McKinney Storefront Glass Installations

Something that respects the original proportions rather than overriding them. Those buildings were designed with transom lights above the display glass and divided storefront bays, and a modern full-height frameless installation dropped into a period bay tends to look wrong — and may not be permitted in a designated district. We keep transoms, match bay divisions and choose framing finishes that sit quietly against historic masonry. We also check what the district actually requires before quoting.

No, and we would rather say so plainly. Designing, fabricating and repairing stained and leaded glass is a specialist craft, and you should use a studio that does it properly. What we do is protect it. If you have historic stained glass on the square or in a church, we install vented exterior protective glazing over it — a laminated or tempered lite that takes the hail, impact and vandalism so the historic panel does not. We also re-glaze the plain lites around it and repair the framing that holds it.

It depends whether showing your interior helps you. Clear maximizes visibility and lets passersby glimpse your offerings — right for retail and restaurants where the inside sells the business. Frosted diffuses light while obscuring the view, giving an upscale appearance with discretion, which suits salons, medical, professional and treatment-based businesses. It also gives you an ideal backdrop for logos, branding and promotional displays, which clear glass does not.

In nearly every case, yes, including on historic buildings. Storefront glazing sits in what the International Building Code designates a hazardous location — glass within 24 inches of a door or within 18 inches of the walking surface must be safety glazing, meaning tempered or laminated and permanently marked. Historic appearance and code compliance are not in conflict here; the glass can look right and still be safe.

We can typically have a board-up crew on site the same day, often within a few hours, to secure the opening. Permanent glass depends on the unit: a standard tempered lite in a common size can often be installed within a few business days, while custom insulated units, frosted and decorative glass are fabricated to order and generally take one to two weeks or longer. We give you a firm lead time in writing.

In most cases we replace glass only. Storefront framing is designed to be re-glazed — the stops come off, the damaged lite comes out, the new unit goes in and gets re-sealed. This matters especially on the historic square, where original framing is part of what makes the building worth preserving and should not be discarded because a pane broke. Frame replacement is only necessary where the frame itself has failed.

Rarely. Most McKinney storefront work is scheduled before opening, after close or on a weekend so you do not lose a day of trade — which matters particularly for the independent businesses around the square, where weekend footfall is the week's trade. For larger frontage replacements we sequence the work opening by opening so the building is never left open overnight.

Yes. Blade Glazing LLC is licensed, bonded and insured with full commercial general liability coverage, BBB accredited, and our technicians are OSHA certified. We can provide a certificate of insurance naming your entity or property management company as additional insured before work begins — most commercial landlords require it and we can turn it around quickly.