Can I fix my balcony door's lock or handle myself, and am I allowed to?

Check your declaration and ask the management office first. In many buildings the balcony door is a common element, so the corporation arranges repairs, even small ones. Where owners may replace a handle, match the existing one. A lock that won't catch often needs roller or keeper adjustment, which is a job for a pro.

Can I add a screen to a condo window that never had one?

Often, yes, with the management office's agreement. A screen can change how the window looks from outside, so some boards want a particular frame colour or style. Ask first, then send the window type and size. Screens for casements and balcony doors are small, common jobs.

Can a condo owner pick a different window colour or style?

Usually not freely. Boards typically keep colour, style and grille pattern uniform across the building. An owner who wants to change a common-element window needs board approval before work starts and, typically, a registered agreement. The condo replacement guide explains the steps.

Can our board replace only the failed units instead of every window?

Often, yes. Where frames are sound, fogged or cracked units can be replaced as they fail and matched to the rest. A full program makes more sense when frames, seals and hardware are failing across the building. A pro's survey helps the board compare the two against the reserve fund study.

How should a condo board plan for window and balcony door replacement?

Start with the reserve fund study and a survey of what's failing now. Decide the building's spec for colour, glass and hardware so every quote is comparable. Then choose whether to replace by floor, by elevation or all at once, and plan elevator bookings and resident notices around it.

Condos · Mississauga

Condo glass: for boards, managers and unit owners

Before anyone looks at a condo window, someone has to know whose window it is. Windows and balcony doors in an Ontario condo are usually common elements, which puts them in the corporation's hands. Checking first saves you a visit from a pro who can't start. This page has one lane for unit owners and one for boards and managers. In both, we connect you with an independent local glass professional who works in condo buildings.

Owners: check who owns the glass first
Boards: quotes that keep the look uniform
Balcony doors, windows and glass guards

Get a free quote 905-967-0060

Every balcony door here matches. Boards keep it that way.

Start here

Who owns the windows? Common elements vs unit

Condo windows are typically classified as common elements. In many declarations the unit ends at the inner surface of the glass, which leaves the glass and frame with the corporation; it repairs and replaces them from the reserve fund. A few newer declarations draw the line differently and put windows inside the unit.

Your declaration says which applies in your building. If you don't have a copy, ask the management office. Either way, report fogging, cracks or a balcony door that won't lock to management first. The condo replacement guide walks through the approval path step by step.

For owners

For owners: what needs approval and what doesn't

Small jobs are where owners and corporations most often cross wires. The answer depends on your declaration, but this is how it usually sorts out. Ask the management office before booking any of them.

Window crank

The crank and operator are part of the window, so they're often the corporation's. Some buildings let owners arrange the repair. It's usually a part swap, not a new window; see window repair.

Balcony door lock or handle

Often treated as the corporation's, because the door is. Some buildings let owners replace a handle themselves. A lock that won't catch is usually the keeper or rollers; see sliding door repair.

Screens

In some buildings screens are the owner's to maintain; the declaration decides. Adding a screen to a window that never had one may need approval so it matches. See window screens.

Fogged or cracked glass

Where windows are common elements, report it to management and let the corporation arrange it. Who pays for damage an owner caused depends on the declaration and insurance.

For boards and managers

For boards and managers: repairs, replacement programs and reserve planning

Boards typically enforce a uniform exterior: the same colour, style and grille pattern on every unit. Quotes should respect that.

Repairs as they come

Fogged units, cracked panes and balcony door hardware, handled suite by suite. Batch them where you can, so one visit covers several suites.

Replacement programs

When many units are failing, a board may replace windows or balcony doors floor by floor or elevation by elevation. The pro should quote to the building's spec, not the suite's.

Reserve planning

The reserve fund study sets when windows and doors are due. A pro's survey of failed units helps the board see whether repair or replacement fits that timing.

Balconies

Balcony sliding doors and glass guards

Balcony sliders fail in familiar ways: rollers wear, locks stop catching, water gets in at the sill in heavy rain. Most of that is repair, not a new door. A pro shouldn't lift a panel out at height without the building's say-so.

Glass guards are different. The City of Mississauga lists replacing or repairing balcony guards, on a house, apartment or condo, as work that needs a building permit. If a guard panel cracks, keep people off the balcony and tell management. See glass railings for what the repair involves.

Townhouses

Condo townhouses

A townhouse in a condo corporation looks like a freehold house, but the windows and doors are often common elements too, and the same uniform-appearance rules apply. Before replacing a patio door or a window, check the declaration. Managers of townhouse complexes can send a list for several homes; see property managers.

Quotes

How a quote works for a corporation vs an owner

For a corporation

The manager sends the building, the number of units and the issue, with photos. The pro surveys, quotes to the building's spec and supplies an insurance certificate. The board approves. Facade units on towers are covered on the curtain wall page.

For an owner

Include a photo, the management office's contact, and what management has told you so far. The pro quotes the work the owner is allowed to arrange, and works with management on access.

Questions

Condo glass questions

Explore your options

Pros work in condo towers and townhouse complexes across the city, including City Centre, Cooksville, Port Credit and Lakeview.

Boards and owners: tell us the building and the problem

Boards: send the building, the number of units and the issue. Owners: send a photo from your suite and your management office's contact. A local pro who works in condo buildings gets it from us.