Windows & Doors in Gloucester: Solutions for Mid-Century Bungalows

Before it became part of Ottawa in 2001, Gloucester was its own city, and much of it was built in one great post-war push: bungalows and split-levels in Beacon Hill, Pineview, Carson Grove and the planned hamlet of Blackburn, laid out between the 1950s and the 1970s. Those homes have wide picture windows, low sills and — very often — their second or third set of tired replacement windows. Unisson Groupe now brings factory-direct windows and doors to Gloucester from our plant in Saint-Laurent, Montréal, installed by our own crews.

Why Unisson Groupe Now Serves Gloucester

Gloucester sits right where Highway 417 and Highway 174 meet on the east side of Ottawa — the first exits our trucks take after the two-hour run from Saint-Laurent. It is an area of established neighbourhoods rather than new subdivisions, which suits a manufacturer that builds every unit to measure: mid-century houses rarely have two openings the same size, and a custom factory is exactly what they need.

Factory-direct means we design and build the windows and doors at our own plant, deliver them on our own trucks and install them with our own employees. There is no dealer margin and no subcontractor between you and the manufacturer, and the warranty on the product and the installation comes from one company. For a bungalow with a dozen odd-sized openings, that single point of responsibility is worth a great deal.

Gloucester also has a long francophone history — Cyrville and parts of the old township grew up as French-speaking farming communities, and Vanier sits next door — and many households still live in both languages. Our estimators, office staff and installers work in French and English as a matter of course.

Gloucester Homes: Bungalows, Split-Levels and Big Glass

The typical Gloucester house is a mid-century bungalow or split-level: brick or stone on the front, siding elsewhere, a low roofline, and a living room dominated by a large picture window flanked by openers. Beacon Hill's homes date mostly to the 1960s and 1970s; Blackburn Hamlet was master-planned by a single builder from the mid-1960s, with its distinctive carriage homes and townhouses; Pineview, Carson Grove and Cyrville filled in through the 1970s. Along the river and toward Rothwell Heights, lots are larger and the houses more individual, but the era is the same.

Many of these homes have already had their windows replaced once — often in the 1980s or 1990s with aluminum or early vinyl sliders that are now failing in their own right. What we see on measurement visits: sealed units fogged or streaked between the panes, aluminum frames that frost on the inside in January, sliders that need two hands, rotted wood sills under the picture window, small basement windows that no longer meet egress rules for a finished bedroom, and steel doors from the 1990s that have warped or rusted along the bottom.

The Ottawa Valley climate — January lows near -25 °C, wind chill to -30 °C, humid summers and dozens of freeze-thaw cycles a year — hits big glass hardest. A single-pane or failed double-pane picture window is a wall of cold in winter and a heat lamp in July, and the long sill beneath it is where meltwater and condensation gather.

• Picture windows: huge single or failed double glazing, cold radiating into the living room.
• Aluminum sliders: frost and condensation on the frame, drafts at the meeting rail.
• Basement windows: small, leaky, and often too small for egress if the basement has a bedroom.
• Steel entry doors: warped slabs and rusted bottoms after three decades.

Products for a Mid-Century Gloucester Home

The showpiece is the picture window. We replace it with a triple- or double-glazed Low-E UPVC fixed unit — often paired with casements or awnings on either side for ventilation — sized exactly to the original opening so the facade keeps its proportions. Welded multi-chamber UPVC frames insulate far better than the aluminum they replace, never need paint and stay square through the valley's temperature swings.

Every window we build is ENERGY STAR certified under Canada's single national specification, in force since 2020: a U-factor of 1.22 W/m²·K or lower, or an Energy Rating of 34 or higher. Our triple-glazed units go well beyond it, and on a bungalow — where the glass-to-wall ratio is high and everything is on one exposed floor — triple glazing makes a difference you can feel from the couch.

Basement windows are a Gloucester specialty: we can enlarge an opening to meet Ontario egress requirements for a finished bedroom, or fit a tight, insulated awning unit in the existing one. For doors, an insulated steel or fibreglass entry door with a multi-point lock replaces the warped original, and a Low-E patio door opens the rear onto the kind of deep, treed backyard Gloucester is known for. Owners restoring a mid-century facade often choose our hybrid windows for slim dark aluminum exteriors that suit the period.

Ontario Code, Rebates and Permits in Gloucester

Gloucester is part of the City of Ottawa, and all work is governed by the Ontario Building Code rather than Quebec's — including egress dimensions for bedroom windows, safety glazing near doors and at low sills (common in bungalows), and product performance to the CSA A440 / NAFS standard. Ontario has no counterpart to Quebec's RBQ licence for renovation contractors; our RBQ 5670-0248 is a mark of accountability, and our crews are insured for work on Ontario job sites. Invoices carry Ontario HST.

On rebates, the Home Renovation Savings Program delivered by Enbridge Gas and Save on Energy has been offering a fixed amount per ENERGY STAR window and door opening, generally conditional on a home energy assessment and on pairing windows with another upgrade — attic insulation and air sealing are natural companions in a 1960s bungalow. Amounts, eligibility and deadlines change; check the current program terms before you commit, and we provide the certification documentation for every unit.

For permits, a same-size replacement in the same opening generally does not need a building permit in Ottawa. Enlarging a basement window for egress, adding a new opening or converting a window to a patio door does, and we will tell you so at the measurement visit. When in doubt, the City's Building Code Services line (311) will confirm.

How the Process Works From Our Montréal Factory

Book a free in-home estimate and our technician comes to your Gloucester home to measure every opening — including that picture window — inspect frames and sills, and go over styles, glazing and colours with you in French or English. Because mid-century openings are rarely standard, a careful measurement is where the project succeeds or fails, and it is done by the manufacturer, not a salesperson.

Your units are then built to measure at our Saint-Laurent factory. Plan on several weeks from signature to installation depending on the season, with a firm date confirmed once production begins. Delivery is on our own trucks via Highway 417, and installation is by our own crews — typically one to two days for a bungalow, including removal, perimeter insulation, exterior capping and cleanup.

The product and the installation are covered by one warranty from the company that made them. Financing is available for Ontario homeowners, which makes it practical to do the whole house — picture window, bedrooms, basement and doors — in a single visit.

• 1. Measurement — free, at home, bilingual, by the manufacturer.
• 2. Manufacturing — every unit custom-built in Saint-Laurent.
• 3. Delivery — our own trucks, two hours up the 417.
• 4. Installation — Unisson crews, one to two days for most bungalows.
• 5. Warranty and financing — direct from the manufacturer.

Where in Gloucester We Install

Our crews cover the whole of the former City of Gloucester: Beacon Hill North and South, Rothwell Heights, Carson Grove and Carson Meadows, Cyrville, Pineview, Blackburn Hamlet, and south through Hunt Club Park and Blossom Park toward the airport. Orléans and Vanier are on the same route.

If you live between the Rideau River and the Greenbelt on Ottawa's east side, you are on a run our trucks make every week.

Frequently Asked Questions