Front Door Glass Replacement

Reasons to Replace Front Door Glass

You may want or need to replace the glass in your front door for a variety of reasons. The first reason you may need to replace the glass in your front door is if it is broken as a result of something colliding with it, falling into it, or being thrown at it. It could even be because your home was broken into and the glass was broken as a result of the forced entry. Another reason could be that you are sick of the look of your current glass and want something more modern, nicer, or fancier.

If some of the glass in your front door breaks, it must be repaired quickly because it will allow cold or hot air, bugs, or even rain or snow to enter. It is best to contact LR Glass & Window as soon as they open and have them come out to measure the glass, cut a new piece to fit, and install it for you. Without experience, it is impossible for a homeowner to cut glass precisely and it is extremely difficult to install it.

Door Glass Replacement

It is recommended to cover the surface of broken glass with packing tape to protect people from touching it and getting cut. It will also hold the glass together to get pieces from falling out and cutting someone's foot. You should also use a shop vac to vacuum the area around the door after a break, to make sure there are no glass fragments that someone might step on with bare feet or get stuck on someone's shoe and get tracked into a home where it could injure someone with their feet or socks.

If your front door has an insulated glass unit like double-paned glass, this can make it much easier to replace as you can replace the whole unit or insert. If you want to attempt this replacement yourself, you will want to start by removing the screws on the frame right around the glass unit both inside and out. Then carefully remove the glass unit from the door. Next carefully measure the dimensions, including the thickness of the glass unit. Call LR Glass & Window and order a new glass unit with the same dimensions. It might be helpful to email them a photo of your current glass design so they can find something that will match and give you an estimated cost.

Door Glass Upgrades

You might also want to upgrade the glass in your front door for aesthetic reasons or for better insulation. Many older doors with glass can have a new styled glass piece installed to upgrade the look of your door. We have many door glass designs to choose from. We also have full doors with glass available if your door is not compatible or is worn out.

Commercial Glass Doors

If your door has a very large piece of glass or the whole door is glass, like a church or store, or office building, the glass getting broken can prevent the door from being used. You will need to call LR right away and have them come out and work on it.

Glass doors are among the most visually appealing design options for commercial buildings available today. Many businesses create a welcoming and open environment to attract customers. They are also popular in churches because they allow a friendly face to greet visitors as they enter, which is preferable to a solid wooden or metal door. This is due to people's trepidation about opening the door because they don't know who or what will be on the other side.

Commercial glass doors are strong and durable, but they can be broken through many types of accidents. Business owners should know what steps to take if their commercial glass door breaks.

What Tempered Glass is

Most commercial glass doors will be made of tempered glass. The type of glass is four times stronger than un-tempered or annealed glass. Annealed glass can shatter into jagged shards when broken. Tempered glass breaks into small, relatively harmless pieces. Places where tempered glass is used are windows in vehicles, entrance doors, shower and tub enclosures, and skylights. The tempering process involved the glass sheet traveling through a tempering oven which heats the glass to a temperature of 620 degrees Celsius. The glass then undergoes a quenching process which is high-pressure cooling. During this process high-pressure air blasts the surface of the glass from an array of nozzles in varying positions. Quenching cools the outer surfaces of the glass much more quickly than the center. As the center of the glass cools, it tries to pull back from the outer surfaces. The result is, the center remains in tension, and the outer surfaces go into compression, which gives tempered glass its strength.

For even greater safety, glass doors can be laminated. In this case, tempered glass is held between two layers of clear plastic. If the glass does shatter, the many small pieces don’t fall from the sheet of glass because they are held together by the plastic film. This is the highest standard of safety for your glass doors.

What to do if Your Commercial Glass Door Breaks

The first thing to keep in mind when your commercial glass door breaks is keeping people safe. It is best to secure the door to prevent anyone from getting injured by broken glass pieces. You may need to direct customers or employees to another entrance or exit.

Even if you have laminated glass doors, they shouldn’t continue to be used as they can be further damaged and become potentially hazardous. Put up signs to avoid the door.

If you have reason to believe that the damage to the glass door was vandalism, then you should contact the police and file a report. If available, you should review your security camera recordings to find out for sure if vandalism was the cause.

It would also be a good idea to contact your insurance company if your building is insured. Many types of damage to your commercial glass door are likely to be covered by insurance, including damage due to vandalism, theft, or certain accidents or natural events. Be sure to take photos for evidence.

It might take a couple of days to have the glass replaced in your commercial glass door. In the meantime, you will need a temporary solution to protect your building. You will want to use some clear packing tape to cover the broken glass. You will also want to board up the door to prevent people from taking advantage of the broken door by breaking into your building. If you are not sure how to do this, contact LR Glass & Window for help. We are also a licensed contractor who knows how to board up your broken glass until it can be replaced.