Broken glass in a door panel: how to make it safe, and how we replace it

Glass in doors breaks more often than glass in windows. Doors get slammed, caught by the wind, kicked by accident and leaned on. The photo above is a typical call: an arched internal door with a large frosted panel, cracked right across and taped up so it would not fall out.

The quick answer

Keep the door out of use, tape over the cracks on both sides to hold the pieces, and call a glazier. The broken panel is taken out of the door and replaced with toughened or laminated safety glass, cut to the exact size and shape of the opening. The door itself is kept. Ring us on 07915 903485 or send a photo on WhatsApp for a fixed price.

Illustration (AI-generated from the photo above) of how the door looks with a new satin-finish safety glass panel. It is not a photo of the finished job.

Make it safe tonight

• Stop using the door. Wedge it open or shut. Every time it swings, the crack can run and the glass can drop out.
• Tape both sides. Wide parcel or packing tape across the cracks in a criss-cross, like the door in our photo, holds the pieces together.
• Clear the floor. Glass splinters travel. Vacuum well beyond where you can see pieces, and keep children, pets and bare feet away.
• Do not try to pull the glass out. A cracked panel can come apart in your hands. Leave removal to the glazier, who will wear proper gloves and take the waste away.

If the broken door is an outside door and the house is not secure, we can board the opening the same night with our 24 hour emergency board up service.

Why doors need safety glass

Glass in a door sits exactly where people push, lean and fall. Ordinary float glass breaks into long, sharp pieces. Safety glass does not:

Glass	How it breaks	Good for
Toughened	Into small, blunt pieces	Most internal and external door panels
Laminated	Cracks but stays held together	Doors where security or keeping the opening closed matters
Obscure or satin safety glass	As toughened or laminated	Bathrooms, hallways and anywhere privacy matters

Older doors, particularly in Victorian and Edwardian houses, often still have plain float or wired glass. If yours breaks, it is the moment to put safety glass in.

How we replace a broken door panel

1. Measure or template. Rectangles are measured. Arched and shaped panels, like the one in our photo, are templated so the new glass follows the curve exactly.
2. Order the glass. Toughened glass cannot be cut after toughening, so it is made to the size we measure.
3. Take out the old panel. The beads are carefully removed, the broken glass taken out and bagged, and the rebate cleaned.
4. Fit the new glass. Bedded on glazing tape or sealant, beads re-fixed, and the door checked so it opens and closes as before.
5. Take the waste away. You are left with a working door and no glass on the floor.

Timber, uPVC and composite doors

• Timber doors have their glass held by timber beads, which we remove and re-pin. Painted or stained beads may need a touch-up afterwards.
• uPVC doors have clip-in beads and usually a sealed double glazed unit, which we replace in the same frame. See our uPVC door repairs.
• Composite doors have a glass cassette in the door slab, which can usually be replaced on its own.

For other cut glass, mirrors and table tops, see glass cut to size. Misted double glazed panels in a door are covered in misted double glazing repair.

Need the glass replaced?

We are a glazier in London working from our own workshop in Wood Green, N22, and we replace door glass across Central and North London. Ring 07915 903485 or send a photo on WhatsApp. If it cannot wait until morning, our emergency glaziers answer around the clock.