Sealed Unit Replacement in Regina
Fogged windows mean the seal has failed. We replace the glass unit and leave your existing frame and hardware in place.
Fog between the panes is the giveaway. You cannot wipe it off, because it is not sitting on any surface you can reach. It is inside the sealed cavity between two sheets of glass, and it means the seal around that unit has let go.
For sealed units, call 306-800-1120.
What a sealed unit actually is
The sealed unit is the glass package inside your window. Two panes, sometimes three, held apart by a spacer bar around the edge and sealed at the perimeter. The cavity between them holds argon or dry air, and the spacer bar carries a desiccant that soaks up whatever moisture is trapped inside at the factory.
That assembly is what insulates. The frame holds it and the hardware moves it, but the unit is the part keeping the heat on your side of the glass.
What failure looks like
When the perimeter seal opens, humid outside air works into the cavity. The desiccant absorbs it until it is saturated, and after that the moisture has nowhere to go. On a cold morning it condenses on the inner face of the outer pane, which is the fog you are looking at.
Given long enough it stops being fog. Minerals left behind by the water etch the glass permanently, so the unit reads cloudy even on a dry day. The insulating value went well before that, because the argon left through the same failed seal.
Why prairie weather is hard on them
A sealed unit spends its whole life expanding and contracting. Southeast Saskatchewan swings from the mid thirties in July to the mid minus thirties in January, and glass, spacer and sealant all move at different rates across that range.
Every cycle works the seal a little. Sun exposure adds to it, so south and west elevations tend to fail first. That is why one window in Regina or Weyburn fogs up years before its neighbour on the same wall.
Replacing the glass, not the window
If the frame is solid and the hardware still works, there is no reason to pull the window out. We measure the sash on site, order the unit built to that size, and set the new glass in.
Measuring is where these jobs are won or lost, so we do it ourselves rather than working from numbers over the phone. It is the same reason our installers measure the openings for roll up window screens and security shutters instead of ordering to a customer’s figures.
Commercial and storefront glass
We do commercial and storefront units alongside houses. The failure is identical. The glass is not. Storefront units run much larger, they are usually tempered where they sit at ground level within reach of the public, and a pane that size is not a one-person lift.
The bigger difference is that the building is open while we work. We measure and fit around trading hours so a shop is never left standing with a hole in the front, which is the same way we handle commercial door repair.
Where this sits with the rest of our work
The thermal argument is familiar to us too. It is the one we make on insulated garage doors, and it holds here just as well. An insulating layer only pays you back for as long as it is intact.
To get a sealed unit measured, call 306-800-1120.
What's Included
- A dedicated sealed unit line, separate from the main door number
- Fogged and failed sealed units replaced
- Existing frame, sash and hardware stay in place
- Every unit measured on site before it is ordered
- Restores the insulating value the failed seal lost
- Residential, commercial and storefront units
- Fitted by our own installers
- Free quotes on replacement units
Other Services We Offer in Regina
Sealed Unit Replacement Questions
Who do I call about a sealed unit?
Sealed units have their own line, separate from the main door number, so you get straight to the right person. It is at the top of this page. Have the rough size of the window and which room it is in to hand and we can tell you what is involved.
Why is there fog between my window panes?
The seal around the edge of the glass unit has failed. Moist air has worked into the space between the panes and condensed on the inside face of the outer glass, which is why you cannot wipe it off from either side. The fog itself is harmless. What it tells you is that the unit has stopped doing its job.
Can you replace just the glass instead of the whole window?
Yes, as long as the frame and hardware are still sound. The sealed unit is a separate part that sits inside the sash, so it comes out and a new one goes in without disturbing the window opening. Replacing the whole window only makes sense when the frame itself has gone or the hardware is worn out.
Can a fogged unit be cleared instead of replaced?
We replace the unit rather than drilling and venting it. Venting clears the view for a while, but the perimeter seal is still broken and the insulating gas that leaked out does not come back. A new unit is the only version of the fix that also gives you the insulating value again.
Does a failed sealed unit actually cost me anything?
Yes, on your power bill. Once the seal opens up, the argon between the panes escapes and the space fills with ordinary air, so that window insulates closer to single glazing than to double. In a Saskatchewan January that shows up as a cold draft off the glass and a room that never quite warms up.
Do you do storefront and commercial glass, or just houses?
Both. Storefront and commercial units are a different job from a house window, though the failure behind them is the same. The glass runs larger, it is usually tempered where the public can walk into it, and the work has to be scheduled around the building staying open for business.
How do you measure for a replacement unit?
On site, at the window itself. Sealed units are built to the exact size we give the supplier, and the sash has to be checked for thickness and for how the glass is held in as well as for height and width. Numbers taken over the phone are how a unit arrives that does not fit.
Get a Free Sealed Unit Replacement Quote
Tell us what it is doing and we will tell you what it needs. Free quotes, and 24-hour emergency service when it cannot wait.