I chose Canadian Choice Windows and Doors to replace nine windows and two doors in my house. After comparing quotes and technical data from eight other competitors, Canadian Choice was the logic choice. Their windows are technically impressive, with excellent energy rating (more than enough to qualify for the maximum rebate from the Canadian government). It is noteworthy that their windows have low solar heat gain coefficient, which is excellent for the summer, and also great U factor, which is perfect for the winter. In summary, the windows wont let the house overheat in the summer, and will keep the heat / cool generated by the HVAC system inside the house. An important detail, often overlooked, is that Canadian Choice windows have above average visible light transmission (0.47 for triple glazed windows), which means that these windows achieve a low solar heat gain coefficient by rejecting infra-red radiation (which carries most of the heat) rather than blocking the good part of Sun light.
For reference, this is the NRCan of the windows I chose: NR9274-38220839-ES5 (you can look it up here on the NRCan page).
The sales person I worked with made the whole experience wonderful. He cared about my needs, and was very responsive in providing all the technical data about the products (to my surprise some companies werent open with their technical data). His help was paramount in choosing the colors for our windows and doors, and the result turned out beautiful!
The installation was done over two days by three professionals. They were very careful and delivered clean results, with no damages to the house. I was particularly worried about the installation of my basement windows, but the team did a spectacular job where they hand-crafted eye-popping external and internal trims around the windows. They even helped me fix the hinges of one of the doors inside my house, which shows they really care about customer happiness.
It's been just a few days after the installation, but the average temperature in all three floors of the house seems more uniform (the windows and doors seem to have minimized the stack effect) and the house feels quieter. I still need more time to experience the full benefit of these new windows and doors, and I am particularly looking forward to the winter to better assess the quality of this hardware.
I will also have an energy auditor coming to my house for a post-installation inspection soon. I will update this review as soon as I have the final report.
I would also like to mention the experience at the Canadian Choice showroom. Their office, showroom and factory / warehouse are in very nice space in Vaughan, where the staff is very friendly, and open to questions and to demonstrating the functionality of the products.
The only nuisance I have to mention is that there were some miscommunications with my order, so I would advice future customers to diligently review their order / quote.
Finally, as a recommendation for Canadian Choice, it would be nice if you could give customers some updates during the manufacturing process (e.g.: when the order is sent to the factory, manufacturing time, manufacturing progress etc.). Customers tend to get anxious, and these updates would help. In the specific case of my order, there was doubt whether my basement windows could be manufactured with triple glazing (otherwise they would have to be dual glazed), and I only really had a definitive answer for this question when the windows arrived and I could inspect them personally.
On the other hand, Canadian Choices communication leading to the installation days was perfect. They called us to schedule the crews visit, discussed potential changes with us due to weather conditions, called us the day the installation started to check if everything was going well, and afterwards to double-check if the results were to our satisfaction.
Overall, I would recommend Canadian Choice, and if I need other windows or doors in the future, I will contact them.
