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Carolina Glass Replacement
Storefront emergency line

Broken storefront? Boarded up in 90 minutes.

Same-day emergency board-up and permanent glass replacement for small businesses in the Charlotte metro. Break-ins, accidents, storm damage - we get you secured, documented for your insurance, and reopened.

Call now
(704) 750-9173
90min
Typical ETA
7 days
7a to 10p
24-72hr
Glass in
Or request a written estimate
Charlotte commercial burglaries up 36% YoY in 2025 $1M / $2M GL insured, COI in under 5 min Documented for your insurance claim Marvin, NC - 25-mile radius
The 2am Playbook

Four steps from smashed glass to reopened business.

A break-in is two jobs, not one: the board-up tonight and the permanent glass later in the week. Here is exactly what happens, in order, when you call us.

0min
You call

Dispatch + ETA

We take the address, opening size, and situation in 90 seconds. You get a specific arrival window - not "sometime today." Owner answers most calls personally.

Close-up of a glazier fastening a plywood board-up into aluminum storefront framing at dusk
60-90min
Board-up done

Secured + photographed

Plywood or clear polycarbonate cut to the opening, Tapcon into the aluminum frame. Scene photographed for your insurance. Glass swept, edges capped.

Aluminum commercial storefront framing with new tempered glass set into the pocket
24-72hr
Glass installed

Measured + ordered

Next business day we field-measure and order from a Charlotte fabricator. Tempered 24-72 hrs; laminated and IGUs 5-10 business days. Installed around your operating hours.

Technician squeegeeing clear security film onto a commercial storefront window
Week 2
Next-break-in plan

Security upgrade (optional)

Tempered glass offers zero burglary resistance. Security film or laminated glass buys you the minutes a smash-and-grab attacker does not have.

Why fast matters

What you do in the next 90 minutes decides whether you reopen tomorrow.

An unsecured storefront is a second invitation. Weather gets in, inventory walks out, and most commercial property policies require a documented board-up inside 24 hours of the incident for the claim to pay in full.

Source: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department 2025 commercial burglary data via CPI CrimeHub; insurance clause detail per typical ISO CP 00 10 plate-glass endorsement language.

+36%
Charlotte commercial burglaries year-over-year, 2024 to 2025
1,557
Commercial burglaries in 2025
30-60s
Typical smash-and-grab before they bail
What we handle

Aluminum storefronts, herculite entries, and everything in between.

We work on Kawneer, YKK, EFCO, Arcadia, and US Aluminum framing systems. If it is glass on a small-business storefront, it is probably something we do.

Emergency Board-Up

From $275 first opening

3/4" CDX plywood cut to the opening and Tapconned into the aluminum frame. Insurance photos included.

Clear polycarbonate temporary panel in a storefront frame at dusk

Stay-Open Polycarbonate

$180 - $350 per opening

Clear Lexan in the existing frame instead of plywood. 250x the impact strength of glass. Customers see in, you stay open.

Tempered Door & Sidelite Glass

$450 - $900 installed

1/4" clear tempered, code-compliant per IBC §2406. Typical availability from Charlotte fabricators: 24-72 hours.

Laminated Security Glass

Premium over tempered - quoted per opening

PVB or SentryGlas interlayer. The glass still breaks but the opening stays closed - attackers walk away empty.

Insulated Glass (IGU) Panels

$500 - $3000 per opening

1" IGUs for large display windows. Low-E, argon, tempered-tempered, laminated-tempered builds. 5-10 business day lead.

Technician applying clear security film to commercial storefront glass

Security Window Film

$175 - $450 per opening

8 to 14 mil polyester film, edge-anchored with structural silicone. Adds 1-3 minutes of delay - long enough that most smash-and-grabs give up.

Next-break-in plan

Film buys you seconds. Laminated buys you the opening.

Tempered alone has zero burglary resistance - that is why the first break-in happened. Here is how the four realistic options actually compare.

Tempered (baseline)

~0 sec
Resists
Nothing past a single firm hit
Cost
$
Best
Code compliance, lowest cost, fastest stock

8-mil security film

~30 sec
Resists
Single baseball-bat blow
Cost
$$
Best
Retrofit on existing tempered - quickest ROI

12-mil film, edge-anchored

1-3 min
Resists
Repeated impact with pry bar
Cost
$$$
Best
Retail hit once - realistic "never again" option

Laminated (PVB / SentryGlas)

5-10 min
Resists
Sustained forced entry (UL 972)
Cost
$$$$
Best
Banks, jewelry, dispensaries, repeat targets

Ranges reflect typical field-test results under the UL 972 burglary-resistance protocol and DHS SRWF market survey. Real-world performance varies with installer technique, frame condition, and attacker tooling.

Transparent pricing

Most competitors hide their prices. We publish ours.

Storefront & Commercial Glass

$275 - $3000

depending on service type, glass, and opening size

Emergency board-up (first opening)$275 - $600
Each additional opening, same visit$125
Clear polycarbonate (stay-open)$180 - $350
Tempered door lite (3x7, 1/4")$450 - $900
Full storefront panel (IGU / laminated)$500 - $3000
Security window film (installed)$175 - $450
After-hours surcharge (10p-6a, Sun / holiday)1.5x labor

Every board-up includes a free firm quote for the permanent glass replacement. No surprises on the final invoice.

Insurance-ready

We hand your adjuster a complete claim file.

Most commercial property policies include a plate glass endorsement covering break-ins, vandalism, storm damage, accidental breakage, frame damage, signage on the glass, and temporary board-up costs. You pay your deductible; your carrier reimburses the balance.

  • Itemized invoice with scope and material specs
  • Wide-shot and close-up photos of damage and finished work
  • Police report number on request
  • W-9 and Certificate of Insurance for your file
  • Glass make-up and framing spec details for the carrier

We invoice you and you recover from your carrier - no Assignment of Benefits. It is cleaner, it keeps you in control, and most carriers pay faster this way.

Aluminum storefront framing with new tempered glass installed - documented for insurance
Coverage zone

25 miles from Marvin, NC.

Most of our commercial corridor is inside a 25-minute drive. Call if you are further out - we have done longer trips for the right commercial job.

Primary - under 20 min
Marvin NC Waxhaw NC Weddington NC Wesley Chapel NC Indian Trail NC Stallings NC Matthews NC
Secondary - 20 to 30 min
Mint Hill NC Monroe NC Wingate NC Pineville NC Ballantyne NC South Charlotte NC SouthPark NC Providence NC Fort Mill SC Indian Land SC Tega Cay SC
Border - call first
Rock Hill SC Lake Wylie SC Lancaster SC York SC Steele Creek NC Myers Park NC
Who we work with

Set up for small business owners, property managers, and restoration partners.

Small business owners
Property managers
Restoration partners
Insurance adjusters
Locksmiths + alarm cos
Honest scope

What we are not.

We are a small Charlotte-metro glass shop - not a national franchise, not a curtain-wall contractor, and not a ballistic-glazing specialist. If your job is:

Curtain wall / high-rise

Ground-up architectural glazing - call Binswanger or Victory Glass.

UL 752 ballistic

Bullet-resistant applications - call a specialist; we stay in your corner for everything else.

Auto glass

Call Safelite or a mobile auto shop. We do houses and storefronts, not vehicles.

Frequently Asked Questions

My storefront was just broken into. What do I do right now?
Four things, in order. (1) Keep employees and customers away from the opening - tempered glass breaks into small pieces but the edges still cut. (2) Call the police non-emergency line and get a report number - most commercial insurance policies require it before they will pay. (3) Photograph the damage before cleanup (wide shots plus close-ups of the frame and hardware). (4) Call us at (704) 750-9173. We will be on the way with plywood and tools typically within 90 minutes anywhere inside 25 miles of Marvin, NC.
How fast can you board up my storefront?
Same-day, 7 AM to 10 PM, 7 days a week. Typical response inside 25 minutes of Marvin, NC is 60-90 minutes once you call. If you are further out (Monroe, Fort Mill, Ballantyne), add another 15-20 minutes. After 10 PM we can often still respond for true emergencies - there is a higher after-hours rate we will quote you on the phone before dispatching.
How much does commercial board-up cost?
Board-up starts at $275 for the first opening, which covers the trip, 3/4" CDX plywood cut to the opening, Tapcon fasteners, and 60-90 minutes of on-site labor. Additional openings on the same visit are $125 each. If you want to stay open to foot traffic, we can install clear polycarbonate (Lexan) in the frame instead of plywood - that runs $180 to $350 per opening depending on size and thickness. Every board-up includes a free quote for the permanent glass replacement.
How much does storefront glass replacement cost?
For a typical aluminum-frame entry door lite (3 ft x 7 ft, 1/4" tempered), $450 to $900 installed. Larger storefront panels - whether single-pane annealed, insulated (IGU), or laminated security glass - run $500 to $3000 depending on size, glass type, and whether the frame needs work. We quote firm, flat numbers before any glass is ordered - no surprises on the final invoice.
How long until the permanent glass is installed?
Depends on the glass. Standard 1/4" tempered in common sizes is usually available from Charlotte fabricators within 24 to 72 hours. Laminated security glass and insulated units (IGUs) with Low-E or argon are typically 5 to 10 business days because they are built to your exact measurements. Oversized or custom-shape glass can go 2-4 weeks. Your board-up keeps the opening weather-tight and secure the entire time.
Does my commercial insurance cover this?
Usually, yes. Break-ins, vandalism, accidental breakage, and storm damage are typically covered under commercial property policies - often under a "plate glass" endorsement that also covers frame damage, signage on the glass, and temporary board-up costs. You pay the deductible (commonly $500-$2,500), your carrier reimburses the rest. We provide detailed itemized invoices, before/after photos, and the police report number on request so your claim goes through clean.
Do you work with my insurance adjuster directly?
We invoice you, and provide everything you need to submit the claim - itemized scope, photos, police report number, glass specifications. You pay us, your carrier reimburses you. That is cleaner than "assignment of benefits" for commercial glass claims and it keeps you in control of the process. If your adjuster wants to call us directly with questions about the scope, we are happy to walk them through it.
Tempered, laminated, or insulated - what glass should I put back in?
Tempered (standard clear safety glass) is what most storefronts ship with and what building code requires in doors and within 24 inches of doors. It is the lowest cost and fastest to get. But tempered alone offers essentially zero burglary resistance - if it took one brick to break it the first time, it will take one brick to break it again. Laminated glass (two lites bonded with a tough PVB interlayer) still breaks under a hard hit, but the interlayer holds the opening together - a smash-and-grab attacker walks away empty-handed. Insulated glass (IGU) matters for climate control on large display windows but does not add security by itself. For a post-break-in client, we usually recommend tempered as the fast fix plus security window film for immediate deterrence, and laminated on the next capital cycle.
Can security film really stop another break-in?
It buys you time, which is the thing a smash-and-grab attacker does not have. Unfilmed tempered shatters to pebbles on the first hit. 8-mil film resists a single baseball bat blow; 12-mil film edge-anchored into the frame holds up under 1 to 3 minutes of repeated impact. Most smash-and-grabs give up after 30-60 seconds because the alarm is ringing and they are visible from the street. Installed film on a typical storefront door runs $175 to $450 per opening. It is not bulletproof glass, but it is the highest-ROI upgrade most small businesses can make after a break-in.
What if my door closer, lock, or frame is damaged too?
Common after a forced entry. We handle overhead door closers (LCN, Norton, Dorma), offset pivots and continuous hinges, deadlocks and exit devices (Adams Rite, Von Duprin), and electric strikes as part of the glass work. If the aluminum frame is twisted or the threshold is torn up, we will document it, give you a firm number, and coordinate with your preferred locksmith if the electronics are specialty. One phone call gets the whole door working again - not glass, then locksmith, then closer, then weatherstrip.
Do you work with property managers and restoration companies?
Yes. We carry a $1M/$2M general liability policy with completed-operations coverage and can email a Certificate of Insurance naming you as Additional Insured in under 5 minutes. We have a simple preferred-vendor MSA available for property management firms that need fixed emergency pricing and a 24-hour contact number. For restoration companies (Servpro, ServiceMaster, Belfor, Paul Davis), we are set up as a subcontractor with W-9, COI, and itemized billing.
Which areas do you cover for commercial work?
Union County (Waxhaw, Marvin, Weddington, Wesley Chapel, Indian Trail, Stallings, Monroe, Wingate), south Mecklenburg (Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville, Ballantyne, South Charlotte, SouthPark edges, Providence), and the SC border (Fort Mill, Indian Land, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie, Rock Hill, Lancaster, York). Roughly a 25-mile radius from Marvin, NC. Outside that, call us - we have done longer trips for the right commercial job.
Can I stay open while you work?
Almost always, yes. A clear polycarbonate temporary panel lets you keep operating while we order the permanent glass. For the final install itself, we typically need 60-120 minutes per opening with the door out of service - we schedule that around your business hours when possible (early morning, after close, or Sundays if you are closed). A gas station, restaurant, or daycare that cannot close gets priority for off-hours scheduling.
Do you do bulletproof glass?
Not in the UL 752 ballistic-rated sense - that is a specialty vertical with long lead times and different insurance requirements. What we can do is UL 972 burglary-resisting laminated glazing and heavy security film assemblies that stop smash-and-grab, hit-and-run, and forced-entry attempts. If you genuinely need ballistic (cash-heavy retail, dispensary, high-threat environment), we will refer you to Binswanger or a bullet-resistant specialist and stay in your corner as the primary glass contractor for everything else.
What makes you different from Glass Doctor or Binswanger?
We are local, small, and we answer the phone. We are 10 minutes from most of the Union County commercial corridor, we publish our prices, and when you call at 8 PM on a Saturday after a break-in you get the owner, not an answering service that dispatches at 7 AM Monday. The tradeoff: we do not staff a true 24/7 desk (yet) and we do not do multi-million-dollar curtain wall projects. For a small business with a broken storefront, that tradeoff is almost always in your favor.

Your storefront. Our phone.

Call now for same-day board-up and a free on-site estimate for the permanent replacement.

(704) 750-9173 Request Written Estimate

7 AM - 10 PM, 7 days a week. After-hours emergencies quoted on the call.

Get a Free Estimate

Tell us about your window issue and we'll call you back - usually within 15 minutes.

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Faster: text a photo of your window to (704) 750-9173 and we'll reply with a ballpark price.

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Services We Provide in This Area

Residential glass repair and replacement across the Charlotte metro and upper York County, SC.

Cities We Serve

Every city within about 25 minutes of our shop in Marvin, NC (28173). If you do not see yours, call us - we may still be able to help.