Plastic sheet · Montreal
Plexiglass or polycarbonate, cut to your measurements
In a Montreal flat, plexiglass often comes up with the first heat wave: a portable air conditioner, a casement that cranks outward, and a gap around the hose to close. Plastic sheet also makes counter shields, shed windows and stopgap panes. We connect you with an independent local professional who cuts acrylic and polycarbonate to size, and who will say plainly when a job needs glass instead.
- Acrylic or polycarbonate, cut to size
- Removable panels for casement windows
- Quotes from independent local pros
Two plastics
Acrylic (plexiglass) or polycarbonate: the differences
Both are clear, light and far harder to break than glass, but they behave differently in use.
Acrylic, the sheet most people call plexiglass
The clearer, stiffer and more scratch-resistant of the two. Its edges polish to a glass-like finish, which suits displays, frames and indoor panels. A hard blow can crack it.
Polycarbonate
Much tougher: it flexes instead of cracking, so it suits a shed, a garage-door window or a busy counter. It scratches more easily, and outdoors it should be a UV-protected grade.
Casement windows
An air-conditioner panel for a casement window
A casement (fenêtre à battant) opens outward on a crank, so a unit made for a sliding or hung window has nowhere to sit. The usual answer is a portable unit and a panel cut to the opening, with a hole or notch for the hose. It is held by pressure, clips or the screen track, with nothing screwed into the frame.
Tenants and landlords both have a stake. A tenant should ask before fixing anything to a window, and a panel that lifts out keeps the end of a lease simple. A landlord gains from one standard panel per window size, kept with the flat, instead of a new improvised fix each summer. If the crank is worn, start with window hardware repair; the casement window page covers the rest.
Plastic in a window
Replacing a pane with plexiglass: when it's appropriate
Plastic can close a broken opening, and in a few spots it is the better material for good.
Where it works
As a stopgap while made-to-measure glass is on order (see emergency board-up for the first night). In a shed, cabin or garage window. As an interior storm panel on a single pane.
Where glass is better
In the main windows of a heated home: most Montreal windows hold a thermos, the sealed double-glazed unit, and plastic cannot replace one. Where the code calls for safety glass, as in a shower, the pro specifies tempered or laminated glass. See broken window glass.
For businesses
Shops: counters and protective panels
Merchants order counter shields with a pass-through, panels in front of a display, sign holders and covers for a case customers lean on. Acrylic gives the clearest view; polycarbonate is safer where carts, bags and elbows hit it daily. Have holes for feet or brackets drilled at the cutting stage, and clean acrylic with mild soap, since some glass cleaners can craze it. For the shopfront itself, see storefront glass.
What affects the quote
What goes into the price of cut plastic sheet
Sheet is cut to order. The quote depends on:
- Acrylic or polycarbonate, and any UV-protected grade
- Thickness, size and number of pieces
- Holes, notches and a hose cut-out
- Saw-cut, sanded or polished edges
- Counter pickup or fitting in place
For an air-conditioner panel, send the inside width and height of the opening, the hose diameter and a photo of the open window.
Workmanship
Cutting, drilling and edge polishing
Sheet is cut on a panel saw or router for a clean, square edge. Holes are drilled with bits made for plastic, kept back from the edge. A visible edge can be sanded or polished clear. Where glass would serve better, as for tabletops and shelves, the pro will say so; see custom glass and the wider glass and mirrors range.
Questions
Plexiglass and polycarbonate questions
Explore your options
Related window and glass help
Local pros cut plastic sheet for flats, sheds and shops across the island, including Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, Villeray, Le Sud-Ouest and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
Send the opening size and what it's for
Give the dimensions and the use, with a photo if you can. We'll pass it to a local pro who cuts plastic sheet, and they'll come back to you with a quote.