After a summer storm rolls up the escarpment we spend the next week on the brow, from Concession Street across to Albion Falls. The damage follows a pattern, and knowing it saves you paying for glass that is fine.
What actually hits the glass
Hail is only part of it. Wind funnelling up the face of the Mountain picks up roof gravel, mulch, patio furniture and branches, and throws them flat against whatever faces the weather. That is why damage clusters on one elevation of the house and skips the rest.
The order we usually find it in:
- Screens. First to go, cheapest to fix. Rescreening runs $45 to $95 per screen.
- Storm and side lights. Thin, unprotected single panes.
- Sealed units. They survive far more than people expect, but a hard strike breaks the outer lite.
- Railing and deck glass. Tempered panels shatter completely when they go.
What you can leave alone
- Surface pitting. Fine specks you can only see at an angle, with no depth. Cosmetic.
- A chip smaller than a pencil tip, away from an edge. Watch it. If it does not run in a season, it usually will not.
- Water marks and grit film. Wash it off.
What needs new glass
- Any crack. It only grows. Tape it and book it.
- A chip on or near an edge. That is where stress collects and where the next cold morning starts a full crack.
- Spidering or a dent in the outer pane of a sealed unit. The seal has taken a shock even if it looks intact.
- Fog that appears within weeks of the storm. The impact broke the perimeter seal and moisture is now inside.
- Tempered glass with any damage. Tempered does not chip, it holds until it lets go all at once. Replace it.
The morning after a storm
Walk the house with your phone and photograph every elevation before you clean anything up. Insurance and we both work off those photos. Then measure the visible glass on anything damaged, width then height, and note whether it is single pane or double.
If a pane is out and the opening is open to the weather, we board it up the same day. Board up first, glass after, so the house is dry and secure while a made-to-measure unit is built.
What it costs
| Job | Cost |
|---|---|
| Screen rescreen | $45 to $95 |
| Single pane | $150 to $350 installed |
| Sealed unit, standard | $350 to $650 installed |
| Large or tempered | $650 to $900+ |
| Tempered railing panel | quoted by size |
We only replace glass. If your frame is sound, and after a storm it almost always is, there is no reason to be sold a whole new window.
Before the next storm
Clear the weep holes, cut back the branch that keeps reaching the bedroom window, and bring in the light patio furniture when the wind warning goes up. Most of the glass we replace on the brow was broken by something that belonged to the house.
Send photos and sizes and we will give you a price on the call, same day across Hamilton.