Glass & Glazing in Canterbury

Frameless screens use 8-10 mm toughened glass with polished edges and specialist hardware, priced per panel plus installation. Semi-frameless and framed options run meaningfully cheaper. Accurate templating matters — out-of-square walls are why this is not a DIY product.

Almost every country requires safety glass (toughened or laminated) in doors, panels beside doors, low-level glazing, bathrooms and balustrades. Replacing broken glass in these spots with ordinary float glass is illegal and dangerous — a competent glazier will refuse to do it.

Custom-cut mirrors are priced per square metre plus polished edges, holes and fitting. Large wall mirrors need proper bonding or mechanical fixing to structure — a glazier job rather than adhesive strips. Bathroom mirrors should be moisture-backed to prevent edge blackening.

Commonly yes — glass breakage is standard in most contents/buildings policies, sometimes with an excess that makes small panes not worth claiming. For shopfronts, glass cover is usually a specific commercial policy item. Photograph the damage and keep the glazier's invoice either way.

Toughened (tempered) glass is heat-treated to be several times stronger and crumbles into blunt granules when broken. Laminated glass sandwiches a plastic interlayer so it cracks but stays in place — better for security and overhead glazing. Codes dictate which is required where; laminated also blocks more noise and UV.

Shallow scratches can sometimes be polished out of thick glass and small edge chips stabilized, but cracks always spread — a cracked pane needs replacement. For sealed double-glazed units, any crack means replacing the whole unit since the seal is compromised.

A standard broken pane runs $150-400; toughened panels $250-600. Retrofit double-glazed units into existing joinery land $350-1,000 per window.