24/7 Emergency Glass Repair
Broken window, smashed door or a break-in. Board-up and make-safe any hour, glass replacement to follow.
Learn more →Reglazing an existing frame
This is the bread-and-butter job. The broken pane and the old bedding are removed, the rebate is cleaned and, on a timber sash, made good and primed. New glass is cut to the opening, bedded, and held with beads or putty. In an aluminium frame the glass sits in a wedge gasket or a glazing bead instead.
What decides the price is not the size so much as the glass. Plain clear float in a ground-floor aluminium frame is the cheap end. Obscure patterned bathroom glass, laminated glass in a door-side panel, toughened glass in a low window, a second-storey sash that needs a ladder or a platform, or a leadlight panel that needs a specialist all move the number substantially.
Repairs that are not about broken glass
- Seals and draughts. Perished rubber gaskets and failed silicone let water and wind straight through a window that looks fine.
- Hardware. Winders on awning windows, rollers on sliders, sash cords and balances on double-hung windows, and locks on everything. Parts availability is the usual obstacle on older units.
- Fogging. Condensation trapped between the panes of a double-glazed unit means the edge seal has failed. The unit is replaced; it cannot be dried out.
- Timber rot. A rotten sill or bottom rail has to be repaired before new glass goes in, otherwise the new pane is bedded into something that is still rotting.
Replacement windows
Where the frame is beyond repair or the performance is the problem, the window itself is replaced. The common types in Melbourne housing are awning windows, which open outward on a winder and shed rain, double-hung sashes in period homes, sliding windows in post-war and project housing, and louvres, which ventilate brilliantly and seal poorly. Bi-fold windows over a servery are a renovation favourite for the same reason bi-fold doors are.
Two Melbourne-specific things change the answer. Energy requirements have lifted the performance expected of glazing in new homes and major renovations, which pushes double-glazed units into the conversation. And in heritage overlay areas across the inner suburbs, what you may change on a street-facing facade is restricted, so period sashes usually get repaired and reglazed rather than swapped for aluminium. The suburb pages note where that applies.
Broken right now
If the glass is out and the opening is not secure, that is an emergency job — board up first, glass after. If the window is cracked but intact, it is safe to book normally, though a cracked pane should be treated as having no strength left in it.
For what drives the final number, see the cost guide. For the glass type rules, read the AS 1288 explainer. For doors and fly screens, those are separate pages.
More services
Explore our other services
Shopfront Glass
Laminated shopfront panels, entry doors and after-hours board-ups so the shop still opens in the morning.
Learn more →Shower Screens
Framed, semi-frameless and frameless screens in toughened safety glass, made to the opening you actually have.
Learn more →Glass Splashbacks
Toughened 6mm splashbacks for kitchens, laundries and bathrooms, colour-matched and templated on site.
Learn more →Double Glazing
Insulated glass units for Melbourne's cold snaps and hot northerlies. Retrofit or full window replacement.
Learn more →Mirrors
Cut-to-size bathroom, wardrobe, gym and studio mirrors with polished or bevelled edges.
Learn more →Glass Balustrades
Frameless and semi-framed balustrades for stairs, balconies and decks, built to the fall height rules.
Learn more →Glass Roofs and Skylights
Overhead glazing, awnings and skylights in laminated glass, because overhead glass has its own rules.
Learn more →Pool Fencing
Frameless and semi-frameless glass pool fences built to the Victorian barrier rules.
Learn more →Glass Doors
Hinged, sliding, stacker and bi-fold glazed doors, plus reglazing the door you already have.
Learn more →Fly Screens
Pleated, sliding and fixed insect screens in extruded aluminium with PVC-coated mesh.
Learn more →Smart Glass
Switchable privacy glass that goes from clear to opaque, for partitions, consult rooms and bathrooms.
Learn more →Table Tops and Furniture Glass
Cut-to-size table tops, shelving and cabinet glass with polished, bevelled or pencil edges.
Learn more →Scratch and Graffiti Removal
Polishing scratched and acid-tagged glass instead of replacing it, where the glass can take it.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Should I reglaze or replace the whole window?
Reglaze if the frame is straight, sound and not rotten, because you are paying for glass and labour only. Replace the unit when the timber has rot at the sill, when an aluminium frame is racked or the sashes no longer seal, when the hardware has failed and parts are no longer made, or when you are moving to double glazing and the existing sash cannot carry the weight.
Can you match the obscure patterned glass in my old bathroom window?
Often, but not always. Several classic patterns are still manufactured and can be matched closely. Others were discontinued decades ago, and the nearest current equivalent is a good match rather than an exact one. Send a close photo with something for scale and you will get a straight answer before the order is placed.
What is the putty around my old window and does it matter?
Linseed oil putty, the traditional way of bedding glass into a timber rebate. It matters because it is what holds the pane and keeps water out of the rebate, and when it dries, cracks and falls away the glass rattles and the sill starts to rot. Reputtying an old sash is normal maintenance and is usually done at the same time as reglazing.
Do windows near a floor need special glass?
Yes, in many cases. AS 1288 covers low-level glazing that a person could walk into, and full-height or near-floor windows commonly require grade A safety glass. The same applies beside doors. A glazier assesses the sill height and the position before specifying, and if the answer is toughened or laminated, that is the standard rather than a preference.
Free, no-obligation