Embrun is the largest community in Russell Township and one of the fastest-growing places in Eastern Ontario: roughly 8,700 residents at the 2021 census, up about a quarter in five years, with the old village core on Notre-Dame Street ringed by phase after phase of new streets along the Castor River. Most of those houses came with the windows the builder chose. Unisson Groupe now serves Embrun with windows and doors built at our own factory in Saint-Laurent and installed by our own crews — and builder-grade replacement is exactly the job we are set up for.
Why Unisson now serves Embrun — and what factory-direct means
Embrun is about 40 km southeast of Ottawa and a little under two hours from our factory in Saint-Laurent by the 40 and the 417. The township has reported several hundred building permits a year through the growth years, and the arithmetic is simple: a subdivision built in 2005 to 2012 by a few builders, all using similar windows, reaches the 10-to-15-year failure window at the same time. That is a lot of fogged glass on one street, and it tends to get served by dealers reselling someone else's product with a hired installer.
Unisson is a manufacturer. Windows and doors are built on our own lines in Saint-Laurent — welded UPVC or hybrid aluminum-UPVC frames, sealed units and hardware assembled in-house — and the people who measure, deliver and install are our employees. Factory-direct means no middleman margin and no argument over whose fault a draft is: one contract, one warranty covering product and workmanship, one phone number.
Bilingual service comes with it. Embrun has deep francophone roots and a growing share of Ottawa commuters who work in English; as a Montreal company we run the estimate, the contract and the job site in either language without ceremony. The in-home estimate is free and carries no obligation.
- Manufacturer, not dealer: product built at our own factory in Saint-Laurent, Montreal
- Own crews: measurement, delivery and installation by Unisson employees
- One warranty: product and workmanship covered by the same company
- French or English: your choice from the first visit to the last service call
Homes in Embrun: from Notre-Dame Street to the newest phase
Embrun still has its village: the older homes along Notre-Dame Street and the side streets near the church and the Castor River, from the early 1900s through the post-war decades, followed by the first commuter subdivisions of the 1980s and 90s after the 417 made Ottawa a reasonable drive. But the bulk of the housing stock is the 2000s–2010s wave and what has come since — two-storey singles with tall front windows, bungalows with big basement windows, semis and townhomes, phase after phase.
Those homes were built to a price by builders who were not going to live in them, and the windows show it: double-glazed vinyl with one low-E coating and often no argon, thin frames with light welds, sliders in bedrooms and basements, sliding patio doors on economy rollers, and steel entry doors with a thin skin over the foam. The failure sequence is well known by now. Sealed units fog between the panes around 10 to 15 years; corner welds crack; sliders ice up along the track and leak at the meeting rail; patio doors drag; and a steel door on a sunny wall warps enough that the weatherstripping no longer touches.
Embrun adds two things. The land is heavy Champlain Sea clay that moves with moisture, so a frame that was slightly under-shimmed in 2006 has had many freeze-thaw seasons to rack out of square. And winters here are real — nights near -30 °C, humid summers, long shoulder seasons of freeze and thaw. If your home is under seven years old, check what your Tarion new-home warranty still covers before paying for anything; water penetration and workmanship have their own coverage periods.
Which products fit an Embrun home
Subdivision openings are standard and mostly square, which makes them ideal for a proper retrofit: our welded UPVC windows go in with correct shimming, flashing membrane and low-expansion foam, the steps that were often rushed the first time. Casements replace bedroom and basement sliders where sealing matters; our current sliders use compression seals and heavy-duty tracks for people who prefer the style. Basement units can be sized to meet the Ontario egress rule if you are finishing a room downstairs.
Every Unisson window meets Canada's single national ENERGY STAR specification in force since 2020 — a U-factor of 1.22 W/m²·K or lower, or an Energy Rating of 34 or higher — and triple glazing with two low-E coatings and argon fill goes well beyond it. On a tall south-facing front window it also cuts summer heat gain, which in an Embrun two-storey is the difference between an upstairs that is bearable in July and one that is not. Dark or black exterior frames are common on newer homes here; our hybrid windows handle those colours with a factory-finished aluminum exterior over a warm UPVC interior.
Doors are the other place builders saved money. We build insulated steel and fibreglass entry doors with multi-point locks and adjustable sills, and patio doors with insulated thresholds and rollers rated for a 100-kilogram panel. See the range on our windows page, and ask the estimator to bring colour samples.
- Welded UPVC casements to replace builder-grade sliders in bedrooms and basements
- Triple glazing, dual low-E, argon for tall front windows and south-facing walls
- Hybrid aluminum-UPVC for black and dark exterior frames
- Entry and patio doors with multi-point locks, insulated thresholds and heavy-duty rollers
Ontario specifics: building code, rebates and permits
Your original windows were built to the Ontario Building Code's SB-12 energy supplement, which in the Ottawa-area climate zone sets a window U-factor in the region of 1.6 W/m²·K, depending on the compliance package the builder chose. ENERGY STAR product is a clear step above that, and triple glazing a larger one. The Code's egress rule for bedroom windows — an unobstructed opening of roughly 0.35 m² with no dimension under about 380 mm — is what governs a basement bedroom conversion, and we size basement units accordingly.
Rebates: here is the snapshot at the time of writing, with the usual caution that programs change. Ontario's Home Renovation Savings Program, run under Save on Energy with Enbridge Gas for gas-heated homes, offers a per-opening rebate on ENERGY STAR certified windows and doors, subject to minimum quantities and program dates. The federal Greener Homes Grant is closed to new applicants, though an affordability stream exists for eligible lower-income households. We supply the ENERGY STAR certification numbers and itemized invoice the application asks for; confirm current terms before budgeting around them.
Permits are handled by Russell Township's building department, based in Embrun. Like most Ontario municipalities, it generally treats a window replaced in its existing opening as maintenance that does not require a building permit; enlarging an opening, adding a window where there was none, or altering a bedroom egress window usually does. We flag anything that crosses those lines during the estimate.
How it works from Montreal: measurement to installation
It starts with a free in-home estimate. Our estimator measures every opening, checks how the builder's units were installed, walks through frame types, colours and glass, and leaves a written, itemized quote you can compare line by line. No obligation, no pressure, in French or English.
After signing, the order goes to our Saint-Laurent factory. Production typically takes a few weeks, longer in the spring and fall rush, and we confirm delivery and installation dates before anything ships. Our own trucks bring the units to Embrun and our own crews install them; a typical subdivision home is finished in one to two days, old units removed and the site cleaned. If several neighbours on the same street order together, tell us — we can often group the installations.
One company builds and installs, so one company carries the warranty on product and workmanship, and service calls come from the people who did the work. Financing is available to spread the cost; see our financing page. Start by booking your free estimate.
- Step 1: free in-home measurement and itemized written quote
- Step 2: production at our Saint-Laurent factory, typically a few weeks
- Step 3: delivery on a confirmed date by our own trucks
- Step 4: installation by Unisson crews, usually one to two days for a subdivision home
- Step 5: single warranty, single point of contact, financing available
Frequently Asked Questions
Half the houses on my street have fogged windows. Is it the builder's fault?
Not necessarily anyone's fault — builder-grade sealed units simply have a typical service life of 10 to 15 years, and a subdivision built in the same two or three years fails together. If the home is under seven years old, check your Tarion coverage first; otherwise, replacement with a better sealed unit is the fix.
Can I replace just the glass instead of the whole window?
Sometimes, if the frame is sound and square. In many 2000s-era homes the frames are also cracking at the welds or leaking air at the sliders, and a full replacement with proper flashing and foam ends up the better value. The estimator will tell you honestly which case yours is.
Do I need a permit from Russell Township?
Generally not for a like-for-like replacement in the existing opening, which is treated as maintenance. Enlarging an opening, adding a window or changing a bedroom egress window typically requires one; confirm with the township's building department in Embrun before work starts.
Can you match the dark frames on my house?
Yes. Our hybrid windows have a factory-finished aluminum exterior available in dark colours including black, over a UPVC interior that stays warm. Dark aluminum handles a south wall better than dark-painted vinyl.
Is service available in French?
Yes. Embrun has deep francophone roots and we are a Montreal company — estimate, contract, factory paperwork and the crew on site are all available in French or English.