Glass breaks at inconvenient times. If you’re a business owner or homeowner staring at a broken pane tonight, work through this in order.
1. Keep people away from it. Clear the area and, if the break is at a storefront or entrance, block access. Tempered glass shatters into small pieces that travel further than you’d expect, and annealed glass leaves large shards still hanging in the frame.
2. Check for immediate hazards. Wet floors, exposed wiring near the opening, or a door that no longer latches. If the building can’t be secured, treat it as urgent.
3. Photograph everything before you clean up. Wide shots and close-ups. Insurers and police reports both want them, and the pictures disappear the moment someone sweeps.
4. Don’t pull broken glass from the frame yourself. Pieces still held in the stops are under tension and cut deeply. Wait for someone with proper gloves and tools.
5. Call for emergency service. A board-up or temporary glazing secures the opening the same night. The permanent replacement gets measured and ordered afterwards — sealed units and tempered panels are almost never in stock in a specific size.
6. Notify your insurer early. Many commercial policies cover glass, and a claim number opened the same day makes the paperwork simpler.
Superior Glass & Mirror offers 24/7 emergency service across the Durham Region.
Oshawa/Whitby: 905-665-3256
