Practical guidance on windows, doors, glass and waterproofing
Notes from the work we actually do — what fails, what is worth repairing, and how to specify things so they last. Written for homeowners, building managers and contractors alike.
Cracked 1/4" storefront glass and a worn door gasket at a commercial establishment, the inspection, and our suggestion: 1" insulated soundproof glass in the existing frame.
Read the article →We cut antique mirror to size and our selection of designs is growing. A product gallery of every design and our architectural and decorative glass is coming soon; samples available.
Read the article →Can we compete with Lowe's windows and Home Depot windows? Yes: dealer pricing without the retail layer, our own crews, one phone number. Get both quotes and compare.
Read the article →Alex GC supplies antique mirror in Borough Park, Brooklyn: sixteen patterns, cut to size, delivered or installed.
Read the article →Alex GC supplies aluminum, uPVC and wood windows made to size across Staten Island, as supply only or supplied and installed, from 7 Beach Street.
Read the article →Commercial windows can generally be used in a house, at a cost. Residential windows generally cannot be used in a commercial building. How they differ and what to choose.
Read the article →Through a partnership with specialists, Alex GC can now arrange window cleaning in hard-to-access areas, and inspection and silicone reapplication in hard-to-reach areas.
Read the article →Alex GC now makes custom kitchen cabinet doors in a slim aluminum profile with glass, made to the size of each cabinet opening.
Read the article →No product is good or bad by itself. A self-adhered membrane that is not fully bonded holds water behind the wall, and mold follows. One real opening, and a five-minute check.
Read the article →What HPD inspectors look for at a building entrance, why a magnetic lock is written up, why a week is not enough to replace a door, and what a new one costs: about $4,000 to $5,000 for a single door and $8,000 to $9,000 for a double.
Read the article →A continuous hinge closes the hinge edge; a finger guard covers the gap on the face of the door. How the two work together, with 2555 Nostrand Avenue as the example.
Read the article →Two samples for a project: a blue velour glass with a mirror bonded behind it, which gives color an endless depth, and a frosted clear glass that sets it off. Why they work, and what a sample shows that a drawing cannot.
Read the article →Nine steps, in the order they happen: repair or replace, approvals, survey, framing, glass and door, comparing quotes, shop drawings, fabrication, installation and handover.
Read the article →What makes a window passive, what the owner gains, the product types, and the certified systems from Cortizo, Schüco and Reynaers compared, with what Marvin and Pella offer.
Read the article →Manufacturers do not sell to the public. The chain from factory to wall, what a store, a lumberyard and a dealer each leave to you, the materials that go around the window, and what a direct supplier does differently.
Read the article →The most popular commercial door design, and the three choices behind it: narrow, medium or wide stile; C-pulls or ladder pulls; surface or concealed overhead closer.
Read the article →Aluminum, wood or uPVC for an arched window: how each is curved, the limits on size and radius, cost, whether the arch can open, and which is most common.
Read the article →The order date seen by the developer, architect, contractor, supplier and installer, with lead times for domestic and European systems and a timeline to work from.
Read the article →Everything a glazing contractor covers on a new building, from pre-construction and engineering to fabrication, installation and quality control.
Read the article →For general contractors: the scope a window sub should own, what to put in the bid package, how to level proposals, insurance, submittals and close-out.
Read the article →Standardizing sizes, how volume affects price, booking production, staging deliveries, labeling, spares and a checklist for large window orders.
Read the article →What a development’s window package should include, how it is priced, value engineering that works, when to award it and how deliveries are phased.
Read the article →Why apartment buildings use aluminum, what the thermal break does, typical unit configurations, what to specify, and aluminum compared with uPVC.
Read the article →What each area builds, the local requirements that decide the windows, delivery logistics and recent new-construction projects in all four.
Read the article →How supply-only window orders work for contractors: what can be ordered, how trade pricing is built, lead times, delivery and the mistakes to avoid.
Read the article →The four commercial glazing systems, what performance classes R, LC, CW and AW mean, glass options, energy code limits and what drives cost.
Read the article →Punched windows, window wall or curtain wall, and the right window type and frame material for rentals, condominiums, townhouses and mixed-use buildings.
Read the article →What a supplier should provide, supply-only versus installed, imported versus domestic systems, the documents to ask for and how to compare quotes.
Read the article →The installation sequence from sill pan to sealant, the details for masonry, stud and wood-frame walls, field testing, and what goes wrong.
Read the article →Energy code, noise, wind and child-safety rules, frame materials, glass, lead times and the mistakes that cost money on new buildings in the city.
Read the article →What the NYC energy letter grade means, where Local Law 97 fines come from, and how single glass, frames with no thermal break and early plastic windows compare with modern replacements.
Read the article →What a new front does for a Brooklyn business — visibility, energy, security, access and upkeep — what is particular about the borough’s old openings and historic districts, and how the work is done while the shop stays open.
Read the article →European tilt-and-turn windows open inward and have no screen track. A new flexible spring-steel screen pops into the frame with no tools and no clips — on offset uPVC frames. What fits aluminum, wood and flush frames instead, and the two things every screen has to clear.
Read the article →Four dimensions describe every window and they are never the same number. Who measures which, why replacement runs the opposite way from new construction, and why a landmark opening turns the daylight opening from a result into a target.
Read the article →A vertical bi-fold on gas struts: two sashes fold up and out, the counter stays clear, and the window seals like a casement when the restaurant closes. Sizes and designs to the opening — from plain frames to colonial grids — supplied in aluminium and installed with the storefront.
See the product page →We fabricate aluminium windows, doors, storefront and railings in New York and ship them by the container anywhere in the continental United States — Florida, Arizona, Nevada, California, Georgia and New Jersey so far. How a supply order works, what fits in a container, and the one-container minimum.
Read more →Mirror-polished stainless cladding over a full aluminium door frame, with pulls, sidelites and transom in the same finish — now a catalogue product from the major US storefront suppliers, and available for your New York front.
Read more →What the Commission looks at on the street side, why we work with several system houses to get the right profile for every opening on a brownstone, why the arch is where submissions fail, and why the brass casement stays and cremone bolts inside are half the job.
Read the article →Why 45 and 60 minutes are different products, not different numbers: fire-protective ceramics vs fire-resistive intumescent laminates, the two test standards and the hose stream, which products carry each rating, and the published size limits that decide what an opening can be.
Read the article →The blind lives inside the sealed unit: how the magnetic operator works, why it suits bathrooms, patio doors and rentals, the four size programs, and the honest trade-off — a blind unit cannot be argon-filled. First in a Tuesday series on glass; spec sheet in the new Technical Library.
Read the article →Local Law 97 penalties are live at $268 per metric ton over cap, and the limits tighten sharply in 2030. What LL84, LL33, LL87 and LL97 each require, what non-compliance costs, and where envelope and glazing work genuinely moves the numbers — including the glass-only replacement route most owners do not know exists.
Read the article →Most windows people call us about are not broken — they are dirty, dry or slightly out of adjustment. Here is what to try first, which faults are cheap repairs, and the specific signs that genuinely mean replacement. Plus the best time of year to do the work.
Read the article →Sill pans, end dams and the interface between the frame and the wall. Where water actually gets in, and why resealing the outside rarely fixes it.
U-factor, SHGC, visible transmittance and STC, explained in plain terms — and which ones matter for which room.
Ask us directly. If it is a good question we will probably write it up.
