Guides
Door, Window & Loading Dock Guides
Written from our own quotes, drawings and job files rather than from a search result — what a system costs, which one belongs on your opening, and what holds a job up once the crew is on site.
Commercial and industrial
Automatic Sliding Door Installation Cost: A Toronto Business Owner's Guide
What a new automatic sliding entrance costs in Toronto, what moves the price, the Ontario code points that decide the specification, and how long the job takes from quote to opening day.
Commercial Window Brands and Manufacturers in Ontario
The manufacturers the roundups name, the aluminum systems that actually get installed in Ontario, and why the framing series matters more than the badge.
What Commercial Window Replacement Costs in Ontario
What the market actually publishes per opening, why per-square-foot numbers mislead on commercial work, and what the cost of ten windows really turns on.
Automatic Sliding Door Sensor Not Working? What to Check First
Why automatic sliding door sensors stop working, what building staff can safely check, how to reset the door, and when it becomes a job for a certified technician.
Automatic Sliding Door Repair vs Replacement: Which Saves More?
When fixing an automatic sliding door is the better money, when a new operator or a whole new entrance is, and the middle option most buildings overlook.
How to Prevent Break-Ins at a Commercial Property
Where intruders actually get in, what grilles, shutters, bars, locks and glass each buy you, and the order to fix a building's weak points in.
Loading Dock Maintenance Checklist: Daily, Monthly and Planned Checks
A practical dock checklist — leveler, seals and shelters, bumpers, door and restraint — with who checks what and how often, plus standard dock heights and door sizes.
Electronic Locks for Commercial Buildings: Types, Fail-Safe and Code
Keypad, card, strike, maglock or electrified exit device: how each works, fail-safe versus fail-secure, and what the Ontario Building Code allows on an exit door.
How to Choose Commercial Doors for an Ontario Building
Door type by opening, material, fire rating, swing, accessibility, hardware and lead time — and exactly what to send so a quote comes back right the first time.
Solid Core vs Hollow Core Doors — and Why Commercial Buildings Use Solid
What is inside each type, what the difference means for sound, strength and fire ratings, and how commercial wood doors — hotel room doors included — are actually specified.
Commercial Overhead Door Not Closing? The Usual Causes, in Order
Why a commercial overhead door stops, reverses or will not come down — photo eyes, limits, springs, cables and operators — and what is safe to check yourself.
Types of Overhead Doors, and the Standard Sizes They Come In
Sectional, roll-up, rolling steel and high-speed doors compared, plus the standard residential, dock and drive-in door sizes, in feet and metres.
Tempered vs Laminated Glass: Which One Does Your Building Need?
How tempered and laminated glass are made, how each breaks, which is safer and which is more secure — plus where low-E coatings and insulating units fit in a commercial window.
Roll-Up Door Insulation: Insulated Slats, Kits, and What R-Value Really Means
Insulated slats against add-on kits, why a slat's R-value is not the door's, and where a roll-up door actually loses heat in an Ontario winter.
Types of Automatic Doors: Which One Suits Your Building?
Sliding, swing, folding, revolving and low-energy operators compared: where each belongs, the standard it is built to, and what Ontario code actually requires.
Repair or Replace Commercial Windows? How to Decide, Opening by Opening
The frame test that decides repair or replacement, what each common window and door-glass fault really needs, and how to plan a replacement when the frames are done.
Aluminum vs Vinyl Windows: Which Belongs on a Commercial Building?
Where vinyl wins, where aluminum wins, what a thermal break changes, and how to choose between fixed and operable aluminum windows — plus the maintenance that keeps them sealed.
What Is a Storefront Door? Stiles, Hardware and Glass Explained
What a storefront door actually is, how narrow, medium and wide stile differ, and the hardware, glass and thermal break that decide whether it lasts.
Fire Door Ratings Explained: 20, 45, 60, 90 and 180 Minutes in Ontario
What 20, 45, 60, 90 and 180-minute fire doors mean, how Ontario's Building Code sets the rating a wall needs, how to read the label, and how much glass a fire door can take.
How to Maintain, Adjust and Paint a Hollow Metal Door
The checklist for keeping steel doors and frames working — hinges, closers, latching, seals — plus how to adjust a binding door and how to repaint one properly.
Curtain Wall vs Window Wall: The Difference, and Where Storefront Fits
How curtain wall and window wall actually differ — structure, cost, performance and upkeep — plus where a ground-floor storefront system fits and how to tell which one your building has.
For homeowners
Garage Door Not Closing? What Stops It, and What to Check First
Why a garage door reverses, stops short or will not move at all — the free checks to try first, and the faults to leave alone.
Is a Metal Garage Door the Right Choice? Steel, Gauge and Insulation Explained
One, two or three layers, what gauge actually means, why two R-values are not comparable, and how steel stacks up against wood, aluminum and fiberglass.
Standard Patio Door Sizes, and Which Type of Patio Door to Choose
The standard widths and heights, what "72 by 80" really measures, rough openings, and how sliding, French and bifold patio doors compare.
Is a Smart Garage Door Opener Worth It? myQ, Retrofit Hubs and New Openers
What a smart opener actually does, when a retrofit hub on your existing opener is enough, what myQ costs, and the downsides nobody mentions.
Steel Door vs Fiberglass — Which Is Better for an Ontario Entrance?
Dents, rust, insulation, looks and price: how steel and fiberglass doors really compare for a house, and why a commercial building almost always ends up with steel.
Looking for a product rather than a guide?
Every system we supply has its own page with specs, lead times and real jobs on it. Start from commercial doors and openings, residential doors, or see what we have finished lately.
For a quick answer instead of a full guide, our guides & FAQ answer the questions we are asked most, one short paragraph each.