Shopfront Panels, Entry Doors And Overnight Make-Safe

Why shopfront glass is its own job

A shopfront panel is not a big window. It is usually laminated, it is heavy enough to need two people and often a lifter or suction gear, it is in a public thoroughfare that has to stay safe while the work happens, and it sits in a commercial framing system rather than a domestic sash. Add a lease, a body corporate or a centre management access process and the logistics take longer than the glazing.

Laminated glass is the standard because of how it fails. Two sheets bonded to a plastic interlayer means that when the panel is hit it cracks but stays in the frame, rather than leaving a whole frontage open to the street. It also resists a second blow, which matters on a break-in attempt, and it cuts UV that fades stock in a window display.

The emergency sequence

Ram raids, attempted break-ins, hail-carrying storm fronts and plain vandalism all produce the same call. The glazier clears the opening, checks the frame for damage that would stop a new panel sitting properly, and boards it. A boarded shopfront looks bad for a few days, and that is the trade-off against an open frontage overnight. Photograph everything before the glass is cleared for the insurance claim, and get a police report number.

Replacement panels for shopfronts are almost never stock. They are ordered to the measured size in the specified laminated build-up, which is why board-up then return is the normal pattern rather than a shortcut. More detail on that on the emergency page.

Planned shopfront work

• New or replacement laminated panels in existing frames.
• Glass entry doors, patch fittings, pivots, floor springs and closers.
• Framed and frameless shopfront systems for fitouts.
• Tinted and anti-graffiti film on windows and doors.
• Scratch and acid-tag removal by polishing, where the glass can take it.
• Internal partitions and switchable privacy glass for offices behind the frontage.

Installs on trading premises are normally scheduled before opening, after close or on a quiet day. Say which suits when booking, because early access often needs to be arranged with the building or the centre in advance.

Across Melbourne's strips

Retail glass work concentrates where the strips are: Brunswick and Preston in the north, Footscray in the west, Richmond and St Kilda closer in, and the big suburban centres at Box Hill and Dandenong. Coverage and local notes are on the service areas page, and the broader commercial range is on the commercial page.