What to Do When a Window Smashes: An Adelaide Guide

Make the area safe before anything else

A smashed window scatters glass a lot further than most people expect, often 2 to 3 metres across a room. Clear everyone out of that zone, close the door if the room has one, and keep pets away, since paws pick up slivers you cannot see. Put on solid shoes before you step near the mess. Adelaide homes with tiled or polished-concrete floors are the worst for this, because fine shards skate across the surface and hide against the grout lines.

Do not start sweeping in bare feet or thongs, and do not let children help. If the break happened during a storm or a break-in, treat the whole floor as contaminated until it is properly vacuumed. A stick vacuum will not lift the tiny fragments, so a proper wet clean-up comes later, once the opening is boarded and the immediate danger is gone.

If someone has been cut, deal with the injury first and worry about the window second. Glass cuts can be deceptively deep, and a smashed pane is never worth a serious wound over.

Photograph the damage for insurance

Before you touch or clean anything, take several clear photos: the whole window from a few steps back, a close-up of the break, and a wide shot showing the room and any damage to furniture, blinds or flooring. If the cause is obvious (a fallen branch after an Adelaide Hills storm, a cricket ball, a forced entry), photograph that too. These images do most of the work when you lodge a claim.

Note the date and roughly what happened while it is fresh. If it was a break-in or vandalism, most SA insurers expect a police report number, so call 131 444 (or 000 if the offender may still be nearby) and get the reference logged. Keep any receipts from the board-up and the eventual repair, because your insurer will usually want them.

Board up now, replace properly later

A board-up is a temporary fix that screws timber sheeting over the opening so your home is secure and weathertight until the correct glass is measured, ordered and fitted. It matters more than people think: an open ground-floor window is an invitation to intruders, and Adelaide weather swings from 40-plus-degree northerlies to cold, wet fronts that will ruin carpet and plaster overnight.

Replacement glass often has to be ordered to size, and safety-glass panes in doors and low windows are not something a glazier carries on the van in every dimension. That gap between the break and the final fit is exactly what the board-up covers. Glazing Adelaide will match you with a vetted local glazier, and we prioritise connecting you with one who offers same-day board-up so you are not left exposed overnight.

When it comes to the permanent repair, compare 3 free quotes rather than accepting the first number under pressure. A calm second opinion on glass type and price almost always pays for itself.