A window pane broke – what should I do?

Although not common, from time to time a windowpane breaks in your home. It is important to learn how to deal with such a situation properly. Do you change the pane? Do you cover it? Do you change the frame? What exactly should you do?

This article will help you explore your options and learn how to properly deal with such a situation.

Preliminary things you can do

The first thing you need to do is prevent air and possibly rain from coming through the broken pane.

Getting a pane replacement will certainly take some time, but, meanwhile, you still need to live in your home. That’s why it is important to ensure that your living room doesn’t suddenly get flooded by rain because you’ve neglected to cover up the gaping hole.

You don’t need to do anything fancy – if it isn’t raining, you can probably cover it up by some tape and paper temporarily. If you live in a place where it rains very frequently, you probably need to cover it with some nylon or other water-resistant material.

Finding a replacement pane

Now that you have your room protected, it is time to find a replacement pane:

• The first thing you obviously need to do is take measurements. You don’t want to buy a pane that is too small or too large. You need to get one that fits the frame.
• What type of frame do you have? Quite obviously, the dimensions of the window will change depending on the type of the frame. If the frame was manufactured for three-pane windows, you can’t buy a two-pane window and hope it’ll fit. You can probably get this done by telling the window manufacturer what type of frame you have installed, and they’ll take care of the rest.
• Check the quality of the window pane: you need to make sure you’re buying a quality replacement. For example, Optilight roof windows are of excellent quality and come at a reasonable price. You don’t want to buy a new pane for it to only break in a year. Make sure you’re buying from a trustworthy manufacturer and that you do your own research.

Checking the frame

This might be a good time to recheck the window frame and potentially replace it at the same time as the pane. Window frames erode and discolour over time, and they detract from our houses’ kerb appeal. These defects can cause various problems:

• Less heat insulation and rising electricity costs: as the frame erodes, it’ll start allowing more heat to escape from your home. This will make it harder for you to be able to heat up your home effectively, which will mean larger electricity bills.
• Less appealing home: your home wouldn’t look as good if the frames are discoloured and old – very obviously, changing the frames will result in a better-looking home.
• Potential damage to the foundations: as the frame deteriorates, they allow air and humidity to seep into the foundations of your home. Over time, this could cause serious damage to the home, and you might need to spend thousands of pounds to fix the problem. It is a great preventative move to just replace old frames.

All these reasons make it a great idea for you to look into the window frames and whether they need to be replaced or not when a windowpane breaks.