Broken glass and glazing
A cracked pane, a failed sealed unit or new glazing throughout
A broken pane is boarded up with plywood first and measured afterwards. That is the order: safe and weathertight first, the right pane second. Standard sizes in clear glass are held in stock by the supplier; a made to measure insulating unit normally takes five to ten working days.
Laminated, toughened and fire-resistant glass carry different lead times and different requirements. In a door or beside a staircase the Dutch building decree (Bouwbesluit) calls for laminated or toughened glass, and we will not put plain float glass back there, even where plain float is what came out.
Have your situation assessed
Calling, sending a photo or filling in the form come to the same thing. With a photo of the current situation it is clear in advance whether this is a repair or a replacement.
Making it weathertight
An open hole is boarded the same day with plywood or a temporary pane, so the house is closed and dry before anything is ordered.
Measuring
Sizes are taken in the rebate, not off the old pane. An old pane has often been ground to fit after installation and gives the wrong dimension.
Safety glass where it belongs
In doors, in side lights next to a door, and anywhere someone could fall against it. Laminated glass costs more than float, and that difference is visible on the quotation.
What glazing work covers: replacing a broken pane, replacing a failed sealed unit, repairing or backing up leaded lights, and re-setting glass that has come out of the rebate during painting.
Where the damage is caused by a break-in or a storm, the buildings insurer often pays. We supply the photographs and the specification the insurer asks for: size, glass type, thickness and the reason for replacement. Dealing with the insurer stays with the owner; we make no statements about cover.
Leaded glass in a fanlight can almost always be kept. The usual answer is to clean the panel, re-lead it where needed, and set a single clear pane in front of it on the inside. That insulates only a little, but it stops draughts and protects the lead.
Questions about broken glass and glazing
Standard clear glass in a common size: often within two working days. Made to measure insulating glass: five to ten working days, because the unit has to be built. Until then the opening stays boarded.
That depends on its age and on the manufacturer warranty. If the unit is less than ten years old there is often still cover from the glass maker. We look for the maker mark in the spacer bar between the panes; the year of production is stamped there.
Not the panel itself, without taking it apart. What does work is a single clear pane on the inside in a slim profile. That stops the draught, protects the lead and is reversible, which is the requirement on a listed building.
Where we do this
Also possible
- Window frame repair: Keep the existing frame and replace only the part that has failed
- Insulated glazing and HR++: From single glazing to 1.1: what it gives you and what it costs
- Timber window frames: The one material that passes design review almost anywhere here
- uPVC window frames: Where they are the better choice, and where they are not
Quotation for broken glass and glazing
A photo, your postcode, the year the house was built and the number of frames produce a range. The quotation follows only after measuring up in the rebate: a wrong dimension is the most expensive mistake in this trade.