Can I keep my front door and just change the glass?

Yes, in most cases. A steel or fibreglass door's insert comes out in its frame; a wood door is reglazed. A new door only makes sense when the slab is rotted or warped. The doors and screens overview covers other options.

Is new glass in a front door a big expense?

It depends on the glass more than the door. A small clear lite is a much smaller job than a full-length decorative insert. Reusing the existing frame and choosing stocked glass both help. A photo of the whole door and the frame around the glass lets a pro quote before visiting.

Is ordinary glass allowed in a door, or must it be tempered?

Door glass usually has to be safety glass, tempered or laminated, not ordinary glass. Ontario's building code calls for it in storm doors, sliding doors, wide sidelights and larger glass low in an entrance door. The pro orders glass that meets the current code for your door.

Can a plain door insert be changed to a decorative one?

Yes, as long as the new insert fits the same cut-out in the door. Privacy and decorative inserts come in common sizes, so a close fit is often possible. If the cut-out differs, the pro can say whether it can be adjusted. It's also a good moment to change the frame colour.

What are the first steps after the glass in a door breaks?

Keep people and pets away, and wear shoes and gloves. Photograph it for insurance. Tape the crack or cover the opening with plywood or heavy plastic, then arrange new glass, made to size. Too big to cover? See emergency glass and board-up.

Door glass · Oshawa

Replacing the glass in entry doors, sidelights and storm doors

A cracked insert in a steel front door, a fogged sidelight or a broken storm door pane rarely means a new door. The glass comes out, a new piece is made to size, and the door stays. The City counts reglazing cracked glass as part of keeping a home in good repair. We connect you with a local glass professional who replaces door glass, and they quote it.

Keep the door, change the glass
Safety glass ordered to size
Storm door panes and screen inserts

Get a free quote 905-470-3454

A half-lite insert and a storm door: two pieces of glass, each replaceable.

Keep the door

Can the glass be swapped without replacing the door?

Usually, yes. In steel and fibreglass doors the glass sits in a two-part frame screwed through the door, so the insert comes out whole. Wood doors hold glass with stops a pro removes and refits. Patio door glass is covered under sliding door repair.

Photos and measurements
Photos and the visible glass size tell a pro whether a stock insert fits.
The old insert comes out
The inside frame is unscrewed and the glass lifts out, taped first if cracked.
New glass or a new insert
New glass in the old frame, or a complete insert if the frame is brittle or faded.
Sealed and checked
The frame is bedded in sealant so water can't get into the door.

Inserts and privacy

Decorative and privacy inserts in steel and fibreglass doors

A replacement doesn't have to match the old glass. It's the simplest way to change how much of the hall the street can see.

Clear glass

The most light. Fine where the door faces a porch or yard.

Textured and frosted privacy glass

For street-facing doors and sidelights: light in, no view of the hall.

Decorative glass

Bevelled, leaded-look or patterned. Usually made to order, so allow for the wait.

Blinds between the glass

Nothing to dust, but if the mechanism fails, the whole insert is replaced.

Beside and above

Sidelights and transoms

Sidelights, the narrow glass beside a front door, and transoms, the glass above it, are usually sealed units set in the frame, not the door. A fogged or cracked one can be replaced without touching the door, usually made to order.

Many share the insert's pattern, so ask whether a match is still available. If the door itself is the problem, see entry doors.

What affects the quote

What drives the price: insert size, decorative glass, frame kit, door material

Little door glass is standard. The quote depends on:

Size, from a small lite to a full-length panel
Clear, privacy or decorative, stocked or made to order
Reusing the frame kit, or a complete insert
Door material and how the glass is held in
Sidelight and transom units, made separately
Any temporary cover while glass is made

Photograph the whole door and the frame around the glass.

Get a door glass quote

No cost and no obligation to ask.

Storm doors

Storm doors: glass panels and screen inserts

Oshawa has the oldest housing in Durham, and many older houses still have an aluminum storm door: a glass panel for winter and a screen for summer, or a pane that slides down.

A cracked pane gets safety glass cut to the panel; closers and handles are on the screen and storm door page. The City lists storm doors among what a home keeps weather-tight, so a landlord has reason to fix a cracked pane; see our property standards guide.

Safety glass

Safety glass in and beside doors

Door glass isn't ordinary window glass. The Ontario Building Code calls for tempered or laminated safety glass in storm and sliding doors, wide sidelights that could pass for a door, and larger glass low in an entrance door. That's why door glass is ordered, not cut on the spot; the pro confirms the current code. For a window, see broken window glass.

Questions

Door glass questions

Explore your options

Local pros replace door glass across the city and nearby, including Downtown Oshawa, Lakeview, Whitby and Bowmanville.

Photograph the door and the glass frame

A photo of the door and the frame around the glass is enough. We send it to a local pro who replaces door glass, and follow up if you haven't heard back.