave you floundering in the middle of a storm while water pours into your home.

If you’re looking for windows or window services, call us today at Aluplex. We look forward to helping you get the windows you need.

Replace Old Commercial Windows in Toronto

November 24, 2022 By Webmaster

Keeping your business up and running means ensuring a steady stream of customers and clients. However, as your business begins to age, it will lose some of its appeal. You may gain more word-of-mouth success, but fewer people will want to walk in off the street if your building is looking worn out. One of the most noticeable types of building decay is the windows. Your windows show a view of your interior as well as anything on display. So, here are a few reasons to replace old commercial windows in your Toronto business.

Dirty Windows Ruin Your Image

When people look at your shop, the first things they’ll see are the windows – and what’s behind them. If your windows are old and dirty-looking, they’ll ruin your image – literally! The picture they’ll see of your store will be one overlaid with dirty glass, tarnishing the entire visual.

Some dirty windows can be solved with a bit of soap and water. However, old windows can begin to accumulate filth that isn’t so easily removed. Small scratches will gather dirt and impact the coloration of the glass. However, these tiny scratches aren’t so easily cleaned out. Glass is meant to be smooth and hard, which is what makes it so easy to clean. The introduction of scratches takes down the cleanability level substantially. So, what does that mean? Well, it means that at some point, your glass will get so old and beat up that it won’t be possible to get it back to that like-new cleanliness.

Cracks Reduce Insulation

Another great reason to replace old commercial windows is cracking, no matter how minor. Modern windows are made with two panes. The space between them is filled with a heavy, transparent gas that insulates your window. Your building relies on this gas to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Therefore, if you get a crack, it poses a huge problem. That crack is the perfect place for your window’s insulating gas to escape.

Over time, the insulating gas in your window can leak out entirely through one little crack. Without that insulation, your building is going to have to work much harder to regulate its temperature. If your electric bill has gone up substantially since your window broke, you no longer have to wonder why.

Sticky Residue Ages Your Building

If your store is popular with the locals, you may find its a hub for activity. In fact, if it’s the kind of business you strive to run, you may even encourage it. Being at the center of everyone’s daily life is fantastic for business. However, it’s not so fantastic for your windows. That’s because being at the center of everyday life means a lot of things being taped to your windows. From sales signs to event notices, lost dog posters to help wanted ads, eventually that tape residue is going to build up. And, with that, the exterior store appearance is going to go down.

Replace Old Commercial Windows

If you need to replace old commercial windows in your Toronto business, Aluplex is the place to call. We’re happy to help, from order to installation. We look forward to hearing from you.