Door glass · Montreal
Replacing the glass in a door, transom or storm door
A cracked insert in the front door, a fogged thermos in a sidelight, a broken pane in the transom, a storm door that took a knock: in each case the door itself is often fine. Changing only the glass keeps the door, its hardware and its fit, and in a borough that protects original façades it's usually the simplest route. We connect you with a local glass professional, a vitrier who cuts and fits door glass, who can tell you whether glass alone will do.
- Keep the door, change the glass
- Transoms and stained glass kept
- Safety glass made to order
Which glass is it?
Changing the glass without changing the door
Door glass comes in a few forms, and each is handled a little differently. If it's a window pane rather than a door, see broken window glass.
Entry-door insert or thermos
Most glazed entry doors hold a sealed thermos in a frame that screws or clips to the door. When it cracks or fogs, the insert or just its glass is replaced, and the door and lock stay put.
Transom (imposte)
The fixed pane above the door, often single glass or a small thermos set in a wood frame. A cracked one is reglazed in place or in the shop.
Sidelights
The narrow panes beside some entry doors. A fogged or cracked sidelight is replaced much like a window unit.
Storm door pane
The glass panel of the contre-porte, often swapped for a screen in summer. A broken pane is cut to size; a warped frame may mean a new door.
Heritage details
Transoms and stained glass: keeping the façade's character
On older plexes the transom and any stained glass (vitrail) are part of what the borough protects. Le Sud-Ouest requires original stained glass and glass blocks to be kept and reinserted, and doesn't allow transoms or sidelights to be blocked. Verdun requires transoms to be kept or restored when a door is replaced.
So when a transom pane cracks or a stained-glass panel bows, repair is usually the natural route. A broken piece can be replaced, and a vitrail can often be releaded or fitted into a new sash. Where a door truly has to go, ask for the original glass to be reinserted in the new one. Upper-floor balcony doors have their own page: plex balcony doors.
Safety glass
Tempered or laminated: safety requirements
Door glass takes knocks and slams that window glass doesn't, which is why codes treat it differently.
Tempered
Heat-treated to be much stronger than ordinary glass and to break into small granules rather than shards. It can't be cut once tempered, so each pane is ordered to its exact size.
Laminated
Two sheets bonded to a clear interlayer that holds the pieces together if it breaks. A good choice where security or noise matters.
What the code asks
Building codes used across Canada generally call for safety glass in sliding doors, storm doors and large panes that come low on an entry door. The pro confirms what Quebec's code requires for yours.
Storm and garage doors
Storm doors and glazed garage doors
The storm door takes the weather and the closer's slam. A cracked pane is usually cut to size and refitted in the existing frame; bent frames, tired closers and torn screens are covered on the screen and storm doors page.
Garage doors with glass sections usually hold small panes or thermos inserts that come out one at a time. If the garage door is being replaced altogether, note that Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie lets owners swap any garage door, same size, for a watertight one, and that RénoPlex has a flood component that helps with watertight doors.
What affects the quote
What shapes the price of door glass
Door glass is made to measure, so the quote depends on the piece:
- Size and shape, including arched transoms and narrow sidelights
- Tempered, laminated, textured or decorative glass
- A single pane or a thermos, and whether the insert frame is replaced too
- Stained-glass work: repair, releading or reinsertion
- How the glass is held: removable stops, a screwed-on frame, or putty in an old wood door
A photo of the whole door, a close-up of the damaged glass and rough measurements let a pro quote before visiting.
Stoves and interior doors
Wood stove glass and interior glass doors
A cracked wood stove door needs heat-resistant glass made for stoves; ordinary window glass, tempered or not, isn't meant for that heat. Bring the stove's model details or the old piece so the right glass can be matched. Other made-to-measure pieces are covered under custom glass.
Interior glass doors, from a French door between rooms to a glazed pantry door, are reglazed much like exterior ones, and the pro advises on safety glass. Office doors and partitions have their own page.
Check with your borough first
What boroughs require for the glass in a door
Swapping a cracked pane for an identical one is the lightest touch. Once a door itself is replaced, borough rules on its glazing apply. Two examples, to confirm with your borough before ordering:
- Verdun sets the shapes of door glass it accepts, wants it clear or finely textured rather than patterned, keeps transoms, and asks that all doors on a façade share one colour, entry doors excepted.
- Le Sud-Ouest requires original stained glass and glass blocks to be kept and reinserted.
RénoPlex also includes an amount for restoring a wood door, not only replacing one, on eligible plexes with approval before the work. For the permit side of a door replacement, see our borough permit guide, and for every other door, patio and glass doors.
Questions
Door glass questions
Explore your options
Other glass help
Local glass pros reglaze doors across Montreal, including older plex and heritage streets in Verdun, Le Sud-Ouest, Westmount, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
Send a photo of the whole door
Add a close-up of the damaged glass and mention any transom or stained glass. We pass it to an independent vitrier who does door glass, and we follow up until you have a soumission.