Wooden door glass replacement

A door is not a window

A pane in a door has a harder life than one in a window. Every time the door is closed, the glass takes a small jolt, and a door that is slammed by the wind takes a big one. That is why we fit safety glass in doors. Most of the time that means 6.38mm laminated glass, the standard for most doors and something our mobile teams carry. Where a door calls for toughened safety glass, we source it to size.

Taking the old pane out gently

Wooden doors hold their glass in a rebate with timber beading, the same way many wooden windows do. The difference is that door beading has often been painted over many times and has been knocked about by years of use. We ease it out slowly so the strips can be reused, clear out the old glass and any hardened compound, and get the rebate clean before the new pane goes in.

Panels, French doors and small panes

Some doors have one large pane. Others, especially older French doors, have many small panes divided by wooden glazing bars. Each small pane is its own little job, with its own beading, and the glazing bars can be delicate. We replace just the broken panes and leave the rest of the door alone.

Keeping the look of the door

The point of a glazed wooden door is how it looks, so the finish matters. Beading is pinned back neatly and flush, and if a strip is too damaged to reuse, we let you know so it can be replaced properly rather than forced back in. If your door has patterned or textured glass and you would like to keep that look, tell us when you send the photos, so we can source a close match.

Glass beside the lock

On many wooden back and kitchen doors, the glass sits within arm's reach of the lock. That makes it a weak spot. Laminated shatterproof glass is a sensible choice here, because it holds together when it is struck, which makes reaching through to the lock far harder than with ordinary glass.

Pairs well with your windows

Homes with wooden doors usually have wooden windows too. If a window pane is cracked as well, it makes sense to do both at once. Our wooden window glass page explains how we handle timber frames in more detail.

Getting a quote

Send us a close-up of the broken pane and a photo of the whole door, inside or outside, on WhatsApp or through the quote form. If there are burglar bars or a security gate in the way, mention it: we can supply a welder or trellis specialist to take them off and put them back.