Featured project
Aluminum Storefronts in Hamilton: New Plaza Storefronts, Automatic Operators and Steel Doors at 1379 Upper James Street
New exterior glass and aluminum storefronts in Windspec 655 series framing, with Ditec HA-8 automatic door operators and hollow metal doors, installed in new openings across a retail plaza at 1379 Upper James Street, Hamilton, for AVR Underground Co. Awarded in June 2022, with most of the work done by October 2022.
The job in numbers
| Storefronts | Windspec 655 series, in new openings |
|---|---|
| Automatic operators | Ditec HA-8 |
| Steel doors | Hollow metal doors, All Steel Doors Ltd |
| Client | AVR Underground Co. Ltd. |
| Address | 1379 Upper James Street, Hamilton, Ontario |
| Awarded | June 2022 |
| Most work completed | October 2022 |
The retail plaza at 1379 Upper James Street in Hamilton needed its storefronts, and AVR Underground Co. Ltd. was the client. Canuck supplied and installed new glass and aluminum storefronts in new openings, with automatic door operators and hollow metal doors.
We were awarded the job in June 2022, and most of the work was done by October 2022.
Four decades of doors for names Ontario knows — Canada’s Wonderland, Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire, the LCBO, Metrolinx, Marriott & Hilton hotels, the University of Toronto — plus thousands of businesses across the GTA. Dependable people, quality products, since 1979.
What went in
| Storefronts | Windspec 655 series framing |
|---|---|
| Automatic operators | Ditec HA-8 |
| Steel doors | Hollow metal doors from All Steel Doors Ltd |
The glass and aluminum storefronts face the parking lot: an entrance door and a row of windows in the same framing. The Ditec HA-8 operators make the entrances accessible, and the hollow metal doors are the tougher doors used where glass is not needed.
Three crews, three jobs
The work was split between three specialist teams: one for the storefronts and hollow metal doors, one for the automatic operators, and a professional caulking team for every exterior seal.
The job was organised by trade. One team installed the storefront entrances and the hollow metal doors, one team installed the automatic door operators, and a professional caulking team did every exterior seal on the project. At the start, the crew visited the site to check that the openings and frame sizes agreed, and any damaged or defective part was replaced right away.
Lead times in 2022
Pre-production took a month, mostly for drawing approval, and there were some delays in the drawing approval stage. Lead times were longer than normal: the industry was still recovering from COVID, and our manufacturer was expanding its plant at the time.
Questions this job answers
Can storefronts be installed in new openings?
Yes. On this job the storefronts went into new openings, and the crew visited the site at the start to check the openings against the frame sizes before installation.
What do automatic door operators add to a storefront?
Accessibility. An automatic operator opens the door from a push button, so anyone can use the entrance. This job used Ditec HA-8 operators.
Why split a storefront job between specialist crews?
Because the trades are different. On this job one crew installed the storefronts and steel doors, one the automatic operators, and one specialist team did all the exterior caulking.
Where this sits
This was storefront work, with automatic operators and hollow metal doors, at a retail plaza in Hamilton. For the same work on your building, start with the commercial glass doors in Hamilton page.
Have an opening like this one?
Fitting out a new plaza?
Send us the unit layout and the door schedule. We will price the storefronts, operators and back doors together, and tell you the lead times.