Storefronts · Windsor-Essex
Storefront windows on Ouellette, Wyandotte, Erie and beyond
On an older Windsor main street, the display glass is most of the shop's face. When a pane breaks, close the opening first, then choose what goes back in; usually just that pane, with the frame and door left alone. We connect shop owners and landlords with independent local pros who do storefront glass, and we check you got a call back.
- One cracked pane or a whole shop front
- Itemized quotes for grant files
- Board-up first, proper glass after
Tonight, then properly
Broken storefront glass: secure it tonight, replace it properly
The order matters more than the speed.
Clear the sidewalk
Tape off the area if pieces could fall. Don't pull loose glass out by hand; laminated glass may hang in one sheet.
Photos before the broom
Call the police if it was a break-in, then photograph the whole front and the damage close up.
Close it up for the night
Plywood or a temporary panel keeps the store secure. See emergency board-up for that first visit.
Then the made-to-size glass
Tempered and insulated glass is made to measure, so there's a gap between the board-up and the install.
Glass types
Tempered, laminated and insulated storefront glass
Shop-front glass is usually one of three kinds, often combined:
Tempered: strong, crumbles safely
Heat-treated and much tougher than plain glass, it breaks into small blunt pieces. It can't be cut once it's made.
Laminated: cracks but holds
Two sheets bonded to a plastic layer. A hit cracks it, but it tends to stay in the frame and keep the store closed.
Insulated: two panes, one seal
Thermal glass, as in a house; it takes the edge off July sun. Haze between the panes means a blown seal.
Around the glass
Frames, doors and closers
Many storefronts sit in aluminium framing with the door built into the same system. The pro checks the frame, stops and gaskets, which can often be reused. A banging closer or a forced lock is covered on the commercial glass door page; for other glass in the building, start at commercial glass.
Older buildings
Reopening filled-in windows on older main-street buildings
On older strips you'll see transoms boarded over and display windows half filled in. The City's Main Streets CIP guide specifically encourages reinstating doors and windows that have been filled in.
Reopening is more than a glass order. A new or structurally altered opening needs a City of Windsor building permit, and in the Sandwich Heritage Conservation District a window in a new or altered opening needs a heritage permit too. Ask the City before the quote becomes a plan.
City help
City grants for storefronts: Main Streets, Sandwich Town, Ford City, Downtown
For shop fronts, City grants are the real local money:
- Main Streets CIP: façade grants for eligible buildings on BIA main streets such as Erie Street, covering storefront doors and windows.
- Sandwich Town CIP: a commercial grant that names storefront doors and windows.
- Ford City CIP: a façade grant around Drouillard Road, with a higher limit for multi-storefront buildings.
- Downtown Windsor CIP: its own guide; check what it covers.
Terms change, so read the current guide first; our grants guide explains each. The City decides who qualifies.
What moves the quote
What affects the price of storefront glass
Storefront glass is quoted pane by pane. The pro will ask about:
- Each pane's size, and single sheet or insulated unit
- Tempered, laminated or both, plus any tint or film
- Whether the frame, stops and gaskets can be reused
- Access: upstairs, sidewalk space, a lift
- A board-up first, or work after closing
For grant files
Two itemized estimates for a CIP application
Windsor CIP applications need two contractor estimates (the Sandwich Town guide spells it out). Ask each pro to itemize glass, framing, doors and hardware, labour and board-up; a lump sum is harder for City staff to read. Mention the grant when you send the request and we'll flag it for the pro.
Same front again?
When the same front is broken more than once
Broken more than once? Ask about laminated glass in the exposed panes, or security film that helps hold broken glass in the frame. Neither makes glass unbreakable, and a straight pro will say so.
Questions
Storefront glass questions
Explore your options
More help for shops and main-street buildings
Local pros work on shop fronts across Windsor-Essex, including City of Windsor, Ford City, Walkerville, Olde Sandwich Towne and Riverside.
Send a photo of the storefront
Say which pane, roughly how big, and whether it's boarded. Applying for a City grant? Ask for two itemized estimates. We'll pass it to a local storefront glass pro.