Emergency glass · Montreal
Broken glass emergency: secure first, replace next
A pane that breaks on a January night lets the cold straight into the flat, and a smashed shop window can't stay open until morning. The sequence doesn't change: make it safe, photograph it, cover the opening, and only then replace the glass. We connect you with an independent glazier in your area who takes on emergency work, can tell you what is possible tonight, and quotes the permanent glass.
- Safety and board-up first
- Temporary cover now, made-to-measure glass next
- Flats, rentals and storefronts
Right now
The first minutes: safety and the cold
People, and the heat in the rest of the flat, come before the glass.
Make the area safe
Keep children and pets out. Wear shoes and heavy gloves, box the large pieces, then vacuum. Leave shards in the frame for the glazier.
Close off the cold
Shut the door to that room and roll a towel along the bottom. Keep the rest of the flat heated.
Photograph before you cover
Wide shots and close-ups of the window, the glass and whatever caused the break. Your insurer, and the owner if you rent, will want them.
Cover the opening and send the request
Heavy plastic taped inside can do for a night on an upper floor. On the ground floor, at a door or in a shop, a board-up is safer because it secures the space.
Board-up
Temporary board-up: what to know
A board-up, placardage in French, is plywood screwed over the opening, usually from outside, until the new glass arrives.
What can usually happen tonight
Loose glass cleared, the opening boarded or fitted with a temporary panel, and measurements taken. A plain single pane in an older sash can sometimes be cut quickly.
What waits for a made-to-measure piece
A thermos (the sealed glass unit), tempered door glass, laminated glass and storefront panes are made to order. Ask when yours will be ordered.
Renting, or managing the building?
Tenants should tell the owner or manager right away and send the photos. The Tribunal administratif du logement page on urgent repairs is worth reading on both sides. Property managers can send requests for several units at once.
Businesses
Storefronts: a broken shop window
A shop follows the same order, plus one worry a flat doesn't have: the sidewalk. Tape it off if glass fell outward, keep staff clear of hanging pieces, and photograph everything, including the lock.
Storefront panes are large and made to measure, so the board-up usually stays while the glass is prepared. See storefront glass and our commercial glass services for the permanent side.
Pricing factors
What an emergency call is priced on
Emergency work is priced on what the glazier finds:
- Boarding from outside or only from inside
- Height and access: ground floor, upper-floor plex window, balcony door
- Type of glass: single pane, thermos, tempered or laminated
- Size, and whether the permanent glass is cut or made to order
- Evening, weekend or holiday timing
Photos and a rough size help the glazier come prepared.
Your rights
Urgent repairs and a contract signed at home
Quebec treats a window or door contract signed in your own home as itinerant commerce, even when you were the one who called. It must be on paper and in French, and you have 10 days to cancel. During that period the merchant can't carry out the contracted work, except for certain urgent repairs, including urgent door, window and roof repairs. The Office de la protection du consommateur sets out the details.
Ice, wind and rain
Freezing rain, wind and extreme rain
Freezing rain comes every winter, and many remember 1998, when parts of downtown closed because sheets of ice were falling from buildings. After an ice event, keep clear of glass under loaded eaves and balconies, and don't chip ice off a window.
Rain brings a different problem: in August 2024, what was left of Hurricane Debby brought the rainiest day Montreal has ever measured. Water around a basement window or door is usually a sealing or drainage issue, not broken glass. RénoPlex funds watertight doors on eligible plexes; see our subsidy guide.
Afterwards
After the emergency: replacing the glass for good
A board-up is a pause, not a fix. Once the glass is measured, the choice is new glass in the existing window, or a new window if the frame was damaged or already failing. See broken window glass, or door glass for an entry or balcony door.
For a new window rather than new glass, check with your borough first: most require a permit even for an identical window.
Questions
Emergency glass questions
Explore your options
When the emergency is over
Independent glaziers take emergency calls on the island and in nearby cities, including Montréal, the Plateau, Verdun, Laval and Longueuil.
Glass broken now?
Send the address, which window or door, the type of glass and whether the space is secured. We pass it to a local glazier who handles emergency work and follow up so it doesn't go quiet.