City-wide · Winnipeg
Window and glass service across Winnipeg
Tell us which part of Winnipeg you live in, and we can often make a fair guess at what's wrong with the window. A North End house from before 1960, a St. James bungalow from the 1960s and a Waverley West two-storey from the 2010s fail in different ways, in different seasons. We're a free referral service: we connect you with an independent local glass pro who handles your kind of job, anywhere inside the Perimeter.
At a glance
- Housing
- Mostly built before the 1980s, still growing at the south and east edges
- Winter problems
- Room-side frost in a cold snap, and tired sealed units
- Summer problem
- Hail and wind, hardest in the north in 2023
- Permits
- Same-size replacement needs no City building permit (City of Winnipeg)
A city of many housing eras
Winnipeg grew outward over more than a century, and the City's census tables sort its neighbourhoods by era quite cleanly. Most homes were built before the 1980s, and nearly a third date from 1960 or earlier.
Each era gets its own share of three problems. Two come in winter: ice on the room side of the glass in a cold snap, usually indoor humidity rather than a broken window (our frost versus fog guide explains), and fog between the panes, which means a sealed unit has failed. The third is summer's: hail and wind that crack glass and shred screens. Where you live changes which one is most likely.
Downtown, the North End and River Heights: older homes
The oldest housing sits closest to the centre. Point Douglas, which takes in the North End, is mostly homes from 1960 or earlier, and so are the character streets of Wolseley and much of River Heights. Houses of that age were built with wood sash and storm windows. Some still have them; others got replacement windows decades ago whose sealed units are now fogging.
Room-side frost is most common here, because an old single pane or a loose storm lets the inner glass get very cold. It's also where fixing the part often beats replacing the window: a sash reglazed, a storm refitted, one failed unit swapped.
St. James, Assiniboine South, River East: postwar suburbs
The next ring went up after the war. St. James–Assiniboia is mostly from the 1960s and 70s, Assiniboine South (Charleswood and Tuxedo) leans the same way, and River East, which takes in North and East Kildonan, is split between the years up to 1960 and the two decades after. Bungalows, picture windows, sliders and storm doors are the everyday stock.
Many of these houses had their windows replaced in the 1990s and 2000s, and those sealed units are reaching the fogging stage together. The northern part of this ring also took the worst of the hail on 24 August 2023. The North and East Kildonan page covers hail repairs, and broken window glass covers the first night after a pane breaks.
Fort Garry, St. Boniface east and Transcona: newer builds
The newest housing is on the edges. A large share of Fort Garry, which includes Waverley West, has been built from 2001 on, and Sage Creek on the eastern side of St. Boniface is almost all that recent. Transcona has both: an old core from its railway-town days beside subdivisions still filling in.
Newer houses bring different requests: patio door rollers worn by heavy glass, screens, frost in the first winters while a new house dries out, and the occasional sealed unit that fails early. Check the builder's or window maker's warranty first.
Permits and heritage rules inside city limits
Inside Winnipeg, the City issues building permits. Its list of home projects that don't need one includes replacing doors and windows with the same size, though the work must still meet the building code and zoning (City of Winnipeg: home improvement projects). A bigger opening or a new one isn't on that list, so check with the City first.
Heritage is the other exception. Armstrong's Point and Crescentwood-Enderton Park are Heritage Conservation Districts, and a building on the City's list of historical resources can also need a heritage permit before its windows change (City of Winnipeg: heritage permits). The pro can help you prepare, but the City decides.
Questions about service across Winnipeg
Which parts of Winnipeg do the pros cover?
The whole city. Wherever you are inside the Perimeter, from the oldest streets near downtown to the newest crescents in Waverley West, we pass your request to an independent pro who takes that kind of job in your area. Neighbourhoods without their own page are covered the same way. The service areas list groups the city by housing era if you'd like the page that fits your house.
Do I need a permit for window work inside city limits?
Not for a same-size swap. The City of Winnipeg lists replacing windows and doors with the same size among projects that don't need a building permit, though the work must still meet code and zoning. Making an opening bigger, cutting a new one, or changing windows on a heritage-listed house or in a heritage district is different, so check with the City before work starts.
Is service the same inside and outside the Perimeter?
The process is the same: you send the request, we pass it to a local pro, and they quote and do the work. What can differ past the Perimeter is travel. Some pros add a charge for distance and some don't, so ask before booking and get it on the written quote. Photos sent with the request help a pro farther away decide quickly.
Which parts of the city got the 2023 hail?
The storm on the evening of 24 August 2023 hit the north hardest. News coverage named West and North Kildonan, Garden City and Transcona, where wind-driven hail shattered windows and dented houses. If your windows came through it, check the seals and screens anyway, because a small chip at the edge can let a sealed unit fog later. Our hail damage page lists what to look for.