A window schedule, pane by pane: what the quote covers
Every pane we measure on a North Shore house, unit or office gets its own line: where it is, the glass, what bothers you about it and what must not change. The quote is written from those lines, and each line is priced on how much glass it has, the film it needs and how hard it is to reach.
What goes on one line
Mark a pane on the drawing and you write the first part of its line: the side, the pane and the reason. We write the rest standing at that pane.
The line, as you mark it
- W8Garden side, stacker door 2: Fade
The same line, after the measure
- W8Garden side, stacker door 2: Fade
Clear double glazing. From the floor. Garden view kept. 3M film named on the quote.
| Part | How it is written | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Number | W8In the order we walk the house. The quote, the install and any question later all say W8, so nobody has to describe which door. | We write it |
| Side | Garden sideStreet side or garden side. In a unit or an office, the level and the room. | You mark it |
| Pane | Stacker door 2In the words you use for it: front bay, left sash; sidelight, left of the door; study window. Doors are counted along the wall, so door 2 stays door 2. | You mark it |
| Reason | FadeHeat, fade, glare, privacy or keep the look. Offices add frosting. | You mark it |
| Glass | Clear, double glazedChecked at the pane. It decides which films suit it. | We write it |
| Size | Width and heightTaken on the glass inside the frame, because that is what the film covers. | We write it |
| Access | From the floorOr a ladder, a platform over a stair void, or a lift booking in a unit block. | We write it |
| Keep | The view to the gardenWhat must not change. Any film that would take it away is off the list for this pane. | Together |
| Film | 3M film, namedChosen for this pane on its own. Or "leave as is", when film is the wrong answer for that glass. | We write it |
| Note | Leadlight: look on the measureOnly on leadlight, obscure and patterned panes. Nothing is promised for them until the glass has been looked at in person. | We write it |
What moves the price of a line
We do not publish prices, because an average house tells you little about yours. Three parts of each line decide what it costs.
Glass area
The sizes on every line add up to the glass on the job. Two stacker doors hold several bedroom sashes' worth of glass, so the doors usually carry most of a back-of-house quote.
The film each pane needs
Films differ, and so does what they cost. A clear film on the stacker doors, a heavier one on the skylight and a privacy film on the bathroom pane are three different lines, not one price for the house.
Access
A sash you can reach from the floor is quick to set up. A skylight above the kitchen, a highlight window above a stair void or a unit that needs the lift booked takes more, and the line says so.
One house, front and back, on a schedule
A Federation street front with a glass pavilion added at the back is a familiar North Shore house, and it needs every kind of line. This example is drawn for this page, not taken from a customer's house. The quote follows the schedule line by line, so each pane's share is plain and you choose which lines go ahead.
Example schedule
How it reads on the quote
- W1Street side, front bay, left sash: Keep the look
- W2Street side, front bay, centre sash: Keep the look
- W3Street side, front bay, right sash: Keep the look
One low-reflective film on three sashes, so the house front is unchanged from the footpath. Their price follows their glass area.
- W4Street side, front bay, centre highlight: Glare
Leadlight: we look at this pane on the measure. Film is not promised.
- W5Street side, sidelight, left of the door: Privacy
Leadlight: we look at this pane on the measure. Film is not promised.
Leadlight. The quote says what we would do with each after seeing it, and leaving one untouched is a real answer.
- W6Garden side, skylight over the pavilion: Heat, Glare
A small pane with a heavier film and a ladder to reach it. Both show on the line, which is why it can come close to a door's.
- W7Garden side, stacker door 1: Fade
- W8Garden side, stacker door 2: Fade
The most glass on the schedule. Area does most of the work here.
- W9Garden side, study window, left: Glare
A glare film chosen for the screen. It need not match the doors.
- W10Garden side, bathroom, obscure glass: Privacy
Obscure glass: we look at this pane on the measure.
Privacy film checked against the pattern in the glass on the day.
The same schedule in a unit or an office
The line keeps its parts. What changes is how a pane is found, and what goes in the access column.
A house
Lines follow the side of the house. Access is about height: ladders, stair voids, skylights and highlight windows. St Ives, Pymble and Wahroonga are mostly houses, so this is the usual schedule up the Ku-ring-gai ridge.
- W2Street side, front bedroom, lower sash: Privacy
An apartment
Lines follow the level and the room. Lift bookings and the building's rules for trades go in the access column, so the install day is planned around them. The film for each pane is listed, which gives a strata committee something specific to look at. Unit blocks cluster around the stations at Chatswood, St Leonards, North Sydney, Gordon and Lindfield.
- W1Level 6, living room, balcony door, left: Heat
An office
Lines follow the floor and the face, down to each bay of the curtain wall, then each panel of a meeting-room wall. Access means the building manager: when trades may work, and where they park and unload.
- W4Level 3, west face, bay 2: Heat, Glare
What a quote without a schedule gets wrong
Priced from a photo
A photo cannot show the glass type, the size inside the frame or how the pane is reached. A number worked out from one tends to move once someone is standing at the window.
High glass left off
The skylight or the stair-void window nobody wrote down turns up on install day, with the question of how to reach it.
Two panes on one line
Both stacker doors get one film. If one faces west and the other sits under the eave, one of them has the wrong film for its glass.
Leadlight quoted unseen
A price for film on leaded glass, given before anyone has looked at the lead and the texture, is a promise nobody has checked.
Before we come to measure
Mark the panes on the drawing and your schedule comes with the booking. If you would rather describe them in the form, write them the way you would say them and we turn them into lines at the house.
The measure is where the rest of each line is filled in, so a little preparation makes it quicker for you.
Worth having ready
- Which rooms bother you, and at what time of day or year
- What must stay: the view, the street look, the daylight
- In a unit: the by-laws, and who books the lift
- In an office: the building manager's details and any fitout rules
- A clear path to each window, with furniture eased back from the glass
Questions about the schedule and the quote
Can you price the job from photos?
Photos help us picture the house before we arrive. They cannot show the glass type, the size inside the frame or how a pane is reached, and those three set the price. The quote comes from the measure.
Why can a small skylight cost as much as a big door?
Overhead glass needs a ladder or a platform, drop sheets over whatever sits below it, and usually a heavier film than the doors. Each of those shows on its line.
Can I go ahead with only some of the lines?
Yes. Each line stands on its own, so you can start with the study window and leave the rest. A schedule with a single pane on it is still a job we will measure.
What happens if I remember another window after the quote?
It gets the next number on the schedule and a line of its own. Tell us when you book the install, or on the day.
Does double glazing change the line?
The glass part of the line records it. Some double-glazed and laminated units only suit certain films, and the line names the one chosen for that glass.
What does "keep the look" mean on a line?
That pane gets a low-reflective film, so from outside the glass still reads as plain glass. We suggest it for street fronts, where the house should look as it always has.
Can I show the schedule to my strata committee?
Yes. It lists every pane and the film on it, which is the detail a committee needs to consider. Ask for the quote before the committee meets and take the schedule with it.