As warmer weather approaches, many homeowners in Durham Region will be planning renovations and upgrades, and Royal Windows and Doors in Whitby gears up for its busiest season. Supplying fully installed windows and doors to homeowners for nearly 20 years it’s been in business, the Whitby-based company prides itself on going the extra mile for customers and on its Energy Star-rated products. “Taking care of the customer,” says company owner Melanie Hodgson promptly, when asked to describe her business philosophy. “We go out of our way. We try to go out of our way to help people.” The Royal Windows and Doors showroom at 1380 Hopkins Street in Whitby will give customers a good idea of the array of products and choices available, and they can view windows and doors fully installed. The company can then send someone out to the customer’s house to provide an estimate. All windows and doors are fully installed by Royal Windows and Doors, which supplies an experienced installation crew with more than 10 years’ experience. The company’s Energy Star-rated windows are manufactured by Vinyl Window Designs, and casement windows come with a patented, magnetic screen. Other choices include sliders, picture windows, bay and bow windows. Those shopping for exterior doors can choose between fiberglass or steel, and will find a vast selection of sidelights, transoms and hardware to complete the new look. Royal Windows and Doors also carries and installs vinyl patio doors. Some homeowners will choose to replace all windows in the house at once, while others may decide to do half now and half later, says Mrs. Hodgson. A smaller job might take the installation crew a day, while replacing all of a home’s windows could take three or four days, depending on the size of the house and the number of windows. Typically, a single door can take three hours to install while a double door entry is a job that can take up to five hours, she adds. Installing a door includes inside trimwork, adjusting the sweep and ensuring the entire door system is airtight and working properly. Window products carry a lifetime manufacturers’ warranty, and if a customer experiences any issues it’s typically a seal failure with the glass, says Mrs. Hodgson. The manufacturer covers any service cost for the first year, and Royal Windows and Doors covers the cost of a service call for its customers for an additional four years beyond that. The glass in Energy Star windows deflects the heat of the sun, which reduces the demand on the house’s air conditioning system and saves customers’ money on their energy bills, adds Mrs. Hodgson. Royal Windows and Doors can be reached at 289-949-4449, or 289-949-4449. Visit the showroom at 1380 Hopkins Street, Whitby.

When customers visit the showroom of Royal Windows and Doors in Whitby, they’ll find the fully installed windows on display are just a sampling of the many choices in colours and styles available. With so many options, it can be hard to know where to start and that’s where expert help makes a crucial difference. “Once we get the measurements, we can help customers choose styles,” says owner Melanie Hodgson. “Some window styles have size limitations.” Royal Windows and Doors, which sends its own expert installation crews to the customer’s home, prefers to do all initial measuring to ensure accuracy. Then Mrs. Hodgson can help the customer select windows that will complement their home and budget. “If the window is tall, you can put a horizontal slider at the bottom. You can combine them.” Slider windows all tilt inward for easy cleaning, an advantage especially on second-storey levels, Mrs. Hodgson points out. Sometimes customers have a type of window in mind that just won’t work for the opening, she adds. “One lady with a 60-inch tall window wanted an awning window. You can’t have an awning window 60 inches tall, so we changed that to casement.” Casement windows, which open outward with a crank handle, are a popular choice and casements at Royal Windows and Doors come with patented, magnetic screens for easy cleaning. With nearly 20 years’ experience helping homeowners in Durham Region upgrade their windows, Mrs. Hodgson gently dissuades her customers away from any plan to combine certain window styles on the front of a home that won’t look right. “On the front of a house, keep styles consistent,” she advises. “Casement windows have a nice, clean look on the front. Sliders have a horizontal or vertical bar, and they look very different. They don’t combine well.” Customers choosing casement windows for the front to add curb appeal might do well to choose another style for side bathrooms and rear-facing bedroom windows to cut down on costs, she adds. Horizontal sliding windows can be a good choice for a large opening but won’t go too tall, she points out. “If you have your heart set on a certain kind of window it might not fit,” she cautions. Royal Windows and Doors, which prides itself on going the extra mile for its customers and on its Energy-Star rated products, offers superior windows manufactured by Vinyl Window Designs. “Bigger manufacturers sell a lot of windows to companies like us who want to keep customers happy; they want as little service as possible so they make an exceptional product,” says Mrs. Hodgson. The experienced installers at Royal Windows and Doors offer two types of installation: retrofit, where the old frame is left intact, and “full frame out”, which includes new trim, a factory installed brick moulding and a better degree of insulation. “It really is worth it,” says Mrs. Hodgson of full frame out installation. Windows today come in a wide range of colours – perhaps 60 shades to choose from, adds Mrs. Hodgson. “Everyone wants black and dark brown now,” she notes. “But black doesn’t suit every home. A modern house, it may suit more.” Customers should consider that trendy colours may be out of fashion in a few years, so anyone planning on selling their home will do better to stick with white or neutral shades, she adds. Windows at Royal Windows and Doors carry a lifetime manufacturers’ warranty. Visit the showroom at 1380 Hopkins Street, or call 289-949-4449, or 289-949-4449.

When the cooler days of autumn arrive, many homeowners turn to sprucing up the house prior to Christmas, and buying a new front door entry system is a common fall improvement project. The demand for new door systems peaks in the autumn months at Royal Windows and Doors in Whitby, where customers have the peace of mind of knowing the company has been serving satisfied homeowners in Durham Region for close to 20 years. “We pride ourselves on excellent, personalized customer service and quality, Canadian-made products that are crafted for our climate,” says company owner Melanie Hodgson. Most homeowners today will choose either steel or fiberglass entry door systems, which are more durable than wood. Fiberglass can be stained to look like wood, in a variety of finishes, or the customer can choose from a wide selection of colours. Fiberglass doors are fibrous, so storm doors can’t be paired with them or the sun through the storm doors will heat up the fiberglass door panels, cautions Mrs. Hodgson. While anyone who wants a storm door will need to choose a steel entry door, she says it’s never a good idea to add a storm door to any entry door. Steel doors offer high durability and some styles in steel are popular, including three squares of glass going up the whole height of the door, which Mrs. Hodgson says is modern looking and a top choice of customers. All doors are sold with a painted vinyl clad exterior, so there is no maintenance, and the door will never need painting. Mrs. Hodgson says they’re very durable and look nicer than doors with aluminum capping. Some styles of doors are not available in steel while others may not be available in fiberglass, so many people choose what style appeals to them most and the material of the door is secondary, she adds. Royal Windows and Doors carries KV custom door systems, which offers the customer a wide range of glass insert styles and designs, ranging from modern to traditional, with various levels of privacy. Choosing glass panels can add light to a darker entranceway. Customers can start by browsing the website at Royal Windows and Doors, and dropping by the showroom at 1380 Hopkins St. in Whitby to view brochures and some door systems on display. Mrs. Hodgson is skilled and knowledgeable in offering advice when it comes to selecting the right colours and styles from the many options available when choosing a new front door, which adds to curb appeal. Doors are painted at the KV factory, and it takes eight to 10 weeks to order the door, have it customized and installed. Professional and experienced installation crews from Royal Windows and Doors will ensure the new door is hung properly and level, which often means shimming as most walls aren’t straight. With every door replacement, the entire frame is removed, and the new entry door is installed with a new frame, sill and weatherstripping. The customer can choose a new lockset system from Dorex, a quality brand available in a variety of finishes, or use their existing lockset. The hardware is installed on the new door by Royal Windows and Doors. Currently, dark browns and black are trendy colours for the front door, and the “antique brown” shade is very popular with Royal Windows and Doors customers. Call Royal Windows and Doors at 289-949-4449, or 289-949-4449. Visit the showroom at 1380 Hopkins Street, Whitby.