Windows & Doors in North Lancaster: Farm Homes of South Glengarry

North Lancaster is dairy country: a crossroads hamlet in the old Lancaster township, nine kilometres up from the 401, surrounded by concession roads, Holstein barns and the brick farmhouses that Highland settlers and their descendants built here over two centuries. It is a place where a window has to stand up to a January wind across open fields, and where nobody has time to repaint trim. Unisson Groupe now measures, manufactures, delivers and installs windows and doors in North Lancaster from our own factory in Saint-Laurent, about an hour and a quarter away.

Why Unisson now serves North Lancaster, and what factory-direct means on a farm

North Lancaster is one of the rural hamlets of the Township of South Glengarry, sitting inland between Lancaster on the lake and Alexandria to the north, with Glen Nevis and the Quebec line a short drive east and the ruins of St. Raphael's a few kilometres to the west. Lancaster township was surveyed in 1784 and settled the following year by Loyalists and Highland Scots, and the land around North Lancaster has been farmed continuously ever since; some of the farms on these concessions have been in the same families for generations. There is a church, a community of long-standing farm families and newer country residents, and not much else, which is exactly how people here like it.

Our 2026 expansion into eastern Ontario covers the Ottawa River corridor from Hawkesbury to Ottawa and all of Glengarry down to Lancaster, and North Lancaster sits on the county roads our crews use between Alexandria and the 401. For a farm household, dealing with a manufacturer rather than a dealer means the windows are built at our Saint-Laurent factory to the measurements our own estimator took at your kitchen table, installed by our own crew, and covered by one written warranty for both product and workmanship. There is no showroom margin and no subcontractor between you and the people who made the window.

Glengarry has always been Scottish and French together, and South Glengarry remains roughly a third francophone. Our estimators and installers work in either language, so the estimate, the contract and the conversation on installation day happen in whichever one the household prefers.

• Manufacturer-direct: built in Saint-Laurent, installed by Unisson crews, RBQ licence 5670-0248
• On our roads: between Alexandria and the 401, about 105 km from the factory
• Bilingual: estimate, contract and crew in English or French

North Lancaster homes: brick farmhouses, bungalows on severed lots, and an open-field winter

The signature house around North Lancaster is the two-storey brick farmhouse of the 1870s to 1910s, often with the centre gable and tall, narrow windows of the Ontario pattern, sometimes with a later frame addition off the kitchen. Alongside these are storey-and-a-half frame homes from the same era, post-war bungalows near the crossroads, and, from the 1980s on, bungalows and two-storey homes on severed farm lots along the concession roads. In a township where roughly one home in five predates 1945, an estimator here expects to see original wood windows, first-generation vinyl replacements, and builder-grade sliders in the same afternoon.

What fails depends on which of those you own. Original double-hungs have rotted at the sill and meeting rail, lost their sash cords, and rely on storm windows that no longer get put up. Vinyl replacements from the 1990s have fogged sealed units and cracked corner welds from thirty winters of thermal cycling. Builder-grade sliders on the newer homes are at the end of their seal life, with worn tracks and latches that no longer pull square. Farmhouse entry doors, nearly always facing an open field or the lane, have flattened weatherstripping and a threshold gap you can see daylight through, and the patio door added off the kitchen in the 1990s is usually the coldest spot in the house.

The weather is the same as everywhere in Glengarry, only with less in the way. North Lancaster is flat, open farmland; winter nights in the minus twenties are routine and cold snaps approach minus 30, but it is the wind across a hundred acres of snow that makes a leaky window feel brutal. Freeze-thaw cycles in March and November force meltwater into every crack and freeze it overnight. Farm kitchens and wood stoves add indoor humidity, so condensation on cold glass is a daily event, and on a failed window it ends as mould on the sill.

• Brick farmhouses: sill and rail rot, no flashing, storms in the drive shed
• 1990s vinyl: fogged sealed units, cracked corners, drafts
• 1980s-2000s bungalows: builder-grade sliders and patio doors at end of life

Which products fit North Lancaster farm homes

For an exposed farmhouse our advice is triple-glazed UPVC windows in casement or awning form. A casement compresses against the frame with a multi-point lock, the tightest arrangement against wind; awnings suit the small openings over a sink or in a mudroom. UPVC does not rot, does not corrode in barnyard air, never needs paint, and keeps its seal through freeze-thaw, which on a working farm is a real saving of hours. For the tall, narrow openings of a century farmhouse we build to the exact dimensions rather than shrinking the glass with fillers.

If the farmhouse is red brick or has painted trim worth respecting, our hybrid windows put an aluminum-clad exterior in your chosen colour over the same UPVC core. Every window we make 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 with argon fill and low-E coatings exceed those figures with margin, and on a home heated with propane, oil or electricity the difference shows on the bill.

Doors are where a farmhouse leaks most. Our insulated steel and fibreglass entry doors have a thermal break, multi-point locking and an adjustable threshold that seals against a field wind, and they are built to the measured opening. Patio doors, sliding or swing, are single factory assemblies with triple glazing and a low-profile drained sill. Everything is ENERGY STAR certified and measured by the same estimator who measures the windows.

• Triple-glazed UPVC casements and awnings: tightest seal for open fields
• Hybrid aluminum-UPVC: colour-matched exteriors for brick and painted farmhouses
• Entry and patio doors: insulated, multi-point locks, sealed thresholds

Ontario specifics: building code, rebates and permits in South Glengarry

North Lancaster is in the Township of South Glengarry, whose building department in Lancaster applies the Ontario Building Code; the 2024 edition has been in force since January 2025. For replacement windows the code questions are narrow: a bedroom window that serves as an emergency exit must keep the required clear opening after replacement, and any new or enlarged opening must meet structural and energy rules. Our windows are specified above Ontario's SB-12 energy requirements for new houses, so compliance on a replacement is not the issue; identifying the egress cases and the farmhouse projects that need more than a window is what our estimator is there for.

As of late summer 2026, the federal Greener Homes grant and loan are closed to new applicants and Ontario has not yet joined the federal Greener Homes Affordability Program. The active provincial program is the Home Renovation Savings Program, delivered by Save on Energy with Enbridge Gas, which has been offering a fixed rebate per eligible ENERGY STAR window or door opening, generally with a minimum number of openings and, on some paths, combined with another upgrade such as insulation. Homes heated with propane, oil, wood or electricity have qualified alongside gas customers, which describes most farms here. Terms change and funding can end early, so confirm on the program site; we provide the ENERGY STAR documentation.

On permits, the general Ontario rule is that a same-size replacement in the existing opening does not need a building permit, while enlarging or adding an opening does; South Glengarry's building department can confirm for your address. Farmhouse projects often involve a bigger kitchen window or a new patio door off a rear addition, and we flag those at the estimate so you can check with the township before anything is built.

• Same-size replacement: generally no permit; confirm new or enlarged openings with South Glengarry
• Egress: bedroom exit windows keep their clear opening
• Rebates: propane, oil, wood and electric heat have qualified; verify current terms

How it works from Montréal: measure, build, deliver, install

It starts with a free in-home estimate. Our estimator drives to North Lancaster, measures every opening, checks sills and framing, and leaves a written, itemized quote with no obligation. Farm households often phase a big house over two seasons, starting with the north and west walls; that is fine with us. Once approved, your windows are built at our Saint-Laurent factory to the measured dimensions. Typical lead time is four to eight weeks, longer at the spring peak, so ordering after harvest usually means installation before hard frost.

Delivery and installation are done by Unisson crews, never a subcontractor. North Lancaster is about an hour and a quarter from the factory by the 401 and County Road 34, so the crew arrives with your units in the morning. A typical farmhouse of ten to fourteen windows and two doors takes two to three days; we remove old units, repair minor sill damage, insulate every perimeter with low-expansion foam, flash and seal, install trim and take the debris away. Winter work proceeds one opening at a time so the house is never open to the wind.

Unisson backs its installations for 10 years, in addition to the manufacturer's warranty we provide on the windows and doors themselves; one company made and installed them, so a claim is one call. Financing is available for Ontario clients, which lets a whole-farmhouse project be done in one season rather than stretched over several.

• Free estimate: in-home measurement and written quote, English or French
• Factory build: Saint-Laurent, typically 4 to 8 weeks
• Unisson crews: delivery, installation and cleanup, year-round
• Warranty and financing: 10-year installation warranty; monthly plans available

Frequently Asked Questions