Primary Seal Windows and Doors

While windows are important to the appearance and energy efficiency of your home, front, side and back doors are often neglected by consumers. A new door will not only enhance the appearance of your home, but it may save you a surprising amount of energy in both winter and summer.

Many of the high-end custom homes that you see have at the very core of their look a large and attractive set of doors. Take that away, and the entire home would look unfinished and awkward. A new door can significantly improve the appearance of any home, large or small, by creating a visual focal point. Sure, you say, the look is nice but is it worthwhile to pay for a new door just for the sake of vanity? Well of course not.

A new door is more than a visual improvement, it works in many ways to save you energy, make you more comfortable and keep you safer. All new steel entry doors come filled with highly insulating polyurethane. Also, most decorative or clear glass units are available in ‘Low-E’ energy saving glass. Finally, new steel doors also come with a raised sweep and magnetic weather seals.

For many homeowners safety is a primary concern. That is why new steel doors are available with a multipoint locking system which is far superior to a single deadbolt. We also provide traditional deadbolt doors with a steel insert in the door frame which significantly inrcreases the strength of the deadbolt mechanism.

Ask any of our trained staff or customer representatives and you will find a number of benefits to replacing an old, leaky, drafty door with a secure, attractive and functional steel door.

If you have any additional comments or concerns, please contact us.

Harry Doors, Energy Efficiency air sealing, Doors, energy savings, entrance doors, low-e

Here at Primary Seal we get a lot of customers that come in and ask about replacing their doors. Many people, we’ve noticed, wish to have a beautiful front door with elegant glass and classy paneling. Often the doors they currently own are not terrible from an energy standpoint but they have become an eyesore. However, we rarely hear customers asking to replace their patio doors unless they feel there is something wrong with the door. Because these doors are located at the back of the house they seem to also find themselves in the back of the minds of consumers when they are planning home improvement renovations. This is unfortunate, as replacing a patio door is for the most part less expensive than a front door and can offer significant energy savings and a noticeable increase in ease of use and appearance.

The first problem with old patio doors is the frame. The majority of older patio doors are made with an aluminum or wood frame. The wood frame is prone to warping and rotting, while the aluminum frame conducts the heat and cold with little resistance. Also, the majority of older patio doors are made with several pieces of single tempered glass that offers little protection from the elements though is fairly resistant to impact. The track or sliding system of the doors is somewhat crude, making for difficult operation of the door. However, one of the biggest weaknesses of older patio doors is their lack of security. Most of the doors are equipped with primitive locking systems and were it not for the old cut off hockey stick at the bottom of the door the level of safety the older doors provide would be limited at best.

Newer patio doors have several advantages. First, a steel-reinforced vinyl frame allows for a good amount of rigidity while insulating your home from the elements. All new patio doors that Primary Seal carries are Energy Star rated for all four climate zones in North America and come standard with double pane thermal Low-E glass. The glass is also tempered for safety. Door operation is made easy by a raised track with a four-roller system that allows the door to glide effortlessly even though its weight is substantially greater than its single pane ancestors. Last but not least, security comes in several forms including a decent standard lock and options for a externally keyed lock (great for people who want to leave through the back door like those who live downtown and have their garage in the back of the house) as well as a multi-point locking system. Also, several “night-time” safety systems exist which are both elegant (no hockey sticks) and extremely resilient, not to mention inexpensive.

Often, for half the price of a front door, you can improve your energy efficiency, comfort and safety. A new sliding patio door will leave you feeling great while still leaving something in your pocket. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have about patio doors or check out our website for more information.

Harry Doors, Energy Efficiency, Windows energy savings, Home Security, Low-E Glass, Patio Door, Sliding Door, Tempered Glass

While we are enjoying a run of great weather, and it still feels more like summer than fall, we all know (but refuse to admit for the moment) that the cooler weather is just around the corner.

A window which may seem perfectly fine during the summer may soon turn into a drafty, leaky, frosted mess when the temperatures dip. In fact, it is common during the fall to have mild days and freezing nights.

Now, most people will argue that changing the windows and doors in a house costs a bundle, and it does. Also they will argue that the money they save in heating and cooling costs will take years if not decades to pay for the cost of the windows. Again, they are right. However, there is one small but important flaw in that line of thinking: the idea that changing the windows and doors in a house is a one-time, all or nothing project.

What if it were possible to pay half of the money you have been or will be quoted for the entire house and enjoy energy savings and increased comfort in most of your home? Funny enough, consumers will approach their window and door job from the most expensive items to the least expensive almost without exception, while if they started from the other end, they would find that their money would go a much longer way.

Let me give you an example:

An average house with three bedrooms usually has the following window and door items: front door, side or patio door, three bedroom windows, a window in the bathroom, one in the kitchen, one living room and one dining room window, as well as four basement windows. Let’s say the homeowner of this imaginary home decides to replace his windows and doors. Which two window and door items will make up the better part of the cost of this job? The answer is the front door and the living room window or the window which usually faces the front of the house. Why you ask? Well because the decorative glass in the front door as well as because the window facing the front of the house is usually tall and wide. Windows are priced according to surface area, and a very large and complex window will cost far more than a small bedroom window.
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Harry Doors, Energy Efficiency, Windows energy savings, energy-efficient home, replacement windows, Windows

(NC)—With the holidays and colder months just around the corner, now is the time to find easy ways to save money. Performing a simple home energy audit can help cut costs by pinpointing the places where a house is losing energy, identifying ways to conserve hot water and electricity, and evaluating the efficiency of the home’s appliances and heating and cooling systems.

Sue Rainville, director of marketing for Hunter Douglas, Canada’s leading manufacturer of custom window fashions, offers the following steps for consumers to conduct a home energy audit:

Locate that leak

Window frames and doors are obvious sources of drafts. Check electrical outlets, switch plates, baseboards, fireplace dampers and wall or window-mounted air conditioners for spaces. Look for gaps around pipes, faucets and mail slots. Apply caulking and weather stripping where needed.

Look to your furnishings

“Windows are rightly called the ‘eyes’ of a home, yet they are also energy holes through which heat can escape,” said Rainville. Help protect your home with shades such as Duette Architella honeycomb shades from Hunter Douglas that can reduce heat loss at the window by up to 50 percent when properly installed.

Attics and basements

In cold weather, air leaks in the attic act like a chimney, drafting expensive heated air upwards and sucking cold air into the rest of the home. Large gaps are also often found around plumbing pipes, light fixtures, chimneys and soffits. Ensure openings for items such as pipes, ductwork and chimneys are sealed with expanding foam caulk.

Step outside

Insulation needs to work both inside and out. Check areas where two different construction materials meet, such as the foundation and the exterior brick or siding. Look for cracks and holes in the mortar, foundation and siding, and seal them with the appropriate material.

Using these tips, consumers can learn how to conduct a home energy audit on their own, just in time for those cold winter months.

More information is available online at www.hunterdouglas.ca or toll-free at 1-800-265-8000.

- News Canada

Harry Energy Efficiency do it yourself, energy savings, Home energy audits

When purchasing new Weather Seal windows from Primary Seal most clients will say that they would like their windows installed by us before the winter months as they associate new windows with having a warmer and more comfortable home. Also, since heating a home is expensive, the potential energy savings associated with high efficiency Energy Star windows become a deciding factor in their choice to retrofit their home.

However, the summer months can take a financial toll as well, due to the high cost of cooling your home. Air conditioners consume large amounts of electricity. As you may have heard Ontario is introducing higher electricity prices during peak times. It is at these peak times, such as the early afternoon, when it is hottest outside and your air conditioner would have to work the hardest to keep your home cool.

According to the Ontario Energy Board, effective May 1st of this year, on-peak electricity usage (11am – 5pm) will cost 9.1 cents per kWh for consumers using Smart Meters. Consumers with a Regulated Price Plan will pay 6.6 cents per kWh all the time. This means that the cost of cooling a home has increased significantly since 2004 when consumers paid as little as 4.7 cents a kWh under Government regulation.
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Harry Windows energy savings, energy star, low-e, Windows