Around here, the thing most likely to put a crack in your window isn’t a storm or a burglar. It’s a mower flicking up a stone.
A cracked pane in a window or door gets replaced, not repaired. There’s no resin fix that makes a cracked window sound again. In practice, glass crack repair means new glass in the existing frame. Whether that needs to happen tonight or next week comes down to three things: whether the glass is still holding, whether the opening is secure, and whether anyone could walk into it.
This guide starts with the crack you’re looking at right now, and when it’s a job for our emergency glass repairs line. Then it covers what put it there, because on the coast between Tweed and Ballina the answer is usually the same, and it’s easy to stop it happening twice.
The short version
- A cracked pane can’t be mended, so it gets new glass.
- It’s urgent if the glass is moving, the opening isn’t secure, or someone could walk into it. A stable crack can usually be booked in.
- The most consistent cause of broken glass Cape Byron Glass sees is mowers and whipper-snippers flicking stones, not storms.
- Spring and summer are the busy months, when mowing season and storm season overlap.
- Cracked or broken glass, any hour: call Cape Byron Glass on (02) 6685 8588 or 0400 245 504.
Jump to:
- Can a crack be fixed?
- Does it need fixing tonight?
- What usually breaks glass around here
- Stopping a mower breaking your glass
- If you’re the tradie who broke it
Can cracked glass be repaired, or does it have to be replaced?
Cracked glass in a window or door has to be replaced with a new pane.
Why a window isn’t a windscreen
A windscreen chip can be filled because a windscreen is built differently to most house windows. It’s laminated: two sheets of glass with a plastic layer bonded between them. A small chip usually sits in the outer sheet only, so resin fills it and the layers behind it keep doing their job.
A crack in a house window runs through the sheet, and filling it won’t make that sheet strong again, laminated or not.
What the crack has already done to the pane
A cracked pane is weaker than it was, and it’s relying on the frame to hold it together. It might sit quietly like that for months, but it won’t get any stronger from here.
Why taping or filling a crack doesn’t fix it
Tape, film or a line of clear glue over a crack might stop a draught, but the glass underneath is still broken. Doors, panels beside doors and most low windows have to be safety glass under AS1288, the Australian Standard for glass in buildings, and the National Construction Code. In a door or low window, a taped crack can’t break the way AS1288 safety glass is designed to, so it isn’t a compliant fix. Every cracked window repair Cape Byron Glass does uses new glass that meets the Standard.
Is a cracked window an emergency, or can it wait to be booked in?
A cracked window is an emergency when the glass is moving, the opening can’t be secured, or someone could walk into it. A stable crack in a pane that’s still sitting firm in its frame can usually wait to be booked in properly.
Three questions that decide it
Ask these in order:
- Is the glass still holding? Pieces that shift, rattle or bulge when the wind picks up are pieces that can fall.
- Is the opening secure? If a piece is missing, or the pane could be pushed in, you can’t lock the house up.
- Could someone walk into it? A cracked sliding door, a low window beside a hallway, a pane next to the back step: all of them sit where people move without looking.
A yes to any one of those makes it tonight’s job. Three noes and you’ve got time to book it in.
If it’s urgent, ring (02) 6685 8588 now.
Cracked and stable, cracked and moving, or shattered
| What you’ll see | What to do | |
|---|---|---|
| Cracked and stable | One or two crack lines, pane sitting firm, nothing missing | Book a replacement and keep people clear of it meanwhile |
| Cracked and moving | Pieces shifting, a gap opening up, glass bowing or rattling | Ring now, because it can drop out |
| Shattered | Glass on the floor, opening partly or fully exposed | Ring now to have it made safe |
Send a photo and let a glazier make the call
A photo and a rough measurement are the first things we ask for, and our guide to broken window repair covers what to send and how to measure safely. From the photo we can usually tell you whether the crack is likely to stay put or whether the pane needs making safe tonight.
If it can wait, ringing was still the right move
If it turns out not to be urgent, we’ll book it in during business hours, and nobody minds that you rang. A crack you’re unsure about is exactly what the emergency line is there to check.
What to do in the meantime
Stay well away from it. Keep kids and pets out of the room, don’t lean on the frame, and don’t try to pull loose pieces out.
A damaged shopfront is one that can’t wait for business hours.
“I need a shop window fixed as it was damaged during the night and the guys were there before the shop opened for business.”
Ohara Mckinnon, Google review
What breaks glass most around here?
Mowers and whipper-snippers. Across the Northern Rivers and Tweed Coast, a stone flicked up during mowing or edging is the most consistent cause of broken glass Cape Byron Glass gets called out to, all year round, ahead of accidents at home, storms and break-ins.
Number one: mowers and whipper-snippers
A mower blade or a whipper-snipper line hits a stone, a stick or a stray bolt and fires it sideways at speed. Ground-floor windows and glass doors sit right in its path, especially where the lawn runs straight up to the house.
Number two: accidents at home
It usually goes like this. Someone takes a window out to give it a proper clean, leans it against something, then somebody knocks it and over it goes.
Number three: storms
Storms aren’t the most frequent cause, but when a system comes through, the phone runs hot. Hail, flying branches and wind-blown debris can break a lot of glass across a lot of houses in a single afternoon.
Number four: break-ins and vandalism
They happen, but they’re the least common of the four. Most broken glass on this coast has a far more ordinary explanation.
Glass sliding doors break more than any other big panel
Of the large panels we replace in an emergency, glass sliding doors come up most often. A sliding door is one big sheet of glass at ground level, opening onto the lawn and the deck.
When does glass break most in the Northern Rivers?
Glass breaks most from spring through summer. Mowing picks up in September and October once the grass starts growing again, storm season runs roughly from October to March and peaks from December to February, and the two overlap through the busiest months of the year.
Mowing season ramps up from September
Lawns that sat quietly through winter get their first proper cut, the edges get tidied, and the stones and sticks that settled into the long grass get found the hard way. It keeps climbing through summer as the growth picks up.
Spring cleaning and the window that comes out to be washed
Spring brings a second risk. More windows come out to be washed, and more get knocked over. The handling tips further down cover how to avoid it.
Storm season, October to March
The Northern Rivers and Tweed get severe thunderstorms, hail, damaging winds and the occasional ex-tropical cyclone through these months. Nobody can stop a storm, but saving a glazier’s number in your phone before the season starts means one less thing to search for on the night.
Holiday rentals and interstate owners
If you own a holiday rental here and live elsewhere, spring and summer are when the people looking after it matter most. Make sure your property manager knows who to ring, and pass the mowing tips below on to whoever looks after your lawns.
How do you stop a mower putting a stone through your sliding door?
Clear the lawn before you mow, point the discharge away from the house, and take the most care along the edges closest to glass. Those three habits prevent a lot of mower breakage. They’re general good practice, so check your mower’s manual too.
Mowing and edging near glass
- Walk the lawn first. Pick up stones, sticks, pegs and dog toys, especially in the strip closest to the house.
- Point the chute away from the house. Mow so the side discharge throws clippings away from windows and glass doors, or use the catcher near the house.
- Edge with the line throwing away from the glass. Angle the whipper-snipper so whatever it picks up heads for the garden, not the window.
- Slow down near paths and garden beds. Loose gravel and bark next to a window are what usually gets thrown.
- Cover the worst spot. For a low window beside a gravel path, a sheet of ply leaned over the glass while you edge is cheap protection.
Handling glass panels when cleaning or renovating
- Clean windows in place wherever you can.
- If a panel has to come out, carry it on its edge and stand it on something soft, leaning against a solid wall, out of doorways and hallways.
- Tell everyone in the house where it is.
- Put it back as soon as you’ve finished.
- On a reno, store glass well away from where trades are walking past with ladders and timber.
What to tell your lawn contractor or property manager
- Where the low glass is, particularly sliding doors and windows close to the ground.
- That you’d like the discharge pointed away from the house.
- Who to ring if something breaks, and that a call straight away beats leaving it for you to find.
Where safety film and decals help, and where they don’t
Glass safety film helps hold glass together if it breaks, and decals help people see a big pane, but neither stops a stone breaking the glass and neither fixes a crack that’s already there.
Safety film is a thin clear layer stuck to the face of glass that’s in good condition. If the pane breaks later, the film helps keep the pieces in place instead of letting them fall. If the window sits somewhere that calls for safety glass, ask us before relying on film.
Decals and frosted strips on a big sliding door make the glass easier to see, so nobody walks into it. They’re worth having in a house with small kids or a lot of visitors.
For the trades: when you’re the one who broke it
Ring us, and we’ll do the job and send the invoice straight to your office. Breaking a window on a client’s site happens to plenty of good tradies, and most just want it sorted quickly and quietly.
It happens on site
A ladder swings round, a tool slips, a wheelbarrow clips a door on the way past. Plumbers, electricians, painters, landscapers and builders all end up ringing a glazier at some point. Fixing it fast is what keeps the client happy with you.
How the invoice works when you’re paying
You arrange the visit with your client, we turn up and replace the glass, and the invoice goes to your business rather than to the homeowner. Your client gets their window back without ever seeing a bill.
Why mowing and landscaping contractors keep us on speed dial
Mowing crews are among our most regular callers. A quick call means their client comes home to new glass, or at least a secure opening, rather than a hole in the lounge room window.
What to have ready when you ring
- A photo of the damage.
- A rough measurement of the opening.
- The site address and the best time to get in.
- Your business details for the invoice.
What happens if the crack is in toughened glass?
If the cracked pane is toughened, the replacement has to be ordered in and fitted on a return visit. A pane with a single crack running across it usually isn’t toughened, though, because toughened glass tends to break all at once into small, blunt pieces, or craze into a web of tiny cubes if it stays in the frame.
Toughened glass usually can’t go back in the same day
A toughened pane can’t be cut on the van. It’s made to size after it’s ordered, so a crack in one usually means a board-up and a second visit.
Some frames only take toughened glass
Certain window frames and extrusions are built to take toughened glass only. In those windows the replacement has to match like for like, whatever the price or what’s in stock. We’ll tell you which applies when we look at the window.
Frequently asked questions
Will a crack in a window spread?
It can. Temperature changes, wind pressure and the jolt of a door closing all put stress on a cracked pane, and any of them can make the crack run further. That’s why a stable crack still gets booked in rather than left.
How long can you leave a cracked window before replacing it?
There’s no set time limit. A stable crack in a pane nobody brushes past can wait for a booked appointment. If you rent in NSW, the NSW Government lists a cracked glass window as an example of a non-urgent repair, so it goes to your landlord or agent as a normal repair request. Queensland has its own rules for renters, so on the southern Gold Coast side, check with your agent.
Why did my window crack with nothing hitting it?
Heat is the usual cause. When the sun warms the middle of a pane while the edges stay cool inside the frame, the edges get pulled into tension, and ordinary (annealed) glass can crack, usually starting at an edge. Pilkington’s technical guidance on thermal stress notes that a shadow from an overhang, or a blind trapping heat against the glass, makes that temperature gap bigger. Toughened glass is generally strong enough to cope with everyday heat like this.
Do I need a new frame as well as new glass?
Usually not. In most windows the new pane goes straight into the frame you’ve already got. The frame only becomes part of the job if it’s bent, split or otherwise damaged along with the glass, and a photo of the whole window usually shows us that.
Can a cracked double-glazed window be fixed?
Not by swapping one pane. Double glazing is two panes sealed together with a gap between them, so a crack in either pane usually means a new sealed unit made to suit your frame. Send a photo of the window and the frame and we’ll tell you what’s involved.
Cracked Glass? Send Us A Photo
If you’re looking at a crack right now, keep everyone clear of it, take a photo and send it to us, or ring Cape Byron Glass on (02) 6685 8588 or 0400 245 504. The emergency line is answered any hour, and we’ll tell you straight whether it needs making safe tonight or can wait for a booked replacement. If it’s urgent, someone’s usually with you the same day, anywhere on the coast between Tweed and Ballina.
If it can wait, our glazing team will book in a cracked glass window repair during business hours, even if it’s just the one pane.
We look after Byron Bay, Ballina, Tweed Heads, Murwillumbah, Coolangatta and Currumbin, with showrooms at 13E Acacia St, Byron Bay and 1/2-8 Blundell Blvd, Tweed Heads South. If you’re just outside these spots, give us a ring anyway. Chances are we can still help.
Written by the team at Cape Byron Glass.
Disclaimer: This article is general information only. Every cracked pane is different, so have yours looked at before deciding it can wait.
