If you have typed how do I replace a window after a cricket ball found the lounge room, you are in good company. Plenty of Adelaide homeowners have done the same, and some of them have done the job well. Others have called us a week later.

This is the honest comparison. What DIY saves, what it risks, what tools and skills the job actually needs, and how to decide for your home rather than for a video on the internet.

Pros and Cons of DIY Window Replacement

The upside

• You save the labour. On a small single pane, labour is most of the cost.
• You work to your own schedule. No waiting for a call out, as long as the opening can be made safe in the meantime.
• You learn the house. Stripping a frame shows you the state of the timber, the putty and the paint.

The downside

• Measuring and ordering risk. Glass is cut to your numbers. A few millimetres out and the pane either will not fit or rattles in the rebate.
• The wrong glass. Thickness and type are set by the size of the pane and where it sits. Get it wrong and the window is unsafe and non compliant.
• Handling glass. Even a small pane cuts deeply. A large one is awkward, heavy and unforgiving.
• Weather tightness. Poor bedding or sealing lets water into the frame, and rot follows quietly.
• Old paint. Frames in homes built before 1970 may carry lead paint. Dry sanding it is a health risk for everyone in the house.
• No warranty, and insurance questions. There is no workmanship warranty on your own work, and insurers can decline claims where poor workmanship caused the damage.

Tools and Skills Required

The real answer to how do I replace a window depends on what the window is made of. Timber and aluminium frames use completely different glazing methods, and double glazed units are a different job again.

Tools for a timber frame

• Hacking knife or old chisel and a heat gun. For softening and cutting out old putty without gouging the rebate.
• Pliers and a putty knife. To pull the old glazing points and to bed and tool the new putty.
• Linseed oil putty or glazing compound, glazing points and primer. Bare timber in the rebate must be primed before putty goes on it.
• Tape measure, gloves, safety glasses and a drop sheet. Plus suction cups if the pane is anything more than small.

Tools for an aluminium frame

• Screwdrivers and a blunt scraper. To release the glazing beads or the internal wedge gasket without scratching the frame.
• The correct rubber gasket or glazing wedge. Sizes vary between frame systems, and the wrong one never seals.
• A gasket roller. Pressing a wedge gasket back in by hand rarely seats it evenly.

Skills the job assumes

• Measuring a rebate. Measure the opening in three places, use the smallest figure, and deduct a few millimetres in each direction so the pane has clearance.
• Specifying the glass. Standard float glass suits small ground floor panes. Under AS 1288, doors, panels beside doors, low glazing near the floor, bathrooms and other areas people can walk into need Grade A safety glass, and larger panes need thicker glass.
• Bedding, pointing and tooling putty. A thin even bed, points about every 200mm, then a clean 45 degree face bead. It takes practice to make it neat and watertight.
• Patience. Putty needs to skin over, usually one to two weeks, before it can be painted, and it must be painted to last.

A timber pane in five steps

The Benefits of Professional Installation

• The right glass, first time. We specify type and thickness to AS 1288 for the size and location, including toughened and laminated safety glass where the standard requires it.
• Speed. Most single pane jobs are quoted on the spot and many are done the same day. Emergencies are attended 24/7, with board ups if the glass has to be ordered.
• Double glazing done properly. Fogged double glazed units cannot be repaired, only replaced with a new sealed unit made to size. We supply and fit them.
• Frames as well as glass. If the timber is rotten or the aluminium is beyond saving, our window frame replacement service handles the frame too.
• Insured, tidy and backed. Fully insured glaziers who leave the room clean and stand behind the work.
• Value. Quotes are free, and we beat any written quote by up to 10%. See our window replacement Adelaide page for everything we cover.

Warranty and Long-Term Reliability

This is where the two paths separate most, because the consequences arrive long after the job.

• Product warranties. Glass suppliers and hardware manufacturers commonly make their warranty conditional on professional installation. Do the job yourself and a failure is your cost.
• Workmanship. A professional install carries the installer’s backing. A DIY install carries yours.
• Water and rot. Putty or sealant that fails early lets water into a timber frame. By the time it shows, the frame often needs replacing rather than the glass.
• Double glazed seals. A sealed unit that is handled or bedded badly can lose its seal and fog within a year or two, and the whole unit has to be replaced again.
• Insurance and resale. Non compliant glass in a safety glass location can surface at a building inspection or an insurance claim, years after you have forgotten the job.

Making the Right Choice for Your Home

Run your window through this list before you buy anything.

Do it yourself if

• It is a single small pane on the ground floor in a timber frame.
• It is not in a door, beside a door, low to the floor or in a bathroom.
• You have the tools above, a helper, and a fortnight for the putty to cure before painting.

Call a glazier if

• The location needs safety glass under AS 1288, or you are not sure whether it does.
• The pane is large, upstairs, or in an aluminium frame with wedge gaskets.
• It is a double glazed unit, or the frame itself is damaged.
• It is a rental, a strata property or an insurance claim, where paperwork and compliance matter.
• You need the house secure tonight. We attend 24/7 and board up if the glass has to be ordered.

And if you are set on doing it yourself, we can still help. Our custom glass cutting service supplies glass cut to size for your project, and we will tell you what type the location needs.

The Short Answer: How Do I Replace a Window Safely?

Make the opening safe, strip the rebate back to clean primed timber, measure three ways and order the correct type and thickness for the location, bed the pane in putty, point it, tool it and paint it once it has skinned. Aluminium frames need the right gasket and a roller instead.

If the pane is small, low risk and on the ground floor, that is a fair weekend job. For everything else, a free quote from a local glazier is faster, safer and usually cheaper once the second pane and the rot are counted.

Window Replacement FAQs

How do I replace a window pane in a timber frame?

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Remove the broken glass safely, cut out the old putty and points, prime the bare rebate, measure and order glass a few millimetres smaller than the opening, bed it in putty, fix it with points, tool the face putty at 45 degrees and paint it once it skins over.

Can I replace a double glazed unit myself?

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In most cases no. A double glazed unit is a factory sealed pair of panes made to size. Once fogged it cannot be repaired, and fitting a new unit without breaking its seal takes the right beads, setting blocks and handling. We supply and fit double glazed windows across Adelaide.

What glass do I need for a bathroom, a door or a window near the floor?

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Grade A safety glass, toughened or laminated, under AS 1288. Standard float glass is not permitted in those locations because a person can fall against it.

How much does professional window replacement cost?

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It depends on the size, type and thickness of the glass and the frame, so we quote each job free and up front. We also beat any written quote by up to 10%.

How quickly can you replace a broken window?

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Many jobs are done the same day, and our emergency glaziers attend 24/7 across metro Adelaide. If the glass has to be ordered we board up first so the house stays secure. See 24/7 emergency glass repair.

Do you replace the whole window frame as well?

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Yes. We replace rotten, damaged or dated timber and aluminium frames as well as the glass, at homes and commercial properties across Adelaide.