Shop window smashed or hit by a car: what to do in the first hour

A rock through the window at 2 am, a ram raid, or a car that mounted the kerb: broken shop glass never comes at a good time. The first hour decides whether you can trade tomorrow. Here's what to do, in order.

The first hour

1. Keep everyone back. Broken shop glass is heavy, and cracked panes can drop without warning. Close off the footpath with bins or tape if you can do it safely.
2. Call 000 if anyone is hurt, a crime is in progress or a vehicle is involved and it's an emergency. For a break-in found afterwards, report it to Victoria Police and keep the report number.
3. Take photos before anything moves: the damage, the frame, the street, any vehicle and anything stolen. Your insurer and your landlord will both want them.
4. Don't knock loose glass out yourself. Leave cracked panes in the frame for the glazier, who will remove them safely or board over them.
5. Get the shop made safe. Call a glazier to board up the opening or fit temporary glass, so the shop is secure overnight. We do this 24/7 on 0410 107 794.
6. Call your insurer and check your lease for the glass clause before you book the permanent replacement.

Make safe first, then new glass

Most shopfront glass is fixed in two visits. First the opening is made safe: boarded up, or fitted with temporary glass if the shop needs to keep its display. Then the permanent glass is measured and made, and fitted on a second visit.

The gap between the two is not the glazier dragging their feet. Shopfront glass is almost always safety glass, toughened or laminated, and toughened glass can't be cut once it's made, so every pane is made to measured size (Onya Magazine). That time also lets you talk to your insurer before the second visit.

1. 

   1

   Step 1 of 3

   Make the site safe

   Barriers keep people back from the damaged glass, and the opening is secured so the building isn't left open overnight.

2. 

   2

   Step 2 of 3

   Measure and glaze

   The new safety glass is made to the measured size of each opening and fitted into the frame.

3. 

   3

   Step 3 of 3

   Back to trading

   With the new glass in, the barriers come down and the frontage is secure and clear again.

The photos above are from a real job: a glass wall hit by a car, made safe, then reglazed with new safety glass.

Glass for a shopfront has to be safety glass

The glass in and beside a shop door, and low-level shopfront glass, must be Grade A safety glass under AS 1288, the Australian standard the National Construction Code calls up (Standards Australia). If your old shopfront had ordinary annealed glass, the replacement may have to be an upgrade, which changes the price. We'll tell you what each pane needs when we measure.

This is also the moment to think about laminated glass. It cracks but stays in the frame, so a second hit doesn't leave the shop open. We also fit security film, shutters and grilles; ask about them when we measure.

What it costs

A make-safe or board-up is quoted on the night; the permanent glass is priced once it's measured, because it depends on the size, the glass type and the frame. You get the price in writing before the glass is made.

Who pays

In Victoria, the standard commercial leases usually make the tenant replace broken glass, whoever broke it: the REIV lease says the tenant must replace broken glass "whether or not the tenant is responsible" (REIV). Insurance may or may not cover it, so check your lease and your policy before you book the permanent glass, and keep the photos, the police report number and the glazier's invoice.

Call us for urgent shop glass

We make shopfronts safe 24/7 and replace broken shop glass, doors and frames across Melbourne. For urgent help, call 0410 107 794. For anything that can wait for a written quote, see safety glass replacement, shopfronts and entry doors, or ask for a quote.