City Centre · Mississauga
City Centre towers: glass help from the balcony door inward
In a City Centre tower, the first question is not what's wrong with the glass. It's whose glass it is. In most Ontario condos, windows and balcony doors are common elements the corporation looks after, so a call to the management office comes before anything else. We're a free referral service. We connect owners, tenants and managers with an independent local glass professional, and the pro we match you with quotes and does the work.
At a glance
- Buildings
- Mostly high-rise condo towers and their suites
- Call first
- Your management office, to confirm who owns the glass
- Common jobs
- Balcony doors, fogged units, film, shower glass
- Before any change
- The board's approval for common-element glass
Living in the towers: who looks after what
The City Centre has more high-rises than any city core in Ontario outside downtown Toronto, so almost every glass job here runs through a condominium corporation.
Your building's declaration says where your unit ends. A common arrangement puts the boundary at the inside face of the glass, which makes the glass and frame the corporation's; some newer declarations make the windows part of the unit. Boards also keep the outside of a building uniform, so colour and style are rarely the owner's choice.
- The corporation's glass: the management office arranges the repair, or tells you how to get approval to arrange it. Changes usually need the board's approval before work starts, set out in a written agreement.
- Your glass: you can book a pro yourself, within the building's rules for contractors.
Our condo window and balcony door guide walks through the approval steps.
Balcony doors, sliders and screens
Most balcony door faults are small parts, not a failed door.
- Drags or won't slide: worn rollers or a dirty, damaged track. Rollers can usually be replaced without a new door. See sliding door repair.
- Won't lock, or the handle is loose: a worn latch, keeper or handle set. A real job on its own.
- Torn or missing screen: rescreened, or rebuilt to fit the track.
- Water at the sill after heavy rain: worn weatherstripping or a door out of adjustment.
Don't lift a balcony door panel out of its track yourself; at height, that's the pro's job. And ask the management office before changing a lock or handle, since the door may be a common element.
Fogged or broken units in window-wall
Many towers are glazed from floor to ceiling between the floor slabs, a system pros call window-wall. Each pane is a sealed unit: layers of glass sealed together at the edges. A haze between the layers that won't wipe off from either side means the seal has failed. Water you can wipe from the room side is condensation, a different matter.
A failed or cracked unit in a tower is rarely a job to book on your own. It may need access from outside, a matching glass tint and the corporation's contractor rules. Report it to the management office with a photo. If you're asked to arrange the work, the pro we connect you with can quote it; our window-wall and curtain wall page explains building-scale glass work.
Film for glare and privacy, and glass inside the suite
Suites with large west- or south-facing windows can get strong glare, and film is a common answer. Film goes onto glass the corporation may own and changes how the building looks from outside, so ask the board before it goes on; the board may set conditions on its look. Window film explains the types.
Inside the suite, you usually have more say. A glass shower, a full-wall mirror or a frosted glass door for a den can all be done in a condo. The limits are the building's: panels must fit the service elevator, and contractors need a booking. A pro who measures first can plan panel sizes around that.
Working with your board and management
A short checklist before a pro visits a City Centre suite:
- Ask the management office whether the window or door is a common element, and whether the corporation already has a contractor for it.
- Ask what contractors need. Buildings often want a certificate of insurance, a service elevator booking and somewhere to load and park.
- Take photos: the whole window or door from inside, a close-up of the problem, and any small mark etched in a corner of the glass.
- Send the request with the building, the floor and whether you own or rent. Start it here.
Boards and managers with several suites can send one request; see the condo corporations and owners page.
City Centre condo questions
Can I put film on my suite's windows?
Often, with the board's permission. Film changes how the glass looks from outside, and the glass may belong to the corporation, so ask before it goes on. Tell the board what the film is for, whether glare, heat or privacy, and the pro can suggest a type that suits both you and the building's rules.
My balcony door screen is torn. Is that my job or the building's?
Check with the management office. Screens are small parts, and some buildings leave them to owners while others handle them centrally; the declaration decides. If it's yours, a pro can rescreen the frame or make a new screen to fit the track. Window screen repair explains what's involved.
Whose insurance covers broken glass in a condo suite?
It depends on the declaration and on what the corporation's policy and your own unit policy cover. Start with the management office, because the corporation may need to act quickly on common-element glass. Then call your insurer. Photos of the break from inside, and from the balcony if you can safely take one, help both.
Can I get a quote before the board approves the work?
Yes, and it usually helps. A board deciding on an owner's request needs to know what's planned, so a written quote that describes the door or window, the glass and how it will be installed gives it something concrete to approve. Tell the pro the work needs board approval, so the quote is written with that in mind.