Broken Window or Glass Door: What to Do in the First Hour
In the first hour after a window or glass door breaks, get people and pets out of the room, put on shoes and gloves, photograph the damage, clear loose glass with a broom rather than your hands, and close the opening with poly sheeting or a plywood board-up. Then call your insurer if it is a break-in, storm or large loss, and book replacement glass for the existing frame. OhMyGlass runs a 24/7 emergency line that boards up openings and measures for the new pane or sealed unit, so the window itself stays.
Safety first: clear the room of children and pets, wear hard-soled shoes and work gloves, and never pick up glass with bare hands.
Photograph the damage before you clean up; home policies ask you to document the loss and to act to limit further damage.
A small upstairs pane can be closed with poly sheeting from the inside; ground-floor windows, patio doors and break-ins need a plywood board-up.
A crazed tempered pane that is still in its frame can drop out in one piece, so keep people away rather than taping it and leaving it.
The permanent fix is new glass in the existing frame: the broken pane or sealed unit is made to measure and installed, and the frame stays unless it was damaged too.
One GTA contractor lists emergency same-night sealed-unit replacement at $550–$1,000+ and board-up from $450; boarding up at night and glazing in daytime usually costs less.
On this page
When a window or glass door breaks, the first hour is about three things: keeping people from getting cut, recording the damage, and closing the opening against weather and intruders. Replacement glass comes later. Double-pane units and tempered door glass are made to measure, so the realistic goal tonight is a safe, secure opening.
Here is the order we recommend. If the opening is large, on the ground floor, or the result of a break-in, call a board-up service rather than improvising.
Minutes 0–5: make the room safe
- Get children and pets out of the room and close the door behind them. Glass travels further than you'd expect, especially tempered glass.
- If this is a break-in, don't go in if someone could still be inside. Leave and call 911.
- Put on hard-soled shoes and work gloves before you step near the glass. Fine fragments hide in carpet and along sills.
- Don't pull shards out of the frame by hand. Large pieces held by putty or glazing beads can release suddenly.
- Check what kind of glass broke.
- Ordinary (annealed) window glass breaks into long, sharp shards.
- Tempered glass (patio doors, storm doors, shower doors) crumbles into small granular pieces. They're less sharp but spread widely.
- Laminated glass cracks in a spider-web pattern and stays stuck to its plastic interlayer. It can usually stay in place until it's replaced.
- Don't tape up a crazed tempered pane and carry on using the door. A shattered tempered pane that is still sitting in the frame can drop out in one sheet when the door moves. Keep the door shut, keep people clear, and have it removed or boarded.
- If there's a sheet of glass hanging overhead (a transom, a skylight, a storefront upper panel), keep everyone out from underneath it.
Minutes 5–15: document before you clean
Your insurer will want evidence, and it's easy to lose once you start sweeping. Insurers want the damage photographed, a list of what was damaged or stolen, the damaged items kept unless they're dangerous, and receipts for cleanup.
- Take wide shots showing the whole window or door, then close-ups of the break, from inside and outside if it's safe.
- Photograph whatever caused it: a rock, a branch, pry marks on the frame.
- Note the time and, for storms, the weather.
- For a break-in or vandalism, report it to police and keep the report number. Police reports are among the documents insurers ask you to attach to a claim.
Minutes 15–30: clean up without getting cut
- Sweep with a broom and dustpan, never bare hands. Work from the outside of the debris field inward.
- Vacuum carpets, rugs and upholstery slowly, in several directions.
- Pick up small slivers with a damp paper towel or a slice of bread, then throw it away.
- Wrap the glass in cardboard or several layers of newspaper, tape it, and write "BROKEN GLASS" on it so no one handling the garbage gets cut.
- Check the bottom of shoes and pet paws before anyone leaves the room.
Minutes 30–60: close the opening
What you use depends on where the opening is and whether security matters tonight.
| Situation | Temporary fix | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Small pane, upper floor, no break-in | Heavy garbage bag or poly sheet taped over the opening from the inside | A night or two |
| One pane of a double-pane unit cracked, the other intact | Leave the unit in place; run clear tape along the crack | Until the new unit arrives |
| Ground-floor window, basement window or any break-in | Plywood at least 1/2 in thick; 5/8–3/4 in is better | Until glazing day |
| Shattered patio door or entry-door glass | Professional board-up of the panel | Until the tempered unit is made |
| Storefront or commercial glass | Professional board-up | Until the glass is made; see after a break-in |
For a sense of what "secure" means, Toronto's property standards for vacant buildings call for boarding with plywood at least 12 mm thick, nailed with nails at least 50 mm long no more than 150 mm apart. An occupied home isn't bound by that section, but it's a useful benchmark for an emergency board.
What a professional board-up involves
When our 24/7 emergency line sends a technician, the visit typically covers:
- Removing loose and hanging glass from the frame so the opening is safe.
- Cutting plywood to the opening and fastening it so it can't be pried off easily.
- Measuring the glass for the replacement and checking whether it has to be tempered.
- Photos and an itemized invoice you can give your insurer.
Your insurer or adjuster, not the board-up contractor, decides coverage and the deductible. Ask your board-up contractor for job photos and an itemized invoice to hand your insurer.
Boarding up at night and installing glass the next day usually costs less than same-night glazing. The glass is then installed at daytime rates, and only the board-up carries the emergency premium. Tempered glass can't be cut or drilled once it's made, and sealed units take about 1.5–3 weeks from measurement to installation in the GTA.
What emergency glass repair costs
| Job | Scheduled (daytime) | Emergency (same night) |
|---|---|---|
| Small single pane, cracked or broken | $150–$300 | $300–$550 |
| Shattered double-pane sealed unit | $350–$700 | $550–$1,000+ |
| Board-up only | Rarely scheduled | From $450 + HST |
| Emergency board-up | n/a | $300–$600 |
| After-hours call-out premium | n/a | About $150–$300 on top of daytime rates |
| Same-day glass premium | n/a | 20–30% over standard rates |
Call your insurer, or pay yourself?
Home policies require you to act to limit further damage after a loss. Securing the opening is part of that whether or not you end up claiming.
Whether to claim depends on the deductible. Typical home deductibles in Canada run $500–$2,000, which is more than many single-pane glass repairs. A break-in, a storm, or several broken openings is a different story. Our guide to home insurance and broken windows in Ontario walks through the maths.
Renting or in a condo?
Make the space safe and take photos first, then notify the right person right away.
- Tenants: Ontario landlords must keep rental units in a good state of repair, and tenants are responsible for damage they or their guests cause wilfully or negligently. See broken windows in a rental.
- Condo owners: the corporation repairs common elements, and in many buildings windows and exterior doors are common elements. Your declaration decides. Call property management first; high-rise glass usually needs building approvals and equipment.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check your lease, declaration or policy.
When to call us
Call rather than improvise if any of these apply:
- The opening is on the ground floor or reachable from a deck, or the door no longer locks.
- It's a patio door, entry door, storefront or any tempered glass.
- Glass is hanging overhead or is too large to handle safely.
- It's a break-in and you need the opening secured tonight.
OhMyGlass has done window and door glass work across the GTA for more than 10 years. Our emergency line runs 24/7 and covers Toronto, North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Brampton and Newmarket. We board up that night, measure for glass-only replacement so your frame stays, and give you an itemized invoice for your insurer. If a break-in has split or bent the frame itself, we'll tell you: that's a window- or door-replacement job, not a glass repair.
Next step
If the glass is broken now, call our 24/7 line at 647-803-2730 or see our emergency glass repair service. If it's already secured and you just need replacement glass, send photos through our contact page for a free quote.