How to Replace Window Pane With Wood Molding.mpg 

11 years later and this video is still helping people!! I am a 28 year old girl living with my parents in our old home in Boston, with the wooden French doors and all! Now the repairs and upkeep of our home have slowly become my responsibilities. I have some prior skill with woodwork but nothing at a professional level. I am so grateful to have videos like yours to show me how to be further self sufficient and to repair instead of replace! Hands on skills are a lost art and I am happy to be part of keeping those skills alive! I hope to pass on that knowledge to my 5 year old daughter as she grows!

10 year old video still teaching people stuff. Great info. Had to bust a single pane out to unlock the door to my house. Thanks man.

Hey, my pleasure. I'm really glad you found it and I was able to help. The reason I am motivated to post these kinds of videos is to help folks to be able to do things on their own, but also so that they have some background in case they are in discussions with their handyman/ contractor. Keep up the good work and thanks for the feedback.

I will be attempting a pane replacement of Great Grandma Ellie's interior French door today. Thank you, Michael, for the following: Your organization, which allows each step to proceed smoothly; the fine camera work with clear close-ups; your polite instructional tone; and your confident expertise. Take it from an old English teacher: Your mastery of vocabulary and enunciation have taken you far. I hope that today, seven years after posting this video, you are continuing to share your talents. A+

i've had a broken pane in my front door for 3 years. if i knew it was this easy to repair, i wouldn't have put it off so long. your step by step instructions were fantastic! thanks!!

Thank you! Replacing a wood frame window in a 1956 home. I'm grateful for videos like this that allow me to do my own repairs and save me $. I simply can't afford to hire a contractor every time something needs to be fixed!

I replaced the glass in my door by watching this video. I didn't break the moulding either thanks to his instructions. Thank you. You saved me a lot of money!

I am soooo grateful because you gave me the knowledge and the courage to replace my glass panels BY MYSELF!!! Thank you, Michael.

More than 9 years after you posted, I found your video and you definitely saved my molding. Thanks!

I come to RU-vid for information on all kinds of projects before I begin. Yours is very well done, simple and straightforward. Thanks!

This was exactly what I needed! Followed your example and was able to replace a regular pane, plus replaced two panes of antique glass from an extra door we had. Thank you so much for taking the time to make and post this!

Thank you so much for this informative video!!! I changed the glass yesterday and it only cost me $2.78 for the glass at the local hardware store. The first piece of molding was a little tricky, but I got all 4 moldings out without breaking any!

Thank you, Michael. This video is exactly what I needed to replace a window in a door. It was very clear and complete and after seeing it, I was able to do the job with no surprises.

This video was a life saver. I thought I was going to have to buy a new door. My only issue was that the molding was nailed AND glued in and it was safety glass; it took a while but I got it clean. Ended up having to snap one molding, but I'm pretty sure that can be repaired with wood putty, glue and paint. Much less than a new door. Thanks so much!

Thank you!!! Just replaced a broken window on my garage man door. Your advice to take your time was a huge help.

This was amazing! The directions were simple and well explained. My little brother put his elbow through our window this morning so you saved my mom money and her patience! Thank you!

Thank you. This gave me the confidence to try and replace 3 small panes in a large, old front door. I have only one comment: when I started to pry internally, i.e. not pulling it out from the door, but upwards or sidewards, I quickly noticed someone else had put small nails in the past. So the first part was actually pulling those nails out, THEN I could pry out horizontally, outward towards myself (in the video). Thanks again! Went great!

Excellent video! You talked us all the way through and answered any questions that may have popped as we did this ourselves and added some extra helpful tips (like the cardboard box for trashing the glass and vacuuming the area B4 you start to continue replacing the glass).

Great tutorial and simple explanations. Even easy for a "do it yourself" mom like me. I appreciate you showing the use of a variety of tools for those that may not have the same as you. Great Job!

Thanks so much for this. I have nearly the exact same type of door. The last pane that broke I called a glass repair company that charged me nearly $200. Your video made it very easy to replace the pane this time myself for less than $20.

Thank you! I thought I had to replace the whole door. You just saved me a lot of money!!

Nicely done, Michael - both the step-by-step repair and the video quality. Thanks!

Thank you very much for your well explained video! I went to work right away - used a hook bladed knife and 2 scraper bladed screwdrivers. I took out the left, right, and bottom moulding pieces only (bottom first) - allowing me to change out the glass without the need to remove the top moulding. (I had 9 panels to replace, saved me some time)

This is EXACTLY what I needed! Not being handy with this kind thing, I had no idea how I was going to get the trim pieces on & off or if I could do it with caulk alone. Perfect! Thanks a million for this upload!!!

Thank you for covering all details. You are a lot more patient that my husband!

Great video thank you. 13 years on. Helped me

This is perfect! Exactly what I needed, short, sweet, and effective: the epitome of how-to videos. 😁 Thank you. You rock.

Video from the past helped thousands, it sure helped me today.

I am so GRATEFUL for the generosity of folks like you! I know how to do it, but it was awkward. I have 2 to do and now the second one will be smooth sailing. Thanks so much

excellent video, i had to break into my own house yesterday. the door is very similar to the one in this video, but mine had decades worth of paint that i get to cut through. side note, now i see just how easy it is to break into my house.

Great "Tutorial" this was the first time for me, now I know I can do it by watching you. At least in your video you showed us how to remove the moulding. Thanks👍

Can't thank you enough for this video. I was just about to try this and really wasn't sure about some of the details. This makes a big difference and I hope I can now avoid some costly mistakes!

Thanks Michael ... i am a single mum living with my son and i had bought the glass and for weeks kept saying to myself to get it repaired ... i had considered hiring a guy to do it but thought i would try myself... so today i searched here and found you ... i hope i can do it now myself as you made it look so easy... if i follow your easy steps il have that glass in and feeling safe and confident enough to do my own diy👍

Thank you so much for posting this. I have a similar problem and my contractors were afraid to touch it. Once I saw how you fixed the window, I was able to fix this myself. Thank you very, very much again.

This exactly what I needed and this man is so nice.

Thanks, this really helped - my wife has been on me for a couple of days - I was sure I needed to buy a new door - Thank you again - we live in a century home and she is determined to maintain the appearance of the place. John

Thanks for the great instructions! I was able to save the finishing nails that were already in place and reuse them through the pre-existing nail holes.

Awesome video! I just broke a pane in my door almost identical to the door you were working with. Took me 20 minutes to remove the broken shards and molding...keep in mind my door is from 1941 with a FEW coats of paint

Thanks a MILLION buddy!!... From a parent of 3 badass teenagers with BB guns who rents instead of owns, and happens to be going through this very situation right now,, this information is INVALUABLE! 😁👍

Bravo mate, I've got dozens of these to do, and I think I'll get the hang of it thanks to your awesome teaching.

hell yeah! Your instructions came out purrfect for my 80 year old dade county pine door. don't replace with new CRAP fix the good stuff you already have. Thanks a million

Thanks my autistic daughter broke out on of my panes on my back door. Your video saved me so much money thank you so much . Got out molding will replace glass tomorrow

Dog just broke one of my French door glass, never knew how to take it apart. Thanks for the video.

Awesome! You just saved me a bunch of money! Now that I know its this easy to replace by myself I'm not waiting any longer to replace our 2 window panels.

well made and extremely helpful video. Thank you very much for posting such a useful bit of instruction.

Thanks so much, the video really helped me. In my case though, the trim was glued in at the factory, there were no nails, so it was doubly hard to remove and hard to even believe they were separate pieces of wood. Also, the vertical, longer pieces of trim were mitered, and both of those had to come out first. The horizontal, shorter pieces went all the way from one side to the other, with no miter.

I'm a new subscriber for sure after watching this vid. I must admit most time I see a fairly longer video and try to watch the 2-3 mins one instead. To no avail. However, Im glad I watched yours. Yours is full of important information not just someone jabbering just to hear themselves' talk. Not even once, did I find the need to triple tap on the screen to skip Ahead. I actually feel like I can do this by myself. I'm pretty handy for a stay at home mother, I have my own tools, drill, dremmels and my husband often tells me that, "I know enough to be dangerous!"lol! thank you so much I'm gonna try and impress him with this project! Thanks for the great presentation and great information!

Thanks brother! It was very nice of you to show the rest of us how you do it, as I'm sure it took longer to explain it and film it.

Thanks for the video! Took a little stress out of my Saturday.

Thank you so much. My grandson had shoved a toy through the pane and I was not sure how to get the wood off without breaking it. You saved me.

Thanks, I thought it would be this easy but it's nice to see all of the extra ways to make the job easier.

Thank you so much - I am trying to teach my son how to do this, and your video is a big help. You would make an excellent teacher!

@ejones777 my pleasure. Glad it helped to make things a little easier for you. All the best.

A huge help. Thank you for such a clear, simple and safe instruction video

Thank you this is so awesome to see how easy it is. I'm one of those who learns by watching.

Great tip using the tape to help keep the shards together & not flying through the air. Very well done video & instructions and comments extremely helpful. Thanks!

This video was awesome, exactly what I needed. I will try this weekend. Thank you for sharing!

I will be doing my first with more confidence because you took the time to share the knowledge. Thank you very much.

Went 99% well , the last brad was being nailed in when you guessed it !! I tapped the glass with the hammer !!. Had to do it all over.,. but it worked out fine..The glazier gave me a tip, when tapping in the brads, slid the hammer along the glass.. Many thanks for your vid. I'll trawl thru the others now !!, Cheers from Down Under ...

G'day from Melbourne Australia, Thanks for a great vid. i'm off to fix my broken window now !!

Yep, follow his steps and you can get the job done. Thanks for this video, good advice.

Michael, thank you for posting this video. I was stumped as to how the replacement glass was installed. One question, though: won't using nails make it more difficult to remove the molding if the glass breaks again and needs to be replaced? Isn't the pressure created by the four molding pieces on each other be sufficient to hold the glass in place? Or would an adhesive allow you to remove and replace the molding if need be? Thank you for your help.

@dustybeijing You're welcome!

@dramaflirt89 Glad to help. Be careful! Glass can get in your eye if you don't stay on top of it. Go slow and stay focused. Let me know how it turns out.

Excellent video! Learning from a video made 9 years ago! Thank you so much!

Great video and thanks for posting, but one important thing to mention/stress is that antique-ish doors just have the removable moldings on one side ... usually the inside. That is the side one wants to focus their efforts in popping out the moldings. One can waste a lot of effort and damage the permanent/built-in molding by trying in vain to remove it and instead ripping into the door. A novice would not know this and I found out the hard way. Thanks again though for the helpful tips.

Thank you! I kept finding videos about glazing/glazed windows but my simple single pane glass windows on my garage doors don't have any of that, just the molding wood and painted. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use window glaze when setting the glass into the window first like shown on This Old House glazed windows or not before putting in the window molding. Cheers!~

Thank you!! I have 20 of these to do. VERY helpful!

@GabrielEnck You're very welcome. Come back and visit from time to time. Building a treasure box out of a log chunk with my son today! Will post in just a bit.

I have the exact same door! and one section broke. I am going to be able to fix this myself so I THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Excellent. Super clear and thorough. Thanks!

So glad I watched this going to try and get the molding off in one piece now, I had resigned myself to having to break it!

Bronco? That's a badass name and I'm a Charger fan. Also great video just what I needed to know Thanks

I'm so glad I found your video. That's just like my door (1957 built house) Question: how do you measure for the glass? The empty space between the frame is approximately 7.5x11. Thanks.

Michael! thanks a ton! about to get started right now. That porch looks pretty much exactly like ours.

Realy great detail on the trim removal! Thank you. Subscribed now.

Just wanted to say thank you for making this video. It was very helpful.

Nice job I’ve been doing this kind of work for 35yrs i would not change a thing.

Michael, Excellent job very thorough... Thanks!

Thanks man! Good how to video. I’m still struggling with getting that first piece of molding out, but your double pry technique should do the trick.

@Pengo115 Thank you. That means a lot to me. I am a teacher of sorts - I teach handyman skills, native American crafts and I also coach boys for sports conditioning. I guess that's where it all comes from. Glad I'm helping you teach your son. Good job.

Glad you didn't destroy the molding. tough to Replace. Just go slow with the push/pull technique. If it's dry, try rubbing some linseed oil and allow it to absorb into the wood first.

Thanks for this video. I cracked the first molding piece but I think it’s still useable.

Fantastic, thanks for this video! I just cut around and got the first piece of molding to pop out, proof-of-concept - I'm going to be able to do it and save myself money and headaches (and learn something...)

Thanks for posting this video. While there's plenty of info out there about putty-glazed windows, there's not a lot about windows with wood molding. I've got weathered, 80-year-old pane windows with mitered molding. I'm about to take them apart, clean them up, and put them back together. So I'm trying to figure out how to do it right. We get a lot of weather here -- strong sun, lots of freeze-thaw cycles, lots of rain, lots of condensation running down the inside of the window. I've been thinking of using a bead of linseed-based putty front and back to create a seal between the glass on both sides and the (primed) wood (instead of the acryl caulk). Have any words of wisdom for me on this approach?

Glad it helped. Just be sure to work that glazing good so it doesn't have any lumps in it. Then take your time and put some pressure on it as you work.

Very helpful even 9 years later 👍 thanks dude

Thanks for this! This video helped me replace a broken pane in a 1950's door!

this was awesome, man - thanks!

Thanks Michael - really well explained - great video !!!

Typically the exterior is the one to remove. Inside is permanent. I suggest drawing a picture of the window and labeling the diagram: L/top R/lower, etc..Then remove one window at a time and mark each piece so you know where it goes. Wrap once with masking tape and label the tape to correspond with the diagram. Measure each window carefully and have the guys at the hardware cut and wrap each piece so you can label the wrap. Pretty good bet that the windows will be slightly different.

Thank for providing such good instructions. Very helpful!

Clear and thorough. Thanks for the video.

very good..please do more (old) home improvements and repairs..you tell it like it is! Thank You.

This is exactly what I needed! Thank you alot for sharing!

Thanks, I have been looking for a video to show me how to remove the wooden stops. Mine are moldy and need to be replaced and or cleaned up.

Excellent Video! I'm going to attempt to replace a pane today - Thanks 👍!

Excellent video! Thanks Michael!

You just saved me a ton of money. Thank you!

Willow Star, glad it helped. Hope it saves you lots of time.