A few months ago, I realized that I really needed to update our windows and a few other glass fixtures around the house. I started searching for a great glass shop in the area, and I was able to find a place that I felt really good about. I worked with them to replace our mirrors, our glass shower enclosures, and our windows. When we were finished, our house looked and felt brand new on the inside and the outside. I was really impressed with how much of a difference those changes made. This blog is all about installing better glass in your home.
Depending on the kind of car your drive, replacing a windshield can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. On the other hand, repairing a windshield will typically cost under a hundred dollars. You might think that the choice to repair a windshield is pretty straightforward, but there are a few factors that you have to weigh in the balance when you are deciding between repairing or replacing.
Size of the Crack
A crack can be too small or too large to repair. Not every rock that hits your windshield will leave a crack behind. In fact, some rocks leave little chips. These chips are like divots of glass that do not penetrate completely through the glass. By themselves, they are not highly noticeable, but after years of accumulating divots, they can obscure your view. You might not realize how much they obscure your view until you get a new windshield. Then your view of the road can be so crisp that it feels like you don't even have a windshield. Thus, if you have a windshield that is covered in chips, getting a new windshield is the better option. Furthermore, if you have a crack that is larger than the length of a pencil, the equipment used to repair glass will not fit over the crack, and you will have no choice but to replace your windshield.
Placement of the Crack
If you have a crack in your windshield that is not in your field of vision, you might be tempted to do nothing to repair it. Any crack, however, can weaken the integrity of your windshield, so to make sure your glass provides at least some barrier between yourself and the road in case of an accident, you should have cracks repaired whenever possible. On the other hand, if you have a crack that is squarely in your field of vision, you might consider replacing your windshield. Glass repair shops will have different colored resins that they can use to match the color of your auto glass when making repairs, but while these resins will come close to making the crack disappear, you will still be able to see it. If you are worried that a repaired crack may obscure your view of the road, have your windshield replaced.
A crack in a windshield may start small and, therefore, repairable, but something as simple as defrosting your windshield on a cold morning can cause cracks to spread. Thus, you need to make up your mind quickly whether to repair or replace your windshield. While your first instinct should be to save money by repairing your windshield, you need to know when replacement is the better option. Contact a repair shop, like Allied Glass & Mirror, for more help.
Share14 June 2016
