Should I wait for the spring sales or buy windows now?

Great question that comes up a lot from Ottawa homeowners. The honest answer is: buying in late fall or winter often gets you better pricing and faster installation than waiting for spring.

Here's why the timing works in your favour right now.

Winter is the slow season for installers, which means you have more negotiating leverage, faster scheduling, and more attention from installation crews who aren't juggling a full spring backlog. Many Ottawa window companies — including Ottawa Window Pros — offer off-season pricing to keep crews busy through the colder months. The "spring sale" you're waiting for is often just a return to regular pricing with a promotional label on it.

Lead times are a real consideration. Custom windows are manufactured to order, and spring is when every homeowner who "waited" places their order at the same time. Lead times that are 2-4 weeks in winter can stretch to 6-10 weeks by April and May. If you want new windows installed before the heat of summer, ordering in January or February is actually the smarter move.

Ottawa winters are hard on old windows. If your windows are already showing signs of failure — condensation between panes, drafts, frost on the glass, or ice on the interior sill — every month you wait is money leaving through those windows on your heating bill. Ottawa sits in Climate Zone 6, and a single drafty window can meaningfully impact your furnace load.

That said, if your windows are in decent shape and you're simply upgrading for aesthetics or energy efficiency, waiting a few weeks for a specific promotion isn't going to hurt you. Just don't assume spring sales represent a significant discount — they rarely do compared to what a good installer will offer you in the off-season.

For a free estimate and honest off-season pricing, reach out to Ottawa Window Pros — we can give you a real number to compare against whatever spring promotions you see later.