Window and door replacement in Unionville, Ontario
A designated heritage main street where replacement windows must match the original pattern. Primary Seal measures, builds and installs custom vinyl windows and exterior doors throughout Unionville.
Unionville is part of Markham.
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Limited lifetime warranty, transferable · Custom-built to your opening · Family owned and operated
Unionville at a glance
- Region
- York Region
- Permits issued by
- City of Markham
- Typical housing
- 1840s–1890s frame and brick in a heritage district
- Main exposure
- Inland; valley humidity near Toogood Pond
Unionville homes we work on
Unionville's Main Street is one of the best-preserved 19th-century streetscapes in the Greater Toronto Area, and it is a Heritage Conservation District. The houses along and behind it are frame and brick, largely from the 1840s through the 1890s, with tall narrow openings, divided-light sashes and a fair number of segmental arch heads.
Away from the historic core, Unionville extends into 1970s through 1990s subdivisions between Kennedy and Warden, which are conventional detached stock of their period and are governed by nothing unusual.
The distinction matters enormously for a window project. Within the district, what you may install is constrained; two streets away; it is not.
What Unionville’s climate does to windows and doors
The climate is Markham's, flat, inland, no lake effect, wide winter swings. Toogood Pond and the Rouge tributary through the village put a little more humidity into the immediate valley, which shows up as condensation on the coldest glass in an older house before it shows up anywhere else.
Century frame houses here have a particular vulnerability: the original openings move with the building, and a rigid modern frame set into a moving opening will bind unless the installation allows for it.
Styles that suit Unionville
Within the heritage district, hung windows with grilles between the panes matching the original divided-light configuration are almost always what the guidelines call for. Sliding and casement units read as wrong on these elevations and generally will not be approved for a street-facing wall.
Segmental and round-headed openings get shaped units built to the measured radius. Squaring off an arch on a heritage frontage is not a saving; it is a permanent alteration to a protected streetscape.
We will tell you plainly when a project needs heritage approval before it needs a quote.
Permits and approvals in Unionville
A straight replacement needs no building permit, but in Unionville that is rarely the whole question.
The historic Main Street area is a Heritage Conservation District, and properties within it are subject to district guidelines and review by Heritage Markham. That review can govern the window style, the sash configuration and the divided-light pattern on a street-facing elevation, which is precisely why hung windows with matching grilles are usually the answer here. Outside the district boundary, in the surrounding subdivisions, none of it applies. We establish which side of that line a property sits on before quoting.
Working in Unionville
Unionville is part of Markham. If your home is in the newer subdivisions rather than the historic village, the Markham page describes that stock and what suits it.
Do I need a permit to replace windows in Ontario?
No building permit is required to replace a window in its existing opening at the same size. A permit is needed when the opening is made larger or smaller, when a new opening is cut, or when the work affects a structural header. Heritage-designated properties have their own approval process. We flag any opening that needs a permit during the in-home consultation, before quoting.
Can windows be replaced in winter in Ontario?
Yes, windows can be replaced through an Ontario winter. Installers work one opening at a time, so the house is never broadly open to the cold and each room is exposed for well under an hour. Modern sealants and foams are formulated to cure at low temperatures. Winter is often the fastest time to book, since demand drops after the autumn rush.
What happens during a free in-home consultation?
We measure every opening, check the condition of the existing frames and sills, and talk through which window or door styles suit the house. You see the actual product samples, colours and glass options rather than a catalogue. You leave with a written quote covering product, installation and disposal. There is no obligation and no deposit taken at the visit.
Book your free in-home consultation
We measure every opening, talk through the options that suit your home, and give you a written quote. No pressure, no obligation.