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Replace Glass panel in interior door? It's a puzzle !

Replace Glass panel in interior door? It's a puzzle !


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Old 11-26-17, 09:15 AM
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Replace Glass panel in interior door? It's a puzzle !

Long-term lurker and first time poster. Thanks for reading this.

I have a interior wood & glass panel door with a broken pane. I can't figure out how to get the wood trim off to replace the broken glass panel. The door was built in 2005 and the wood uprites/muntins and bars are solid, 1-piece units, without glazing or small trim pieces that can be removed. See photos. The wood muntins/uprites can slide left-right when tapped with a hammer, but can't be removed. But the wood horizontal bars extend the width of the door interior. It seems to me the entire door was built from left to right with the glass inserted as the door was being assembled with the final step was to install the remaining stile.

Any suggestions? Thanks!!
 
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Old 11-26-17, 10:19 AM
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I believe the entire muntin assembly is probably a separate grid that is held to the glass with 2 faced tape. (Not sure if it is on one or both sides) You would need to deglaze the entire grille from every single piece of glass on one side of the door in order to remove any single piece of glass... assuming they are individual panes. Once the muntin grill has been removed, you might have to turn the door around and deglaze the opposite side of the glass to remove your single broken pane.

A commercial deglazing tool would likely be needed to do this. 3M adhesive solvent can help assist in the easy removal of the two faced tape along with the knife. Door glass is not standard single or double strength glass... it must be tempered safety glass.

Is the muntin thickness and profile exactly the same on both sides of the door?
 
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Old 11-26-17, 10:44 AM
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Thanks for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate it. Unless I misunderstand what you mean by "the entire muntin assembly is probably a separate grid that is held to the glass with 2 faced tape", I don't think (99.8% certain) this is how my door is constructed. The muntins and bars are not made of 2 pieces: (one piece on the front of the glass and the other piece on the back of the glass). Instead they are a solid piece of wood with slots cut into them for the glass. There are 15 individual panes of glass in the door.

"Is the muntin thickness and profile exactly the same on both sides of the door?" - Yes. The doors are identical on both sides.
 
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Old 11-26-17, 10:53 AM
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Looks like a real puzzle. I'm wondering if one of the sides of the door can come off.
Are there any visible screws in the sides or the top of the door.
 
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Old 11-26-17, 10:56 AM
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Try to slide a flexible knife through from one piece of glass to the next to confirm. Try on both sides of the door.
 
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Old 11-26-17, 10:58 AM
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Only the screws that hold the hardware for the slides on the top of the door (it's a sliding pocket door).

On Monday, I am going to call the lumber company where the door was purchased and see if they can tell me the manufacture and talk to them. It was supposed to be an easy weekend project, but I am stuck.
 
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Old 11-26-17, 11:03 AM
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"Try to slide a flexible knife through from one piece of glass to the next to confirm. Try on both sides of the door. "

Confirmed. Absolutely certain.
 
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Old 11-27-17, 09:21 AM
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Update: I exchanged emails with the door manufacture today and here is what they told me:

"The best option would be to bring it to a cabinet shop or a place that has a router table. They will need to route out that sticking. We can order replacement sticking for you through [your lumber store] and you would bring that sticking with you to the cabinet shop. We just need to know the species."

Or I can replace the door for about $300...
 
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Old 11-27-17, 10:33 AM
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Basically the glass was installed so as not to be easily replaceable.
Fine engineering there.
 
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Old 11-27-17, 11:22 AM
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I was thinking that's what the answer was going to be, but wasn't sure. Saw it on Norms old show I think. It's actually a very simple and quick job IF you've done it before and have the required tools and replacement wood. You could do an "ehh" job with hand tools, but probably not a good idea for a visible space like that.
 
 

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