Glass for shops, offices and commercial buildings
If your shop window went last night, start here. Make it safe, take photos, report it, then sort out the permanent fix. Most storefront and entrance work is one pane, one closer or one lock, not a new front. We connect Oshawa and Durham businesses with independent local commercial glass pros and pass your request to one who does that kind of job. Describe the property and the problem.
Street level
Storefront glass: breaks, fogged units, security upgrades
Broken or cracked display glass
A smashed or cracked shop window is boarded, measured and reglazed in the existing frame. A good moment to price laminated glass or film.
Fogged storefront units
Haze between the panes of an insulated storefront unit means the seal has failed. Usually only the sealed unit is replaced; the framing stays.
Glass for displays and counters
Shelves, counter tops and display-case glass cut to size, for a refit after the repair or a display piece that broke too.
Entrances
Glass entry doors, closers and hardware
Closers, pivots and hinges
A door that slams, hangs open or drags on the threshold usually has one worn part. The part is replaced; the door is kept.
Lobby and side doors
Walk-up lobbies and office side doors take the same closers, locks and safety glass as a shop entrance, and batch well with suite work.
Glass in wood or steel doors
Some shop and rear doors are wood or steel with a glass panel. That panel can usually be replaced on its own, in safety glass.
The morning after
Vandalism and break-ins: repair, board-up and the City fund
Board-up tonight
Plywood or a temporary panel over the opening so you can lock up. The permanent glass is measured once the front is secure.
The City's vandalism fund
Oshawa has offered commercial properties rebates toward vandalism repairs, including glass, locks and deductibles. One-time fund, subject to availability.
Locks forced, closer bent
A forced entrance often leaves a bent bolt, a damaged cylinder or a closer out of line. Have the door checked in the same visit.
Before you order
Downtown heritage storefronts, façade grants and permits
Downtown Oshawa
Older blocks on King Street and Simcoe Street include buildings on the City's heritage register. Check a building's status before its framing changes.
Plazas and the Oshawa Centre area
Plaza and mall units near the Oshawa Centre have their own wrinkle: the lease often decides whether you or the landlord books the glass repair.
Renovating a commercial space
New storefront framing, doors or openings are a different job from a new pane. Contractors can send a scope and drawings.
Oshawa's same-size permit exemption is for houses only, so for a shop or office, check with the City first. Downtown is one of four City improvement areas, with Wentworth Street West, Brownfields Renaissance and Harbour Road.
Rental buildings
Property managers and multi-unit buildings
Landlords and property managers
Screens, reglazing, safety stops and sealed units across several units, sent as one list and quoted as a batch.
Screens on every openable window
Oshawa's by-law expects a screen on every window that opens in a dwelling. Torn screens are rescreened; missing ones made to fit.
The property standard, clause by clause
Weather-tight, reglazed, screened: what the City's by-law says about windows, doors and glass, in plain words.
Questions
Commercial glass questions
Where
Commercial glass work across Durham
Send the address and we'll check which pro covers it.
Tell us what broke and whether you're open
Describe the storefront or door problem and say whether you're open to the public right now. Photos help. We'll pass it to a local commercial glass pro.