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Division 8 Contractor in Brampton: Doors, Aluminum Framing and Glazing for Metelix's 95 Van Kirk Expansion

Name: Canuck Door Systems Co.
Address: 14-1645 Bonhill Road, Mississauga, ON, L5T 1R3, CA
Telephone: 800-522-6825

Almost the whole Division 08 package on the expansion of Metelix's building at 95 Van Kirk Drive, Brampton, supplied and installed by Canuck Door Systems for general contractor BDD GC Ltd: aluminum framing and glazing, hollow metal and wood doors, rolling steel doors, automatic door operators and frameless glass partition walls. The priority was to close the building in before winter so the interior trades could start.

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Client: Metelix · General contractor: BDD GC Ltd · Brampton

The finished two-storey expansion at 95 Van Kirk Drive, Brampton, with blue metal cladding, a continuous band of aluminum-framed windows on the upper floor and a glazed entrance under a canopy, a Canuck Door Systems service truck parked in front — The expansion after completion, with the upper-floor window band, the ground-floor glazing and the entrance in place.

The job in numbers

Scope	Division 08: aluminum framing, glazing, hollow metal doors, wood doors, rolling steel doors, automatic operators, frameless glass partition walls
Aluminum framing	Windspec 655 series
Glazing	High-performance glazing
Metal doors	Daybar
Wood doors	Masonite
Glass partition walls	Oldcastle
Automatic operators	Ditec
Rolling steel doors	Cookson
Crews	3, each on its own part of the scope
Shop drawings	Submitted within 2 weeks of the contract, confirmed by the consultant from August 2023
Installation closed out	December 2023 (aluminum framing, glazing, rolling steel doors) to March 2024 (operators, metal and wood doors)
Client	Metelix
General contractor	BDD GC Ltd
Address	95 Van Kirk Drive, Brampton, Ontario

Metelix expanded its building at 95 Van Kirk Drive in Brampton, and the general contractor, BDD GC Ltd, gave Canuck almost everything in Division 08: aluminum framing, glazing, metal doors, wood doors, rolling steel doors, automatic operators and frameless partition walls. We supplied and installed it all. The job was about timing more than any single product: stay on the schedule the other trades were working to, deal with product and spec changes as they came, and close the building in before winter so the interior work could start.

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

Every system on the job came from a named manufacturer, chosen to the client's specification:

System	Product
Aluminum framing	Windspec 655 series
Glazing	High-performance glazing
Metal doors	Daybar
Wood doors	Masonite
Glass partition walls	Oldcastle
Handicap operators	Ditec
Rolling steel doors	Cookson

On the outside, the aluminum framing and glazing show in the continuous band of windows on the upper floor, the ground-floor glazing and the entrance vestibule. Inside, the frameless glass partition walls divide the offices, and the hollow metal and wood doors finish the rest of the openings.

The glazed entrance vestibule of the Metelix expansion in Brampton under its canopy, with a pair of aluminum-framed glass doors and a glazed wall looking into a lunchroom — The entrance under the canopy: aluminum-framed doors and glazing on two sides of the vestibule.

Closing the building in before winter

The goal set for the job: close the building up before winter, so Canuck and the other trades could move on to the interior work.

A new building can't be finished inside until it is weathertight. That put the aluminum framing and glazing first in line. The contract closed in early May 2023, and the shop drawings were submitted within two weeks. The consultant confirmed them in August, and some products in late September. Each product then went into fabrication and was delivered item by item on the customer's schedule, rather than all at once.

The Metelix expansion in Brampton under construction, with aluminum window frames set in the upper-floor openings before glazing and the ground floor still open to the steel structure — During construction: aluminum frames in the upper-floor window openings, the ground floor still open.

Working around the other trades

At some points two trades were due in the same area, which is a safety problem on any site. Canuck worked after hours and on weekends to finish our scope in those areas quickly, so the crews were never working on top of each other.

Getting the interior products to the second floor was the other challenge. Rather than carry them up through a building full of other trades, the crew delivered them through the exterior window openings. It was faster, and it was done safely.

The automatic operators

The entrance vestibule has Ditec automatic operators for barrier-free access. The operator push buttons were mounted on the aluminum mullions, one of the deficiency items the crew came back to finish in April 2024.

Inside the vestibule of the Metelix building in Brampton: a pair of aluminum-framed glass doors, an automatic operator housing with its arm above the left leaf, a closer on the right leaf and an exit sign beyond — The inner vestibule doors, with the operator housing above the left leaf.

Three crews and a deficiency list

Canuck ran the job with three crews, each specialising in its own part of the scope. When the project changed, the crew responsible dealt with it promptly. Our coordinators kept in regular touch with the client, and every deficiency was put right as soon as it was reported: the mullion push buttons for the operators, dust-proof keepers, a smoke seal on a washroom door, door stops.

A grey hollow metal door with a narrow wired-glass vision lite and lever handle, set in a metal frame in beige corrugated cladding — Left: a hollow metal door with a vision lite. Right: frameless glass partition walls and doors along an office corridor.

An office corridor lined with frameless glass walls and glass doors with pull handles, before the final clean-up — Left: a hollow metal door with a vision lite. Right: frameless glass partition walls and doors along an office corridor.

Where this sits

This was a full glass and aluminum package with hollow metal doors, wood doors, rolling steel doors, handicap door operators and glass partition walls on one building expansion. For the same work in the city, start with the commercial doors in Brampton page.

Questions this job answers

What does Division 8 cover in construction?

Division 08, "Openings", is the part of a construction specification that covers doors, frames, hardware, windows and glazing. On the Metelix expansion in Brampton it meant aluminum framing and glazing, hollow metal doors, wood doors, rolling steel doors, automatic door operators and frameless glass partition walls. Canuck Door Systems supplied and installed almost all of it.

Why give the whole Division 8 package to one contractor?

One contractor means one set of shop drawings, one delivery schedule and one crew plan for every opening in the building, and the general contractor has one company to call about any door or window. On this job Canuck split the package between three crews, each specialising in its own part of the scope, and any change to the project was dealt with promptly by the crew it affected.

How long do Division 8 shop drawings and fabrication take?

On this Brampton project the contract closed in early May 2023 and the shop drawings were submitted within two weeks. The consultant confirmed the drawings from August, and for some products in late September. Only then did each product go into fabrication, and it was delivered item by item to match the customer's schedule. The aluminum, glazing and rolling steel doors were complete by December 2023, and the operators, metal and wood doors by March 2024.

What does closing in a building before winter mean?

Closing in, or closing up, means making the building weathertight, with its windows, glazing and exterior doors in, so the interior trades can work inside through the winter. On the Metelix expansion that made the aluminum framing and glazing the most time-critical part of the whole Division 08 scope.

What happens when two trades need the same area at the same time?

Working on top of another trade is a safety problem. On this job, where two trades were due in the same area, Canuck's crews worked after hours and on weekends to finish their scope there quickly, so neither trade had to work next to the other.

How do you get doors and glass to the second floor of a building under construction?

On the Metelix expansion some of the interior products for the second floor were hard to carry up through the building. The crew delivered them through the exterior window openings instead, which sped up the work and was done safely.

What is a deficiency, and how is it handled on a door job?

A deficiency is an item the client or consultant finds incomplete or not to specification after installation. On this job Canuck's coordinators followed up with the client regularly and sent a crew back for each item, such as push buttons for the operators mounted on the mullions, dust-proof keepers, a smoke seal on a washroom door and door stops.

Who is a Division 8 contractor in Brampton?

Canuck Door Systems has supplied and installed commercial doors, frames, hardware, aluminum framing and glazing from its Mississauga base at 14-1645 Bonhill Road since 1979. It works across Brampton and the GTA for general contractors and building owners, on new builds, expansions and replacements.

Have an opening like this one?

Need one trade for the whole door and glazing package?

Send us the drawings, the door and hardware schedule and your construction schedule. We will price the Division 08 scope, tell you the shop-drawing and fabrication lead times, and plan the installation around the other trades on site.