Residential glass
This is the service for a cracked pane
Window glass repair replaces the broken pane inside your existing window frame rather than replacing the whole window. Roxy Glass measures the opening, cuts or orders the correct glass, and fits it into the frame you already have. It is the faster and less expensive option whenever the frame, sash and hardware are still sound.
Free estimates, no obligation. Request a free window glass repair estimate.
If any of the following describes what you are looking at, this is the service that handles it.
Getting it right
A pane is not just a piece of glass cut to a rectangle. Four things have to match, and getting any of them wrong means the window does not perform the way it did before.
| What we match | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Thickness | The glazing channel in the frame is sized for a particular thickness. Glass that is too thin rattles and does not seal. Glass that is too thick will not seat properly in the bead or the channel. |
| Type | Annealed, tempered, laminated, wired and obscure glass all look different and behave differently. Where code requires safety glazing, only tempered or laminated is acceptable. |
| Tint and coating | A tinted or coated pane fitted next to clear glass is immediately obvious from outside, and a missing low emissivity coating changes how much heat that room takes on. |
| Pattern and texture | Obscure glass comes in many patterns. Bathroom and entry side lights in particular need the right pattern, or the repaired panel stands out from the rest. |
Glass is always cut slightly smaller than the opening it sits in. It needs clearance to expand in the heat and to sit in the glazing channel without being under pressure. Glass cut to the exact opening size will bind, and glass under pressure cracks. That clearance is one of the reasons a measuring visit is worth more than a tape measure reading over the phone.
Before we get there
Broken glass in a frame is under tension and can release without warning. Close the room off if you can.
Removing one piece can release the rest. Leave the pane as it is and let us take it out properly with the right protection.
If you are going to make an insurance claim, photographs taken before the repair are far more useful than a description afterwards.
If there is now a hole to the outside, say so when you call. That changes the job from a standard repair to a board up first, and it changes how quickly we need to be there.
If the window is broken through and the property is open to the street, the first job is securing the opening. We clear the glass, board the opening and measure for the permanent glass in the same visit.
The work itself
These are the stages the job actually runs through, from the first look at the opening to the finished glass.
What happens next
Call the line for your area or send the estimate form. A photo of the damage and a rough measurement lets us tell you straight away whether it is a glass only repair or a full replacement.
Glass is cut to the opening, not to a catalog size, so the measurement has to be exact. For most jobs we measure on site. For a simple pane you can measure it yourself and we will tell you how.
The estimate is free and it sets out the glass type, the thickness, whether safety glazing is required and what the work involves. Nothing is ordered until you approve it.
Standard glass is usually cut at our Newark shop. Sealed double pane units, tempered glass and made to order shapes are fabricated to your measurements, which is what sets the lead time.
We fit the glass, check that it seals and operates properly, and take the old glass and packaging away with us.
Cost
Roxy Glass does not publish a fixed price for this work, because the price depends on the opening in front of us. Estimates are free, so the fastest way to get a real number is to send the measurements and a photo, or to have us come and measure.
Where we do this work
This work is carried out from our Newark shop across Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, Alameda County, Contra Costa County, San Francisco and southern Marin County.
Santa Clara County from San Jose out to Los Gatos and Cupertino.
San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Campbell, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Milpitas.
San Mateo County and the northern Santa Clara Valley.
Palo Alto, Mountain View, San Mateo, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Atherton, Redwood City, San Carlos, Belmont, Foster City, Burlingame, Millbrae, San Bruno.
The Tri City area, the Hayward and Oakland corridor and the shoreline cities.
Fremont, Newark, Union City, Hayward, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, Alameda, Richmond.
Inland Alameda County and central Contra Costa County.
Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, Sunol, San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, Concord, Martinez.
San Francisco, northern San Mateo County and southern Marin County.
San Francisco, South San Francisco, Daly City, San Rafael, Mill Valley, Larkspur, Corte Madera, San Anselmo, Tiburon.
Send your details on the free estimate form and the team that covers your address will answer. You can also call the Newark shop on (510) 400-7788, which is where every Bay Area job is dispatched from.
Questions
In most cases just the pane. If the frame, sash, hinges and locks are sound, the glass is replaced on its own and the window stays where it is. That is faster and costs less. A whole new window is only needed when the frame itself has failed, for example when it is rotted, rusted, bent or no longer sealing.
It will not repair itself and cracks tend to spread. Glass expands and contracts with temperature, and a crack is a weak point that grows every time that happens. A cracked pane is also weaker against impact and wind. It is safe to leave for a short time in most cases, but it is worth booking before it becomes a shattered pane that has to be dealt with urgently.
Tempered glass is heat treated so that it is much stronger than ordinary glass, and so that it breaks into small blunt pieces rather than sharp shards. California building code requires safety glazing in specific locations, including glass in doors, glass close to a door, glass in bathrooms near a bath or shower, and glass below certain heights above the floor. If your opening is one of those, the replacement has to be tempered. We tell you when it applies.
It depends on the glass. Clear glass in a common size and thickness is often cut at our Newark shop, which is quick. Tempered glass cannot be cut after treatment, so it has to be made to your measurements, and obscure patterns, laminated glass and sealed units are also made to order. We give you the expected timing with the estimate once we know what the glass has to be.
For a simple pane you can, and we will tell you exactly how and what to measure. In practice we usually measure ourselves, because the glass size is not the same as the opening size and the difference matters. Getting it wrong means the glass is made twice, which costs more and takes longer than a measuring visit.
Keep people and pets away from it and do not try to pull loose pieces out of the frame, because glass held in a frame can release suddenly. If the opening is exposed to the outside, tell us when you call and we will treat it as an urgent board up rather than a standard repair visit. We clear and remove the broken glass as part of the job.
Fog, haze or streaks trapped between the panes means the sealed unit has failed. The glass unit is replaced, not the window.
Read about double pane glass replacement
New window units when the frame itself has failed, including retrofit installation into the existing opening.
Read about window replacement
Broken glass cleared and the opening secured now, with the permanent glass fitted once it is made.
Read about emergency board up
Next step
Send a photo and a rough size. We will tell you whether the pane can be replaced on its own, whether code requires safety glass in that opening, and what the timing looks like.
Estimates are free. Tell us what broke, send a photo if you have one, and we will tell you whether it is a glass only repair or a full replacement before any work is booked.
Leave a message or use the estimate form and we will reply when we open.
