Tecumseh · Lake St. Clair
Foggy glass and tired patio doors in Tecumseh's 1990s subdivisions
Tecumseh's subdivisions started in the late 1980s, and close to half the town's homes went up between 1981 and 2000. Walk one of those streets on a sunny afternoon and you'll spot it: a bedroom window hazed between the panes, then another a few doors down. That's a blown seal, and in a house this age it often isn't the only one. We put you in touch with an independent glass pro who covers Tecumseh, to count them with you and price them as one job. Tecumseh is outside the City, so we check your postal code first.
At a glance
- Housing
- Close to half built 1981 to 2000
- Town
- Merged with St. Clair Beach and Sandwich South in 1999
- Common jobs
- Blown seals in batches, patio doors, basement windows
- Coverage
- We look up your postal code first. Other areas
Why the 1990s subdivisions are fogging now
Thermal glass, the local name for a sealed unit, is a sandwich: two sheets of glass, a spacer bar around the rim, and a bead of sealant holding it shut. Every hot afternoon and cool night, the air between the panes expands and contracts, and over enough summers the seal can let go. Humid air gets in and the haze follows.
Tecumseh's houses sit squarely in the age range where that shows, so several on one street can fog at once. That's how double-pane glass ages, not a sign of bad building, and long, hot summers may add to the wear. Across the line in Forest Glade, houses are a little older and the City issues permits.
Replace the sealed unit or the window?
We don't take a side. Each option suits a different window:
- Defogging washes out the gap and vents it. The haze may lift; the broken seal stays broken.
- A replacement sealed unit drops into the frame you already have. Best when the frame and hardware are in good shape.
- A whole new window is the answer for a warped frame, failing hardware on top of fog, or a window you want to change anyway.
If several units are going, count them room by room and ask for one quote that prices each unit separately. Itemized, it lets you start with the worst rooms. New glass in an old frame won't earn anything from Ontario's Home Renovation Savings Program; full ENERGY STAR replacement windows may, under its rules. See the foggy sealed unit page for more.
Patio doors, rollers and screens
Houses this age usually have a slider to the deck, and it works hard spring to fall:
- Rollers and track: if you have to put your shoulder into it, the rollers are worn or the track is full of grit.
- Latches: a latch that no longer catches often means the door has dropped slightly.
- Door glass: fog or a crack in a door panel means new glass, and the door stays.
- Screens: the sliding screen that keeps leaving its track can be fixed or remade.
After floods: basement windows and window wells
Tecumseh knows heavy summer rain. In 2016 a great many homes in town reported flood damage, and basements took the worst of it. Water pooling in a window well sits against the basement window and tests its frame and seal.
Why does a well fill after a storm? Usually a clogged drain, no cover, or ground sloping toward the house: drainage fixes, often for another trade. A glass pro can replace a basement window that leaks or has failed, and tell you honestly whether the well is the real problem. For moisture on the glass itself, see our condensation guide.
Permits come from the Town of Tecumseh
Tecumseh issues its own building permits, and the City of Windsor's rules stop at the town line. Ask the Town of Tecumseh's building department how it treats a same-size replacement. Anything that changes an opening, like a bigger basement window or a walkout, is structural, so expect a permit. East along the lake, Belle River and Lakeshore issue their own too.
Tecumseh and St. Clair Beach questions
Can fogged windows in a 1990s Tecumseh home be fixed?
Yes, usually without replacing the window. The haze means that unit's seal has gone, and a replacement unit can generally be built to fit the frame you have. Where the frame and hardware still work, that's usually where to start. If the frame is warped or most of the house is going at once, price full replacement alongside it. Send a count and photos.
We've got blown seals in half the house. Can they be quoted and done together?
Yes, and that's the sensible way. Count the fogged units room by room, note whether each is a fixed pane, a slider or an opener, and photograph each. Ask for one quote with every unit priced separately. The pro measures everything in one visit, orders the glass and comes back once it's made.
What changes the price when several sealed units go at once?
Mostly the glass and how hard it is to reach. Size matters, as do arches and other shapes, the glass type (low-E, tempered, obscure bathroom glass, grilles between the panes) and whether a unit is upstairs. Measuring and travel are shared across the job, so the count matters too. A per-unit quote shows where the money goes.
Does the Town of Tecumseh want a permit for new windows?
Ask the Town of Tecumseh's building department before you book; Tecumseh issues its own permits, separate from the City of Windsor. A same-size swap is often simpler, but the Town decides. Enlarging a basement window or adding a walkout is structural, so expect a permit, and check whether the permit is on the pro's quote.
Are blown seals costing me on air conditioning?
Somewhat, though it's hard to pin down for one window. A failed unit has let humid air in, and any insulating gas it held may have escaped, so it performs a little below new. If cooling bills are the worry, look at the whole window: drafts, worn weatherstrip and strong afternoon sun matter too.