Condos · Montreal
Condos: replacing windows and sealed units with the syndicate on board
About one Montreal household in five is a condo, and in a co-ownership building, windows are rarely one person's decision alone. The City's permit file for a condo asks for a resolution of the syndicate or a letter from each co-owner. We connect syndicates, managers and individual owners with independent local contractors who replace windows, balcony doors and thermos units, the sealed glass units Quebeckers call a thermos, and who can prepare the quote that file needs.
- The syndicate resolution, explained
- Batch thermos replacement
- Balcony doors, railings and towers
Who decides
Who decides: the co-owner or the syndicate?
The answer is in your declaration of co-ownership, not on this page. The declaration sets out which parts of the building are common, which are private, and who may change what. Windows, balcony doors and railings are treated differently from one building to the next, so read the relevant section, or ask the syndicate or its manager, before anyone orders glass.
The same goes for who pays. We don't guess, and a pro shouldn't either. Settle it inside the building first, then compare quotes.
The permit file
The syndicate resolution in the permit file
Most Montreal boroughs require a permit to replace windows or doors, even at the same size. For a co-ownership building, the City's permit file asks for a letter of authorization from each co-owner or a resolution of the syndicate, along with the quote, numbered photos, the certificate of location and the product's technical sheet.
Westmount, a separate city, runs its own process, and its windows and doors page also asks for a letter from the association of co-owners where there is one. Check with your borough or city before signing; our borough permit guide explains where to start. The usual order:
Agree inside the building
Put the work on the syndicate's agenda, or collect each co-owner's letter, as your declaration requires.
Get the quote and product sheet
The pro we connect you with measures and provides a written quote with taxes and the technical sheet for the proposed windows or doors.
File with the borough
Add the numbered photos and the certificate of location. Some boroughs, such as Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension, tell owners to wait for the permit before buying materials.
Schedule the work
Plan access to each unit and to the common areas with the manager and the owners concerned.
Fogged units
Fogged thermos units: replacing them in batches
In a building where all the windows went in at once, thermos units may start to fog around the same time. A batch approach helps:
Survey every unit
Ask owners to report fog between the panes, with the room and the window's position. A short form or a notice by the elevator is enough.
One order, one visit per unit
Units of the same size and make-up can be ordered together, and the pro plans one visit per unit rather than several. See foggy thermos units for how the glass is diagnosed.
Glass or whole windows
If frames are failing too, the syndicate may be looking at window replacement rather than new glass, which brings the permit file into play.
Balconies
Balcony patio doors and glass railings
Condo balcony doors are often sliding patio doors, and in Montreal, replacing a sliding patio door always needs a permit, whatever the borough. Rollers, locks and a fogged thermos in the door can often be dealt with without replacing it. See patio door replacement for when a new door makes sense.
Glass railings are part of the building's exterior and of its safety. Before a broken panel is replaced, confirm with the syndicate who arranges it, and let the pro match the glass to the railing system. See glass railings.
What affects the quote
What shapes a condo glass quote
Whether it's one owner's thermos or a building-wide project, the price depends on:
- The number of units and windows, and whether they share sizes
- Glass make-up: thermos, low-E, tint or laminated
- Window and door types, including balcony sliding doors
- Access: the floor, inside or outside glazing, lift or platform
- Permit paperwork and the timing of the syndicate's decision
For a building, a list of affected units with window positions and photos is the best start. For one unit, a photo and rough size will do.
Towers
Buildings of five storeys and more: access and curtain walls
A meaningful share of Montreal homes are in buildings of five storeys or more, many of them condos. There the glass is often a curtain wall or large units reachable only from outside, and access is planned for the whole building, not flat by flat.
That makes towers natural candidates for batch work coordinated with the syndicate or its manager. See curtain wall and commercial window glass for how single units are replaced at height, and the page for landlords and property managers for planning work across many units.
Questions
Condo window questions
Explore your options
Related help for buildings
Local pros work with condo buildings across the island and on both shores, including Montréal, Verdun, Westmount, Brossard and Laval.
Syndicates: tell us how many units and which windows
Describe the building, the number of units affected and the type of windows or doors. Individual owners can send a single window. We pass it to an independent local contractor who quotes for a batch or for one unit.