You unlock the roller, lift it halfway, and there it is. A crack running the full height of your shopfront. Or worse, a hole big enough to climb through and the front of your store on the pavement. The phone is already buzzing because a passer-by snapped a photo for the local Facebook page.
This guide is the playbook we walk Penrith retail owners through every few weeks. It assumes you want to reopen the same day with as little drama as possible.
The short answer
Stop people walking on the glass. Photograph everything before anything moves. Call your insurer for a claim number, then call a shopfront repair specialist for same-day make-safe and replacement. Most cracked shopfronts can be secured within a couple of hours and replaced within 24 to 48 hours.
First five minutes: control the scene
Your insurance is fine. Your day is not. The first job is making sure nobody gets hurt and nobody helps themselves to stock.
- Block the entrance with bollards, a sandwich board, or chairs. Keep customers and curious kids back.
- If glass is still in the frame and the crack is loose, get away from it. Toughened panels can let go without warning.
- If stock is exposed, move what is most valuable to the back of the store and lock the rear roller.
- Take five minutes before you do anything else to breathe. Decisions made in panic cost money.
If the damage is from a break-in, call the police on 131 444 before anyone touches anything. Get the event number. Your insurer will ask for it and so will we when we lodge the make-safe through your policy.
Photograph before you sweep
Three sets of photos save hours later:
- Wide shots of the storefront from across the street.
- Mid shots showing the panel, the frame and any signage or stickers attached.
- Close-ups of the crack pattern, any impact mark, and any debris on the ground.
Take video too. A 15-second walkaround on your phone gives the insurer and the glazier everything they need to act fast.
Once the photos are done, you can sweep up the loose pieces. Use a dustpan and a stiff brush, not your hands. The small chips travel further than you think. Days later we still find shards under shoe displays.
Call the right people in the right order
The order matters because each call gives you what you need for the next one.
- Police if there has been a break-in. You need the event number.
- Your insurer or broker. Get the claim number and confirm your excess. Ask if they have a preferred supplier or if you can choose.
- A licensed glazier. Send the photos and the claim number. We can quote and book the make-safe in the same call.
If your insurer pushes you toward a national assignment company, you can still choose your own provider in most policies. Local glaziers know the local builders, the local insurance assessors and the local stock. We can usually move faster than a national network sending someone from forty kilometres away.
What “make-safe” actually looks like for a shopfront
A make-safe is the temporary fix that keeps the store secure and trading-ready until the proper replacement is installed.
For a typical Penrith shopfront, the options are:
- Boarding up with painted ply. Safe, secure, ugly. Works for a smash where the whole panel is gone.
- Temporary glass in the existing frame. Looks almost normal. Works when stock needs to be visible or when the landlord requires it.
- Polycarbonate sheet. Clear, tough, expensive. Sometimes the right call for high-traffic locations like Westfield-adjacent stores.
A good make-safe is finished within two to four hours of the call during business hours. After hours we aim for same night. You can usually trade through the make-safe period. We have done plenty of jobs where a cafe in Kingswood kept serving coffee with one panel boarded out of three.
Same-day vs next-day replacement
If the panel is a standard size in stock glass (6mm toughened clear is the workhorse), we can often replace it same-day or next-morning. If it is laminated, oversized, double glazed, or a custom shape like a curved corner panel, expect 24 to 72 hours for the glass to be cut and toughened.
A few things change the timeline:
- Specialty glass (low-iron, smart glass, security laminated) needs to be ordered.
- Large panels often need two installers and sometimes a suction crane.
- Council restrictions on after-hours noisy work in some town centres.
- The state of the surrounding aluminium or steel frame. If the frame is damaged, that needs repair too.
If your store cannot afford to be boarded up, tell us when you call. We will work the order so the panel arrives the morning after the make-safe.
Reopening the same day: what helps
A few small things make the difference between losing a day of trade and losing only a couple of hours.
- Have your insurance details ready when you call. Policy number, broker, excess.
- Make sure someone can let us into the store. We need access to both sides of the panel.
- Move stock at least one metre back from the affected panel. We need room to work.
- Keep eftpos and till power on if possible. Trading during make-safe is fine and most customers will not even notice.
For retail tenants, check your lease. Some leases require landlord notification for any structural change, even temporary boarding. A two-minute email upfront avoids a lecture from the property manager later.
Why shopfronts crack in the first place
Most cracked shopfronts fall into one of five categories. Knowing which one yours is helps us recommend the right replacement.
- Impact. Rock, bin, vehicle, vandalism. The crack radiates from a point.
- Thermal stress. Sun on one part of the panel, shade on another. The crack tends to run straight and starts at an edge.
- Edge damage. Microscopic chips from poor original handling. Cracks appear months or years later for no obvious reason.
- Frame movement. A building settles or a doorframe shifts and puts pressure on the glass.
- Defective toughening. Rare, but it happens. The panel spontaneously shatters.
We cover the deeper diagnostic in the why your shopfront keeps cracking post. Worth a read if this is not your first cracked panel.
When to call us
If any of these apply, call now:
- The crack runs more than a third of the panel.
- The panel is bowed, has fallen out, or feels loose.
- Stock or people are at risk if the panel lets go.
- The store needs to trade today.
- It is after hours and your insurer has approved a make-safe.
We answer the phone 24/7. 02 4722 2787. Send a photo to our quote form if you would rather start there. We cover Penrith and all of Western Sydney.
FAQ
Will my landlord need to approve the repair? Usually no for like-for-like glass replacement. Yes for any change to frame, lettering or specification. Check your lease and copy the property manager in on the photos.
How much should a typical shopfront repair cost? A standard 6mm toughened panel up to about 2.4 metres tall sits in the low four-figure range fitted. Larger or laminated panels go up from there. Insurance usually covers it after excess.
Can you replace a shopfront after hours so we do not lose trade? Yes. We do a lot of after-hours installs in Penrith. Some retail tenants insist on it. Worth flagging when you call.
Do you handle insurance paperwork? Yes. We send through quotes, photos, damage reports and invoices in the format your insurer expects.
The faster you call, the faster you trade. That is the whole playbook.
