Business
When it’s time to consider new windows, here’s what you need to know
Replacement Windows vs. New-Construction Windows – What Should I Get?
If installing new windows for your home is on your 2022 to-do list, there are two routes you can take. Either you can get new construction or replacement windows. The type you choose depends upon several factors, such as your house, current windows, and their condition.
If you are new to home renovation, you must wonder what the difference is between replacement and new construction windows. Keep reading to learn everything about both types and where to buy windows that work best for your house.
What are replacement windows?
As the name suggests, these windows basically replace your house’s old windows using the existing rough openings. They are usually custom-made to fit easily into the current frame.
Replacement windows are comparatively easy to install than construction windows as they require minimal work, which can be done without touching the trims or the insulation around the window.
What are construction windows?
New construction windows are typically used for newly constructed homes or other new constructions, like a home extension. This does not imply that they can only be used for newly built homes. In some situations, such as intense remodelling or repairing badly damaged existing structures, replacing old windows with new construction windows is the best option.
Replacement windows and construction windows are available in various styles, finishes, and materials. So you can pretty much find a style that goes well with your home based on whichever window is right for your home.
When should I use replacement windows?
Replacement windows are a good choice if your window frames are in good condition and you’re ready to invest in new energy-efficient windows. Generally, these units are used when the wall has already been constructed and cannot be significantly altered. These windows are ideal when:
- you are replacing an existing window
- you want the wall to stay in its place as much as possible
- the window is not going to be used for a new building
- you want to get the same window style but modern and energy-efficient
When should I use new-construction windows?
Replacement windows are not the ideal option if the window frames in your current home are damaged. In that case, you would need to remove the existing frame. Installing new construction windows is the ideal solution in such a situation. In addition, new construction windows are suitable when:
- you are building a new house
- you are planning an extension in your house
- the wall is being rebuilt
- the wall is damaged and needs major repairing
Whether you should opt for replacement or new-construction windows depends upon several factors, as mentioned above. However, keep in mind that construction windows are standard-sized windows. So you cannot just plug them into any opening where an existing window was removed from, even if they appear to be the exact same size as the old window.
Which one is more cost-effective?
When it comes to installing new windows in your home, replacement windows are generally the least expensive option. Because these windows are inserted in existing frames, they typically require less labour making them more affordable. The price for a replacement window may start from $300 per unit and rise depending on the custom features you choose, such as:
- Frame material. Vinyl here is the most affordable, while wood is the most expensive.
- Hardware. You can choose standard or opt for elite hardware, customizing locks, handles, etc., to match your preferences.
- Colour. White, Black or other basic colours will not significantly affect the price. Still, if you want custom shades to complement your exterior and interior, you should expect a price change of around 15%.
- Glazing. The current standard is double pane windows, but if you live in cold regions, triple pane windows would be a better choice. But the price for these units may be up to 20% higher depending on the glazing and LoE coating you choose.
Initially, the price of new-construction windows may appear less, but it truly relies on the type and number of windows you order. Since they are standard size, they are produced in large volumes and hence available at a lower price.
However, the price can significantly increase when you consider the cost of replacing the current window frame and repairing the surrounding interior and exterior walls.
But installing construction windows can prove to be the most acceptable alternative and the best investment if you’re installing windows in new construction or your current window frames are in poor condition.
Where to buy new windows for your house?
Due to a large number of Red Deer window companies in the market today, you will have several options at various price ranges.
To help you pick the best option for your house, we advise dealing with experienced professionals that offer Energy Star-rated windows, free quotes & consultation and qualified in-house installers to ensure correct installation and maximum energy efficiency for your new windows.
Final thoughts
If you are about to install new windows, choosing whether to get replacement windows or new construction windows is a decision you must make very carefully.
A new construction window may be a good option in situations like an extension to your home or building a new home.
However, a replacement window will be more suitable if you plan to replace your existing windows, not changing rough openings and window styles. Opting for custom-made replacement windows means saving yourself a lot of time, hassle, and money in the future.
Artificial Intelligence
Lawsuit Claims Google Secretly Used Gemini AI to Scan Private Gmail and Chat Data
By Ken Macon
Whether the claims are true or not, privacy in Google’s universe has long been less a right than a nostalgic illusion.
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When Google flipped a digital switch in October 2025, few users noticed anything unusual.
Gmail loaded as usual, Chat messages zipped across screens, and Meet calls continued without interruption.
Yet, according to a new class action lawsuit, something significant had changed beneath the surface.
We obtained a copy of the lawsuit for you here.
Plaintiffs claim that Google silently activated its artificial intelligence system, Gemini, across its communication platforms, turning private conversations into raw material for machine analysis.
The lawsuit, filed by Thomas Thele and Melo Porter, describes a scenario that reads like a breach of trust.
It accuses Google of enabling Gemini to “access and exploit the entire recorded history of its users’ private communications, including literally every email and attachment sent and received.”
The filing argues that the company’s conduct “violates its users’ reasonable expectations of privacy.”
Until early October, Gemini’s data processing was supposedly available only to those who opted in.
Then, the plaintiffs claim, Google “turned it on for everyone by default,” allowing the system to mine the contents of emails, attachments, and conversations across Gmail, Chat, and Meet.
The complaint points to a particular line in Google’s settings, “When you turn this setting on, you agree,” as misleading, since the feature “had already been switched on.”
This, according to the filing, represents a deliberate misdirection designed to create the illusion of consent where none existed.
There is a certain irony woven through the outrage. For all the noise about privacy, most users long ago accepted the quiet trade that powers Google’s empire.
They search, share, and store their digital lives inside Google’s ecosystem, knowing the company thrives on data.
The lawsuit may sound shocking, but for many, it simply exposes what has been implicit all along: if you live in Google’s world, privacy has already been priced into the convenience.
Thele warns that Gemini’s access could expose “financial information and records, employment information and records, religious affiliations and activities, political affiliations and activities, medical care and records, the identities of his family, friends, and other contacts, social habits and activities, eating habits, shopping habits, exercise habits, [and] the extent to which he is involved in the activities of his children.”
In other words, the system’s reach, if the allegations prove true, could extend into nearly every aspect of a user’s personal life.
The plaintiffs argue that Gemini’s analytical capabilities allow Google to “cross-reference and conduct unlimited analysis toward unmerited, improper, and monetizable insights” about users’ private relationships and behaviors.
The complaint brands the company’s actions as “deceptive and unethical,” claiming Google “surreptitiously turned on this AI tracking ‘feature’ without informing or obtaining the consent of Plaintiffs and Class Members.” Such conduct, it says, is “highly offensive” and “defies social norms.”
The case invokes a formidable set of statutes, including the California Invasion of Privacy Act, the California Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, the Stored Communications Act, and California’s constitutional right to privacy.
Google is yet to comment on the filing.
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Business
Nearly One-Quarter of Consumer-Goods Firms Preparing to Exit Canada, Industry CEO Warns Parliament
Standing Committee on Industry and Technology hears stark testimony that rising costs and stalled investment are pushing companies out of the Canadian market.
There’s a number that should stop this country cold: twenty-three percent. That is the share of companies in one of Canada’s essential manufacturing and consumer-goods sectors now preparing to withdraw products from the Canadian market or exit entirely within the next two years. And this wasn’t whispered at a business luncheon or buried in a consultancy memo. It was delivered straight to Parliament, at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, during its study on Canada’s underlying productivity gaps and capital outflow.
Michael Graydon, the CEO of Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada, didn’t hedge or soften the message. He told MPs, “23% of our members expect to exit products from the Canadian marketplace within the next two years, because the cost of doing business here has just become unsustainable.”
Unsustainable. That’s the word he used. And when the people who actually make things in this country start using that word, you should pay attention. These aren’t fringe players or hypothetical startups. These are firms that supply the goods Canadians buy every single day, and they’re looking at their balance sheets, their regulatory burdens, the delays in getting anything approved or built, and concluding that Canada simply doesn’t work for them anymore.
What makes this more troubling is the timing. Canada’s investment levels have been falling for years, even as the United States and other competitors race ahead. Businesses aren’t reinvesting in machinery or technology at the rate they once did. They’re not modernizing their operations here. They’re putting expansion plans on hold or shifting them to jurisdictions that move faster, cost less and offer clearer rules. That’s not ideology; it’s arithmetic. If it costs more to operate here, if it takes longer to get a permit, and if supply chains back up because ports and rail lines are jammed, investors will choose the place that doesn’t make growth a bureaucratic mountain climb.
Graydon raised another point that ought to concern anyone who cares about domestic production. Canada’s agrifood sector recorded a sixty-billion-dollar trade surplus last year, one of the brightest spots in the national economy, but according to him that potential is being “diluted by fragmented interprovincial trade and logistics bottlenecks.” The ports, the rail corridors, the entire transport network—choke points everywhere. And you can’t build a productive economy on choke points. Companies can’t scale, can’t guarantee delivery, can’t justify the costs. So they leave.
This twenty-three percent figure is the clearest evidence yet that the problem isn’t theoretical. It’s not something for think-tank panels or academic papers. It is happening at the level that matters most: the decision whether to continue doing business in Canada or move operations somewhere more predictable. And once those decisions are made, they’re very hard to reverse. Capital doesn’t boomerang back out of patriotism. It goes where it can earn a return.
For years, Canadian policymakers have talked about productivity as if it were a moral failing of workers or a mystical national characteristic. It’s neither. Productivity comes from investment—real money poured into equipment, technology, training and expansion. When investment stalls, productivity collapses. And when a quarter of firms in a major sector are already planning their exit, you are not looking at a temporary dip. You are looking at a structural rejection of the business environment itself.
The fact that executives are now openly warning Parliament that they cannot afford to stay is a moment of clarity. It is also a test. Either this country becomes a place where people can build things again—quickly, affordably, competitively—or it continues down the path that leads to empty factories, hollowed-out supply chains and consumers who wonder why the shelves look thinner every year.
Twenty-three percent is not just a statistic. It’s the sound of a warning bell ringing at full volume. The only question now is whether anyone in charge hears it.
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