Plexiglass & Acrylic Cut to Size
Storm-door lites, basement and shed sash, table tops, well covers, display panels. Cut to your dimensions at our Garfield glass shop — or bring us the broken piece and let the sixteenth of an inch be our problem instead of yours.
Most places that sell you plastic sheet sell you a sheet. You measure, you order, and if the number was off by a sixteenth you own an expensive rectangle that does not fit. We are a working glass shop with a counter — the same one that cuts annealed, tempered and laminated glass, re-meshes screens, and fabricates insulated units. Carry the storm door, the sash, or the broken panel in and we cut the replacement off the real thing.
And when the opening is hung, up high, or there are eight of them, we come to you, measure, cut and fit — quoted before anything is cut. Same crew, same NJ Home Improvement Contractor registration, same insurance as the glass and window work.
The jobs plastic is right for
Storm door or screen door panel
Most commonThe bottom lite in a storm door is the piece that gets kicked, blown shut, and broken most often — and on many doors it was acrylic to begin with. Bring the door or just the panel frame; we pull the old glazing, cut the new sheet to the channel, and set it. If the door is hung and awkward to move, we come measure it in place.
Basement, garage, shed and barn sash
ImpactLow sash near a driveway or a ballfield breaks on a schedule. This is the clearest case for acrylic over glass: it takes an impact that would shatter a pane, and in a basement hopper it removes the broken-glass hazard entirely. We cut to the sash rabbet and can re-glaze the sash while it is on the counter.
Window well and egress well covers
PolycarbonateWell covers get walked on, snow-loaded, and hit by branches, so these get polycarbonate rather than acrylic — it flexes instead of cracking. Cut to the well, with the caveat we put on every plastic glazing job: a cover is an 8 to 15 year part, not a permanent one.
Interior storm window inserts
Whole houseA custom-measured acrylic panel that presses into the existing window opening from inside — the quietest and warmest thing you can do to a window you are not replacing. This is the one acrylic job that is a whole-house project rather than a counter sale. See interior storm inserts.
Table tops and desk protectors
Cut & edgedLighter than glass, will not shatter if a chair goes over, and safer around kids — the trade is that acrylic scratches where glass does not. Bring the dimensions or a template for a shaped top. Ask for the edge finish you want; a saw-cut edge and a finished edge do not look the same.
Cabinet, hutch and display case panels
Cut & edgedChina cabinet doors, curio backs, display cases, retail fixtures. Thin acrylic is the practical choice for anything you have to lift, ship, or hang on a hinge that was never sized for glass.
Picture frame and art glazing
LightweightLarge frames get heavy and dangerous in glass. Acrylic glazing cuts the weight by more than half and will not come down in shards off a wall — the standard choice for oversized pieces and for anything hanging over a bed or a crib.
Pet door panels and machine guards
CustomSliding-door pet panels, workshop machine guards, equipment shields. Cut to your measurements, with holes and cutouts where you need them.
Counter shields and food-service guards
CommercialPermanent food-service guards, register shields, and partition panels for shops and offices — cut, edged, and drilled for your brackets.
Temporary glazing after a break-in or a storm
24/7When an opening has to be closed tonight and the real glass is days out, acrylic or polycarbonate buys you a secure, weathertight, see-through window instead of a sheet of plywood. Our emergency trucks already carry laminated polycarbonate for exactly this.
Greenhouse, porch and sunroom panels
SeasonalPorch enclosure panels, greenhouse glazing, and three-season room infill where glass is too heavy or too fragile for the frame that has to hold it.
Acrylic vs. polycarbonate vs. glass
How to chooseAcrylic is clearer, cheaper, and scratches less than polycarbonate; polycarbonate is close to unbreakable and costs several times more; glass beats both on scratch resistance and long-term clarity and is the default unless something about the opening argues otherwise. Tell us where the panel is going and we will tell you which one it should be — including when the answer is glass.
Where we won't sell you acrylic
One rule, and we apply it the same way whether it costs us the sale or not: glass by default; plastic where the failure mode is impact or weight; never overhead, never on a roof.
Skylights and anything overhead
Plastic skylight domes yellow, haze and turn brittle in roughly 7 to 10 years, because a roof dome sits unshaded at maximum UV all day and thermally cycles every night. Aged acrylic domes are one of the most common skylights we replace outright, and there is no cleaning that back to clear. If you have a yellowed dome, we are not going to sell you another one. Here is what we do instead.
Anywhere the building code calls for safety glazing
Doors, tub and shower enclosures, and glazing near walking surfaces have code requirements that plastic sheet does not satisfy the way tempered or laminated glass does. If your opening is one of those, we will tell you and cut glass instead.
South-facing picture windows you want clear in 20 years
Acrylic is a long-life material vertically and in shade, but it is not glass. For a big, permanent, sun-facing opening you intend to look through for decades, glass is the right answer and we would rather say so before you buy.
Plexiglass questions
Do you cut plexiglass while I wait?
Usually, yes — straight cuts to size on stock thicknesses are counter work at our Garfield shop. Shaped pieces, drilled holes, and polished edges take longer, and an odd thickness or color may have to be ordered. Call before you drive over with the measurements and we will tell you honestly whether it is a wait or a pickup.
Can I bring in the sash or the storm door and have you size it off the real thing?
Yes, and this is the part worth driving for. Ordering plastic online means the cut is only as good as the number you measured, and a sixteenth of an inch either way is the difference between a panel that drops in and one that does not. Bring the door, the sash, or the broken piece and the tolerance becomes our problem instead of yours.
What is the difference between plexiglass, acrylic, Lexan and polycarbonate?
Plexiglass and Lexan are brand names that became generic terms. Plexiglass is acrylic; Lexan is polycarbonate. Acrylic is clearer, cheaper, and holds a better finish. Polycarbonate is dramatically more impact resistant and costs several times more, which is why it belongs on well covers, security glazing, and anything that gets hit. Both are sold as clear plastic sheet and people use the words interchangeably — tell us what the panel has to survive and we will pick the material.
Will the cut edge be clear or milky?
A saw-cut edge comes off the blade milky — that is normal and it is what a plain cut-to-size price gets you anywhere. It does not matter at all when the edge is buried in a sash channel, a door frame, or a bracket, which is most jobs. When the edge will be visible, like a table top, ask for it finished and we will quote that as part of the piece. Ask up front so nobody is surprised at pickup.
How thick should the plexiglass be?
Rule of thumb: 1/8 inch for small panels, cabinet doors, and picture framing; 1/4 inch for storm-door lites, basement sash, table tops, and anything spanning more than a couple of feet; thicker or polycarbonate for well covers, security applications, and anything that takes weight or impact. Span matters as much as the job — a wide unsupported panel in thin sheet will bow.
Is plexiglass cheaper than glass?
For ordinary window sizes in thin sheet, it is usually in the same range or a little cheaper, and the real saving is that it does not break on the way home. Polycarbonate is the expensive one — several times the price of acrylic — so a Lexan panel typically costs more than the glass it replaces. We quote both when it is a close call.
Will it yellow?
Vertically, in a wall or a door, modern acrylic holds up for a long time. Overhead on a roof it does not, and we say so plainly on our skylight page: plastic domes go yellow, hazy and brittle in about 7 to 10 years under full sun. Window well covers and other exposed horizontal plastic are 8 to 15 year parts. Plastic glazing is a good answer in the right opening and a poor one in the wrong opening, and we will tell you which one you have.
Can you come measure and install it, or is this counter only?
Both. Counter cutting is the cheaper path if you can carry the piece in. If the opening is awkward, up high, in a hung door, or there are several of them, we come out, measure, cut, and fit — quoted before any work starts. Same crew and the same NJ Home Improvement Contractor registration that does the glass and window work.
While the piece is on the counter
Most plastic jobs arrive attached to something else. A broken storm-door lite usually comes in with a torn screen in the same trip; a basement sash worth re-glazing is often worth repairing rather than replacing; and if what you actually want is quiet, the answer is interior storm inserts rather than a loose panel. We look at all of it in one stop.
Glass already broken with weather coming in? That is the 24/7 emergency line, not a counter visit — we board it, secure it, and come back with the real glazing.
Bring us the broken piece
Plexiglass, acrylic and polycarbonate cut to size at 163 Midland Ave, Garfield — or measured and fitted at your house anywhere in North Jersey. NJHIC #13VH13970900, fully insured.