It’s quite unfortunate to have one of the glass panes in your French door to be broken. French doors can be pretty expensive, so you can say that fixing it when it gets broken can be expensive as well. You’re lucky, though, because broken glass panes are quite easy to fix even if they belong to an expensive type of door. Removing and replacing a broken glass pane can be done by a single person, and if you can follow these steps carefully, there’s no need for you to hire a professional. These steps are applicable if you are fixing one or two glass panes. However, if you are fixing a large piece of glass, you will have to remove the door from its frame and lay it on the floor and work from there.


Step 1. Prepare the supplies you will need in order to get the job done. You will need a pair of safety goggles to protect your eyes, a pair of working gloves, a hammer, a putty knife, some window putty, masking tape, glazier points, and some replacement glass.

Step 2. Make sure to put on your safety gloves and goggles before starting. If there are any kids in the house, you might want to ask them to stay away from the working area until you’re finished. Next, check whether the glass that needs to be fixed is completely shattered or simply has a crack on it. If the glass is shattered into pieces, see to it that you gather all the pieces and get rid of them. If the problem is a crack, put some masking tape all across the area to hold the glass together. This will prevent the glass from shattering into the floor when you start to remove it. Now, to remove the broken glass, tap it using your hammer. Gently remove all the pieces and set them aside to throw later. To make sure there are no little pieces of glass lying on the floor, sweep the area clean.

Step 3. There will probably be some old glazier points and glazing putty left from where the glass once had been. Remove all these excess using your putty knife. If you find that there is a frame that holds the broken glass, you will have to remove it as well. Scrape old varnish or paint as well to smoothen the surface.

Step 4. Make an adhesive for the replacement glass by taking a tiny amount of putty and working it in your hands until it becomes soft. Apply the putty to the frame and smooth it using your putty knife or your fingers.

Step 5. Insert the replacement glass into the pane. To hold the glass in place while installing it, place glazier points on both sides of the opening. Check if the glass is properly aligned. Next, take the wooden frame and put it back in place. You can tap it gently with your hands or a hammer and secure it using small nails.