Door glass · Brampton
New glass for a front door, sidelight or transom
A crack running up a sidelight, or a decorative oval gone cloudy, doesn't mean the front door has to go. On most modern entry doors the glass sits in a frame of its own, called an insert, that comes out while the door stays hung. We connect you with a local glass professional who orders the replacement to size in the right safety glass and fits it.
- Just the insert, not the door
- Safety glass ordered to size
- Privacy glass options
Know what you have
Inserts, sidelights, transoms: know what you have
Knowing which piece is damaged helps the pro quote from a photo. For glass in a patio slider, start at the patio doors overview.
Insert
Glass set into the door itself, held between two frames screwed together through the door.
Sidelight
The tall, narrow glass beside the door, in its own frame or set into a solid panel.
Transom
Fixed glass above the door. A tall one over a two-storey foyer may need scaffolding inside.
The insert swap
Replacing an insert without replacing the door
Photo and measure
The pro checks how the insert is fastened inside and measures its frame, not just the visible glass.
Order the glass
The new insert is made to size in tempered or laminated glass, with the pattern matched as closely as stock allows.
Swap and seal
The old insert unscrews from inside, and the new one is bedded in sealant so rain can't get behind it.
Privacy glass
Privacy and decorative glass for a new insert
New glass is a chance to change the glass, especially where the door faces a close neighbour, a shared walkway or a basement-unit side entrance.
Frosted or satin
Lets light in and blurs shapes, for a door that faces a neighbour's window a few steps away.
Textured
Rippled patterns scatter the view more than frosted glass and hide fingerprints.
Clear with internal blinds
Sealed blinds let you choose when to see out. Useful on a back or side door.
Decorative and leaded
Designs like the oval in the photo can be matched, or swapped for something plainer.
Safety glass
Safety glass in doors and wide sidelights
Ontario's Building Code calls for safety glass, tempered or laminated, in storm doors, sliding doors and sidelights wide enough to be mistaken for a doorway, and in large, low panes in entrance doors. Tempered glass can't be cut after it's made, so door glass is ordered to size, and a pane from a window won't do. The pro confirms what your door needs. For a cracked window instead, see broken window glass.
Pricing door glass
What the price of door glass depends on
- Size and shape: small oval, half-length or full-length
- Plain, frosted, textured or leaded glass
- A full insert with its frame, or glass only
- Single pane or sealed double pane
- Access, such as a high foyer transom
Photograph the whole door from outside and the insert frame close up from inside. Its screws or clips show a pro how it comes out.
Other doors
Storm door and interior door glass
Storm door glass sits in a removable panel or behind a strip, and it must be safety glass. If the closer or frame took the hit too, see storm doors. Glass in interior French doors is replaced the same way, usually without taking the door off its hinges.
Second units
Door glass on a separate basement-unit entrance
A side door that serves a basement unit is often the tenant's only way in. If its glass cracks, make it safe and lockable that day, then replace the glass properly; a frosted insert adds privacy on a side yard neighbours walk past. The pro we match you with should arrive when they said, keep the work tidy, and explain to whoever is home what was done.
Questions
Questions about glass in doors
Explore your options
Other glass and door pages
Glass pros replace door inserts and sidelights across Brampton, including Castlemore, Springdale, Mount Pleasant and Snelgrove.
Photograph the door and the insert frame
One photo of the whole door from outside and a close-up of the insert frame. We pass them to a local glass pro.