Can your glass be cut, or does the panel need replacing?
Whichever door you have, there are two ways to fit a pet door into glass.
- Cut an opening into the glass you already have.
- Replace the whole panel with a new toughened panel, manufactured with the opening already cut.
Which one you need comes down to two things: the type of glass in your door, and the size of your dog. If you have laminated glass and a small or medium dog, we can usually cut the existing panel on site. It is faster, cleaner and cheaper, and you keep the glass you already paid for. If you have toughened glass, or a large or extra large dog, you will need a replacement panel, because toughened glass cannot be cut once it has been toughened.
Most of the enquiries we take come from people who have been told the panel has to be replaced. Often it does not. If you are not sure what you have, send us a photo of your glass and we will tell you.
We cut glass on site
Cutting a pet door opening into a panel that is already installed, standing upright in its frame, in someone’s home, is a specialised job. A glazier is trained to replace glass, and can cut a sheet laying flat on a factory bench, with the right table and the right conditions. Cutting that same glass vertically, in a frame, in a hallway, with furniture either side and no second attempt, is a different skill, and not every installer or glazier is set up for it. Recommending a replacement is the safe commercial choice for a business that cannot cut. It is also the more expensive option for you. We have specialised in cutting glass on site since 2011 and we carry the tools to identify, score, separate and finish a panel in a single visit.
Is it safe to cut laminated glass?
We hear this one constantly: “you cannot safely cut laminated glass.” That is not correct. Laminated glass is made with a clear interlayer bonded between two sheets, so if the panel cracks the pieces generally stay stuck to that interlayer rather than falling out of the frame. It is the same property that makes laminated glass good for security.
None of that makes it unbreakable. Laminated glass can still crack, usually from one of three things:
- Sudden impact. A child kicking a ball at the door, someone knocking into the glass, heavy pressure on the panel.
- Heat and prolonged direct sunlight, particularly a west facing door through a Sydney summer.
- Poor preparation of the cut edge, which is the one nobody mentions and the one that comes down entirely to the installer.
Prepared properly, a cut laminated panel is sound. Prepared badly it will fail. Laminated glass we cut on site: 6.38mm, 6.50mm, Hush laminated, 8.38mm, 8.50mm, 10.38mm, 10.50mm, 12.38mm and 12.50mm. Price varies with the thickness of the glass.
When we will not cut your glass
Not every panel can be cut, and being able to cut glass also means knowing when not to. Before any work starts our technician looks at the size of your dog, movement in the glass, how much direct sunlight the panel takes, whether the door sits in a high impact area such as a main thoroughfare or a children’s play area, and whether the panel is oversized. If our technician judges the cut unsafe, we will not carry it out. We would rather lose the job than take your money for an installation likely to fail, and we will tell you what we would do instead, which is usually a replacement panel.
For a free quote on a dog door in glass, call 0421 575 229 or get a quote online.
