Windows and Doors: When to Replace Them, What It Costs, and What You Actually Get Back

There are two ways people arrive at the "replace the windows" project. The first: a window has failed, the wood is rotten, the glass is permanently fogged, and the decision makes itself. The second: a salesperson promises to cut your heating bill in half. Both lead to the same quote for tens of thousands of dollars, but only one rests on an actual calculation.

How long does a window last?

Mostly it depends on the material and the quality of the original installation:

• PVC: 20 to 30 years. The most common choice in Quebec and the cheapest, but white yellows and low-end models warp.
• Aluminium: 25 to 40 years for the frame. Without a thermal break, it condenses and frosts up in January.
• Hybrid (PVC or wood inside, aluminium outside): 30 to 40 years, the common compromise in recent construction.
• Wood: 30 years and well beyond if maintained, but it demands regular paint or sealant. Often the only acceptable choice in a heritage district.

The important point: it is almost always the seal on the insulated glass that fails first, not the frame. You can then replace the sealed unit alone for a few hundred dollars.

Signs a window is at the end of its life

• Fog between the two panes. The clearest sign: the seal is dead and so is the insulating value.
• A draft with the window closed. Run your hand around the perimeter on a windy day: often it's the weatherstripping, not the window.
• Heavy condensation on the interior glass. A little fog in deep cold is normal; water soaking the sill rots the wood.
• Soft or blackened wood around the frame or on the sill: probe it with a screwdriver. If it sinks in, patching won't hold anymore.
• A window that sticks or won't lock. The frame has shifted; on a casement it's sometimes just a hardware adjustment.
• Ice forming on the inside. A sign of an uninsulated frame or a thermal bridge: the meltwater ends up in the wall.

What it costs in Quebec

Prices vary with size, material, and access, but the order of magnitude is useful:

• A standard PVC window, supplied and installed: roughly $700 to $1,400 each.
• A hybrid window: roughly $1,100 to $2,200 each.
• A custom or heritage-profile wood window: $2,000 to $4,000 and up.
• An insulated steel entry door, installed: $1,500 to $3,500; fibreglass with a sidelight: $3,000 to $6,000.
• A patio or garden door: $2,000 to $5,000.
• The sealed unit alone, if the frame is still sound: $250 to $600.

For a typical home with 12 to 18 openings, a full replacement commonly lands between $15,000 and $35,000. Two details inflate quotes: enlarging an opening, which touches the structure, and redoing the exterior cladding.

The energy-savings argument, without the marketing

In an average Quebec home, windows account for 15% to 25% of heat loss. Replacing decent 1990s windows with high-end new ones doesn't eliminate that loss, it trims a fraction of it: on an $1,800 annual heating bill, the saving often works out to a few hundred dollars. Against a $25,000 investment, the payback outlives the product.

The real justification is elsewhere: comfort, sound insulation, keeping water out, an end to mould, appearance, and the fact that a rotting window eventually damages the wall. The heating saving is a bonus, not a financing plan. If the goal is a smaller bill, attic insulation, air sealing, and a heat pump deliver more result per dollar.

What to look for on a quote

• U-factor and solar heat gain. The lower the U-factor, the better the window insulates; on a south face, a higher solar gain helps in winter.
• ENERGY STAR certification for the right climate zone. Quebec spans several: a window rated for southern Ontario isn't right for Saguenay.
• Double or triple glazing. Triple improves comfort and sound insulation and costs 10% to 20% more: it earns its keep on faces exposed to wind or noise.
• The installation type. A "retrofit" install keeps the frame and costs less, but shrinks the glass area and hides the problems behind it; a full install strips back to the framing.
• The warranty, in detail. The sealed unit, the hardware, and the labour almost never run the same length.
• The contractor's RBQ licence and insurance, checked before the deposit.

Get three itemized quotes and be wary of discounts valid "today only".

Financial assistance

Programs change often: confirm the current conditions before signing. Worth checking in Quebec: provincial energy-efficiency programs, utility offers covering the building envelope, and occasionally municipal grants for heritage restoration. One crucial point: most require registration and assessment before work begins. Installing the windows first and looking for the grant afterward is the most common way to lose it.

The effect on your home's value

New windows essentially never return 100% at resale: more like half to 70% of the cost, and timing matters. Windows replaced ten years ago are simply "normal" to a buyer; replaced last year, they're a concrete selling point.

The asymmetry matters more than the average: windows visibly at the end of their life almost always cost more in negotiation than the replacement would have. A buyer who sees six fogged panes and two rotten sills deducts their price plus a margin for everything they imagine behind them. You don't replace your windows to gain value, you replace them so you don't lose any.

If you're selling soon, target the most visible openings; if you're staying ten years, do it all at once. Curious what your home is worth? Enter your address on Evalio for a free estimate.