Window Replacement in Olds, AB
Triple-pane windows foamed and sealed to ride out chinook swings, quieter glass for houses near the tracks, and egress windows for rentals, about 45 minutes from Red Deer.
Updated
Replacement windows and doors for Olds homeowners
Window replacement in Olds, AB is work Red Deer Custom Windows has done since 2001. We pull the old windows and set new ones, usually triple pane, which is three layers of glass instead of two. Our crew fits awnings and casements that crank shut tight, European tilt-and-turn windows, basement egress windows big enough to climb out of, and new entry doors. Every opening gets measured by our own people. If something we measured doesn't fit, you don't pay for the fix.
Olds is about 61 km from our showroom, roughly 45 minutes down Highway 2 and across on 27. We try to book Olds measures in pairs or threes on one day, which keeps the trip efficient and lets us get there sooner. Your written quote follows within two business days. Windows are built in about 4 to 6 weeks, and an average 12-window house takes our two-person crew about two days.
Planning an Olds window install
The short list for anyone booking from Olds:
- About 45 minutes from Red Deer by Highway 2 and Highway 27
- Olds measures grouped on one day, so you're seen sooner
- Written quote in two business days, held for 60 days
- Lifetime warranty on the windows, 5 years on our install
- Old windows and packaging hauled back to Red Deer with us
Chinook swings and what they do to seals
At 1,041 m, Olds is higher and colder than Red Deer: plant hardiness zone 3b against our 4a. Winters drop to minus 30 and lower, then a chinook rolls in off the mountains and lifts the temperature 20 degrees or more before lunch. A chinook day in February feels like a gift. Your windows don't see it that way. Vinyl grows and shrinks with every swing, caulk gets worked like a hinge, and the edge seal on each sealed unit (the glass package inside the frame) flexes back and forth. Do that forty times a winter and weak seals give up.
Triple pane works like dressing in layers. The warmth comes from the still air trapped between them, and a third pane adds a second pocket of it, a vest under the parka. Add a warm-edge spacer, the non-metal strip between the panes, and the edge of the glass stays warm enough that frost doesn't start there.
Why the install matters more in Olds
A good window badly installed is a bad window, and chinook country finds out fast. Around every frame we use low-expansion foam (it fills the gap without bowing the frame) and tape it into the air barrier. Then we lap flashing over the head so meltwater runs away from the wall instead of into it. In deep cold we treat it like rigging up on a frozen lease: room tarped and heated, one opening at a time, nobody rushes. That's how an Olds install passes the minus-30 test.
Quieter glass along the CPKC main line
The CPKC main line between Edmonton and Calgary runs right through town, and anyone living a block or two from it knows the 3 a.m. freight by heart. Glass helps more than people think. Laminated glass, two sheets bonded to a plastic layer, damps the rumble because the layer absorbs vibration. Triple pane adds another air space for sound to cross. We've put both in bedrooms facing the line, and owners tell us the horn went from waking them to background. Our triple pane windows page lays out the glass choices.
Student rentals and older houses near Olds College
Olds College fills town with students every September, and many live in older houses near campus that landlords keep running on a budget. The usual trouble is tired sliders that don't latch and basement bedrooms with windows far too small. A bedroom needs an egress window, one big enough to climb out of: at least 0.35 m² of clear opening, no side under 380 mm. For upstairs rooms we often swap sliders for casements, or for tilt-and-turns, which tip in at the top for air and swing in for cleaning. Our casement and tilt-and-turn windows page shows both.
Landlords always ask about retrofit, a new window set into the old frame. Think of it as a new liner in an old pair of winter boots. Worth it if the shell is sound. Money wasted if the sole has split. We'll tell you which one you've got.
Open grassland wind, hail and Highway 27
Olds sits in the grasslands, open country with little to break a west wind off the foothills. It also sits on the Hailstorm Alley stretch between Calgary and Red Deer, so hail weather in July is part of the deal. Casements and awnings lock tight against wind; sliders tend to whistle. On walls that keep catching hail, laminated glass holds together when struck. Head west on Highway 27 and you reach Sundre, the next stop on our map. Wait for the warm day to paint the trim.
Wind finds doors too. Plenty of Olds houses keep their first front door: a hollow slab with daylight showing under it. We replace those with insulated steel or fibreglass entry doors, hung over a fresh threshold. Each door carries at least a 10-year warranty. Most homeowners tack the door onto the window order so it all arrives on the same trip from Red Deer, which saves a second drive down Highway 2.
Types of replacement windows we install in Olds
Triple Pane Windows
Three panes, argon gas and a Low-E coating. Roughly 7 in 10 of our window jobs are triple pane now, and in a zone 3b town we'd put it in every room.
Tilt-and-Turn Windows
European windows that tip in at the top for a breeze or swing in like a door to wash the outside glass. Popular on second floors and in rentals where tenants clean their own windows.
Awning Windows
Hinged at the top so they tip out from the bottom and shed rain. A good pick under a picture window or high on a wall that faces the prairie wind.
Egress Windows
Escape windows for basement bedrooms, with the foundation cut, steel window well and building permit handled start to finish.
Sliding Windows
Sashes that glide left and right, simple and affordable. Fine on sheltered walls; on the windward side we usually suggest a casement instead.
Olds FAQ
Olds window replacement FAQ
Do chinook winds damage windows in Olds?
Over time, yes. A chinook can lift the temperature 20 degrees or more in a few hours, and every swing flexes the frame, the caulk and the edge seals. Weak seals fail first, which shows up as fog between the panes. Solid triple pane units and a careful foam-and-tape install stand up to it for decades.
Will new windows cut train noise near the tracks in Olds?
They make a real difference. The plastic layer inside laminated glass soaks up vibration, and triple pane puts one more pocket of air in the way, so the CPKC freights sound farther off. Much of the noise was sneaking through gaps around the old frames, and a new install seals those. Spend on the bedrooms facing the tracks first.
How long does it take to get new windows in Olds?
Count on about five to seven weeks start to finish. We measure, send a written quote within two business days, and once you say go the windows take about 4 to 6 weeks to build. Install day comes after that, and a 12-window Olds house is usually done in about two days.
Do basement bedrooms in Olds rentals need egress windows?
Yes. Under the Alberta Building Code every bedroom without a door to the outside needs an egress window, basement rooms included. That means at least 0.35 m² of clear opening. If it opens into a window well, it also needs 760 mm of room to climb out. Cutting the opening also needs a building permit.
Are triple pane windows worth it in Olds?
We think so. Triple pane costs about 10-15% more than double pane. In a town that sits at minus 30 for stretches of January, the comfort pays you back long before the gas bill does. You'll feel it most beside the glass: less chill, less condensation and frost on the bottom rail.
