Cracked window glass is never a good thing, but it is a serious situation for a commercial operation. Besides affecting the appearance of your building, a broken window can affect your business and put your customers at risk. If your building has several windows, then you'll want to know what to do if an intruder or storm causes damage to them so repairs can be done fast. Here are some suggestions for handling the repairs.

Have The Damage Boarded Up

Ideally, you'll want repair work to begin immediately. That isn't always possible, and if you have to wait several hours, then boarding up your windows is essential. Some commercial window repair service companies offer 24-hour service. They come to your building in the middle of the night if necessary to board up a broken window to keep out intruders and pests. This protects your inventory until repairs can be made.

In addition to boarding up the windows to protect your store, you'll want to clean up the broken glass as soon as possible to protect your customers. You might reopen your store with a boarded window, but you don't want to open it until all glass is cleaned up for liability reasons.

Have The Glass Replaced

The glass repair professional will assess the damage to the glass and determine the best way to fix the window. In some cases, such as a tiny chip, using an acrylic filler might be acceptable. If your window has a tiny crack, you may be tempted to overlook it, but that isn't a good thing to do for a commercial window. A tiny crack makes your window glass vulnerable to wind damage and damage from temperature changes. The glass can weaken, crack further, and fall out when you least expect it. This could damage your customers and put you at risk of a lawsuit for not maintaining your property.

Damage from an intruder is likely to be more extensive than chips and small cracks. In that case, the best solution is to have the glass replaced as soon as you can. A commercial glass service can replace glass of any dimension and shape. The glass can be fabricated if need be. In addition to replacing the glass, the service will check the frame and hardware for damage and repair them at the same time if necessary.

If there is a lot of crime in your area, you may want to talk to the glass company about installing security film on your windows once repairs are done. The tough film holds the glass in the frame if an intruder tries to smash through the window. This keeps glass from flying all through your store and it keeps intruders from getting inside and vandalizing or stealing your goods.