How TO REPLACE
WINDOWPANES
If your window cracks or shatters, you’ll need to order the replacement glass from a local glass repair shop or home improvement store; measure the dimensions of the opening precisely and have a new pane cut ⅛ inch smaller in height and width.
Supplies
- Work gloves
- Chisel
- Hair dryer (optional)
- Stiff-bristled brush
- Primer
- Waterproofing solution (optional)
- Replacement pane and glazier’s points
- Glazing compound
- Putty knife
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Wear thick gloves anytime you are working with broken glass. You may want to tape newspaper to the inside of the pane to keep the glass from falling in, and have ready a piece of cardboard or a drop cloth to collect debris on the outside.
HOW-TO
- 1. Working from outside of window, use a chisel to pry existing compound from recessed edges surrounding panes (called rabbets). Soften stubborn compound with a hair dryer.
- 2. First locate the glazier’s points, the minuscule metal triangles holding the pane in place, working the chisel (or the tip of a small flat screwdriver) around the frame; then pry them out. Now you can gently slip out the pane.
- 3. Use a stiff-bristled brush to thoroughly strip any compound and paint from around the frames. Apply a paint primer to seal the wood; you can also apply a waterproofing solution, available at paint-supply stores.
- 4. Carefully place the new pane in the frame. Then, with chisel, push new glazier’s points as far as they can go into rabbets where the old ones were. Knead a lump of glazing compound to form a long rope, then press it along one side of the frame with your fingers; smooth compound with a single corner-to-corner pass of the putty knife to create a beveled edge. Let compound set for about a week before repainting sash.