Window Replacement in Blackfalds, AB
Blackfalds homes built since 2000 are reaching the age when builder windows fog and frost. We swap them for triple pane and cut egress openings for basement suites.
Updated
Window and door replacement for Blackfalds
Window replacement in Blackfalds, AB is about the shortest drive Red Deer Custom Windows makes. The work splits three ways. We replace fogged or frosty windows with triple pane. We trade drafty sliders for casement and awning windows that crank shut tight, and we cut new egress windows so a basement bedroom is legal and safe. We hang entry doors as well. Every opening gets measured by our own crew, and the old windows leave in our truck.
Our showroom in Red Deer's north end is 13.5 km from Blackfalds up Highway 2A. Fifteen minutes on a clear road. Blackfalds grew 13.9% between 2016 and 2021 to 10,627 people (2021 census), one of the faster-growing towns in Alberta, and the bulk of its houses date from after 2000. Being that close, a Blackfalds measure can usually happen the same week you call.
How a Blackfalds install works
Most Blackfalds jobs run like this:
- We're 15 minutes away, so a measure rarely waits long
- A written quote within two business days, held for 60 days
- One or two install days for most houses
- Egress from first shovel to final sweep: dig, cut, install, window well
- Old frames, glass and doors hauled off and disposed of
Builder windows in a young town
A town that grew that fast ended up with a lot of the same window. Most Blackfalds houses built after 2000 came with double-pane vinyl sliders, the cheapest unit on the builder's list, and those are now 15 to 25 years old. First the sealed unit lets go and the glass fogs. Next the weatherstripping goes flat and hard. Then air starts sneaking through the frame joints.
Ice on the bottom rail by breakfast is the giveaway. Frost on the inside of tired builder windows is our most common call every January, and Blackfalds sends us its share. Other tells: a haze inside the glass no cloth will touch, a chilly breath of air along the sash, a latch you have to lean on. Cold finds the gap.
Swapping sliders for casements on the windy side
A slider rests in its track and hopes for the best. Crank a casement closed and a multi-point lock (one that grabs in several spots) pulls it tight. The sash ends up hard against the seal. You feel that difference on a minus 30 night with wind out of the northwest. On a Blackfalds house, the northwest corner is where we'd rather put casements or awnings, leaving sliders for walls the wind never finds. Our casement and tilt-and-turn windows page shows the styles.
Egress windows for Blackfalds basement suites
Developed basements are everywhere in Blackfalds, and a lot of owners want the bedroom down there to count, for family or for a suite. The Alberta Building Code says every bedroom needs an egress window (one big enough to climb out of in a fire) unless the room has its own door outside. No egress, no legal bedroom.
Egress size, window wells and permits
The window must open to at least 0.35 m² (about 3.8 sq ft) with no side under 380 mm (15 inches). If it opens into a window well, you need 760 mm (about 30 inches) of clear space in front of it. Cutting a new opening in the foundation needs a building permit.
Plenty of egress customers reach us after hearing from someone who'll dig but won't cut, or cut but won't dig. We take it from first shovel to last sweep: dig the hole, cut the foundation with a wet diamond concrete saw, set the window, drop in a steel window well, backfill and tidy. Basement window jobs in the area run $1,000 to $6,000 installed, with egress near the high end. Details are on our egress windows page.
Should you replace a few windows or the whole house?
Replace just the failed ones if only a few units are fogged and the frames are solid. Replace the whole house if most windows are over 20 years old or drafty. On one 2006 Blackfalds two-storey, we replaced 6 of 14 fogged units and swapped the west sliders for casements for about $8,900 in one day.
Doing the whole house at once costs more on day one, but every room gets the same glass, the same sightlines and one warranty start date. A retrofit insert is a new liner in an old pair of winter boots: great while the shell holds up, a waste once the sole has cracked through. Vinyl frames 15 years old have usually got plenty of life left, so partial jobs suit Blackfalds better than towns with older housing. Of all the replacement windows Blackfalds families pick from us, the clear favourite is triple pane.
Further north, we also replace windows in Ponoka, about 35 minutes up the 2A.
Replacement window types for Blackfalds homes
Casement Windows
Hinged along one side and opened with a roto-crank, the folding crank handle. Of all the opening styles this one closes tightest, so west walls get them first.
Egress Windows
New or enlarged basement openings sized to code, at least 0.35 m² open, with a steel window well and a permit. We dig, cut and install.
Triple-Pane Windows
Three panes, two sealed gaps of argon, and a warm-edge spacer (the strip between the panes, built to stay warm). Condensation forms first along the bottom edge, which is exactly what that spacer fights. Triple pane goes on every wall we do, south side included.
Awning Windows
Hinged along the top edge, an awning pushes its bottom out, so a summer shower drips away from the room. Over a tub it gets tempered glass; up high in a stairwell it lets warm air out.
Entry and Storm Doors
Steel, fibreglass or PVC entry doors. We can add a storm door in front to protect them. Before hanging one, we probe the threshold for rot and cut out anything soft.
Blackfalds FAQ
Blackfalds window replacement FAQ
Why are the windows in my Blackfalds house fogging between the panes?
The edge seal has failed. Builder double-pane windows in Blackfalds homes built in the 2000s are now 15 to 25 years old, and that's when the seal lets the argon escape and humid air creep in. No cloth will clear that fog. The fix is a new sealed unit or a complete new window.
Do I need a permit for an egress window in Blackfalds?
Yes. Cutting a new opening in a foundation, or making one bigger, needs a building permit because it changes the structure. A same-size window swap usually doesn't. On Blackfalds egress jobs we sort out the permit with the Town before we cut, then dig, cut, install the window and set the window well.
How much does an egress window cost in Blackfalds?
Most basement and egress window jobs near Red Deer cost $1,000 to $6,000 installed, and a full egress job with a new cut, window well and permit sits near the top of that range. A recent basement suite job of ours in Sylvan Lake, a new cut with a steel well, came to about $5,800 over two days.
How soon can you start a window job in Blackfalds?
We can usually measure within a week, since Blackfalds is only 15 minutes from our Red Deer showroom. You get a written quote within two business days, and custom windows arrive about 4 to 6 weeks after we order them. Most Blackfalds houses then take one or two days to install.
Can you replace windows in a Blackfalds basement suite while tenants live there?
Yes. Swapping a same-size basement window takes us a few hours an opening, and we clean up after every one, so tenants can stay put. A new egress cut is noisier and runs about two days with the digging, the saw and the window well, so we agree the dates early, together with your tenant.
