Restoration Register

Heritage window restoration in Southwestern Ontario

Southwestern Ontario is the thinnest region in this directory for almost every trade, with one exception: window restoration. Six specialists cover the corridor from Windsor and Sarnia through Chatham-Kent and up to Orangeville, and they are the reason a heritage sash in this region does not have to become a vinyl replacement.

The work is the same everywhere and rarely offered anywhere near here: reglazing in linseed oil putty, replacing cords and rebalancing weights, epoxy consolidation of rot in rails and sills, freeing painted-shut sashes, re-fitting to the frame and weatherstripping, plus storm windows where winter performance matters. Because coverage is thin and the region is wide, several of these firms work across multiple counties, and shop-based restoration is common. Sashes are removed, taken away, restored and reinstalled, with the openings closed up in between. That is a normal arrangement and is often the only way the work is economic at this distance, but agree the timeline and the temporary closure in writing first.

What to ask before you hire

  1. Is this shop work or on-site work, and how long will the openings be closed? Shop restoration is normal in this region and the timeline should be in the contract.
  2. Do you cover my county, and what is the travel cost? Coverage across Southwestern Ontario is patchy and travel is a real line item.
  3. Repair or new sashes? Ask for the repair quote first, and ask what specifically makes a sash unrepairable if they say it is.
Grant funding

Brantford funds 50% to $20,000, the largest published amount in the region. St. Marys funds 50% to $7,500 architectural and $2,500 facade. London funds at 50% without publishing a cap, and Windsor, Owen Sound, Chatham-Kent and Petrolia all run programs with unpublished terms.

Contractors on this page

Part of

All heritage service pages · Grants by municipality