For glazing contractors and storefront installers
Storefront estimating and takeoff services
Every storefront frame counted by mark, with its size, panels and glass type, the entrance doors, the hardware set and the sealant, priced line by line.
- Frames by mark and size
- Glass type on every line
- 24 to 48 hours
In short
What storefront estimating covers
Storefront estimating is the takeoff and pricing of aluminum-framed storefront systems: the frames, the glass in them, the entrance doors and their hardware, and the sealant around every opening. Each storefront is counted by its mark with its overall size, its panel sizes and its glass type, then priced. MassBid Estimation prepares storefront takeoffs and estimates for glazing contractors, storefront installers and general contractors, typically in 24 to 48 hours.
- Scope
- Storefront frames and glass, entrance doors, sliding and folding systems, door hardware, sealant
- CSI section
- 08 41 13 aluminum-framed entrances and storefronts, 08 80 00 glazing, 08 71 00 door hardware
- You send
- Plans, elevations, storefront types, door and hardware schedule, glazing schedule, specs
- You get
- Marked-up plans with every frame dotted by mark, and a priced workbook with size and glass per line
- Turnaround
- 24 to 48 hours on most projects
- Checked by
- A separate QA team, twice on every job
- Coverage
- All 50 states, priced to the project's ZIP code
- Quote
- Free, usually back in about 20 minutes
Wednesday · 4:40 PM
Seventy-two storefront windows on the plans. Three marks, two glass types, and the supplier needs panel sizes by Friday.
A storefront count is quick. A storefront quote is not, because the price is in what each frame is made of: the overall size, how it is divided into panels, which lites are tempered, which are spandrel, and which system and finish the specification names.
The same opening size can carry two glass types on one building, and the entrance doors bring a hardware set of their own. A count by mark with nothing behind it cannot be sent to a supplier.
Four ways a storefront bid loses money
01 · The glass
One glass price for every frame
Clear insulated, spandrel and tempered units differ in price, and safety glazing is required beside doors and near the floor.
What changes
Each mark carries its glass type from the glazing schedule, with tempered panels called out.
02 · The panels
Frames counted without their panel sizes
Glass is ordered by lite, not by opening. A frame count alone leaves the supplier to work the sizes out again.
What changes
Each frame lists its panels with size and count.
03 · The doors
Entrance doors and hardware left to the door supplier
Storefront doors and their hardware are usually by the storefront manufacturer, and are easy to drop between two trades.
What changes
Doors are counted by mark and the hardware set is listed item by item, with who furnishes it noted.
04 · The perimeter
Sealant, backer rod and shim forgotten
Every frame is sealed inside and out around its full perimeter. On a large job that is thousands of feet.
What changes
Sealant, backer rod and shim are measured in linear feet from the frame perimeters.
Then and now
What has changed in storefront estimating
A storefront used to be a frame, clear glass and a door. Four things have changed the takeoff.
Thermally broken systems
Energy codes have made thermally broken framing and insulated low-E glass the norm. The system named in the specification matters to the price.
More glass types per building
Vision, spandrel, tinted and tempered units are mixed across one elevation, so each mark has to carry its own glass.
Sliding, folding and automatic entrances
Automatic sliders, folding glass walls and pass-through windows are common and are priced as systems, often with hardware by their manufacturer.
Glass prices and lead times move
Glass and aluminum prices and lead times have been volatile, so quantities by size and type have to stand apart from the price.
Real storefront work
Sample storefront takeoffs and estimates
Pages from finished jobs: a four-story self-storage building and a senior center in Georgia, and a grocery store in North Carolina. Client names, brand names and title blocks are removed; the quantities are as delivered. Click any page to enlarge.
By mark
Storefront takeoff: doors and windows dotted by mark
Protects you fromA frame count with no marks behind it.
Upper floors
Storefront windows on the upper floors, by mark
Protects you fromSpandrel units ordered as vision glass.
Retail
Grocery store storefront and automatic door takeoff
Protects you fromInterior storefront left off an exterior count.
Priced estimate
Priced storefront estimate: frames, hardware and sealant
Protects you fromA price per opening nobody can check.
Every estimate is built to the client's own specification, so yours may be laid out differently. To see a past project in your own trade, ask for an example. Examples are finished work for other projects, not an estimate of yours; for pricing on your own job, send the drawings for a free quote.
A real storefront estimate
Storefront cost breakdown for a self-storage building
Line totals from one finished estimate: a four-story self-storage building in Georgia of about 112,500 square feet, with 72 storefront windows.
Storefront trade cost came to $319,422, or $2.84 per square foot of building. An 8 ft 8 in by 8 ft window was $3,634 installed, about $52 per square foot of opening. With general requirements and markups the bid total was $438,502.
Figures are from the delivered estimate, rounded to the dollar, with related lines combined. The per-square-foot figure is calculated from the unit price and the opening size. They are specific to that project and are not a price guide.
Real jobs, not a price list. Each figure comes from one project, priced for its own ZIP code and that client's wages, overhead and profit. Prices change by region and over time. Yours will be priced for your location.
| Item | Quantity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Storefront windows, 8'-8" x 8'-0", clear insulated | 37 EA | $134,475 |
| Storefront windows, 8'-8" x 8'-0", spandrel | 26 EA | $94,496 |
| Storefront windows, 6'-0" x 8'-0", spandrel | 9 EA | $22,637 |
| Exterior sliding doors, four-panel | 2 EA | $21,380 |
| Storefront door pairs | 5 EA | $21,195 |
| Door hardware | $10,746 | |
| Sealant, backer rod and shim | 5,074 LF | $8,059 |
| Storefront frames at entrances | 5 EA | $6,433 |
| Storefront trade cost | $319,422 |
Building somewhere else? See figures from jobs in Texas, California, Florida and other service areas.
Full sample
Read a full sample, page by page
Storefront and glazing, from a finished job: a equipment rental building, 10,500 sq ft in North Carolina. Open it full screen, scroll through all 4 pages and zoom in on any line.
This is one real job, shown as an example. It was built to that client's own specification: their wage rates, labor style, type of pricing, and overhead and profit. Prices also change by region and over time, so yours will be priced for your location.
Want a current sample in your own trade or specialty, or have a question? Use the contact form, email [email protected] or call (832) 356-4237.
Who it is for
Storefront estimating for glazing contractors, glass shops and general contractors
Glazing contractors
A count by mark with sizes, glass and hardware, priced and ready to send to your supplier.
Glazing estimatingCurtain wall installers
Storefront taken off alongside curtain wall where a building has both.
Curtain wall estimatingDoor and hardware suppliers
Entrance doors and hardware sets separated from the framing.
Doors and hardwareGeneral contractors
An independent storefront number to check a glazing quote, or to carry when none comes in.
GC estimating
Storefront scopes we take off
- Aluminum storefront framing
- Insulated and low-E glass
- Spandrel and tinted glass
- Tempered and safety glazing
- Storefront entrance doors
- Sidelites and transoms
- Automatic sliding entrances
- Folding glass walls
- Pass-through windows
- Interior storefront
- Storefront door hardware
- Sealant and backer rod
Pricing data
Where the prices come from
Quantities are priced from our own pricing database, built with local vendors across the United States. The estimator enters the project's ZIP code and gets current material prices for that market.
Material prices change from region to region and from month to month, so a price book or a national average is out of date before the bid goes in.
Priced by ZIP code
Current local material prices for the place the job is built, not a national average.
Updated by vendors
Local vendors update their prices in the database as they change.
Labor as you bid it
Union, open shop, or Davis-Bacon and prevailing wage rates with fringes.
How it works
From drawings to a finished storefront estimate
Send the drawings
Plans, elevations, storefront and window types, the door and hardware schedule, the glazing schedule, the Division 08 specification and addenda.
Free quote
We review the set and reply with a quote and a delivery date, usually within about 20 minutes.
Count, size, price and two QA reviews
Every frame is dotted by mark, sized and given its glass type; doors, hardware and sealant are added. A separate QA team checks the counts against the schedules, then the priced estimate.
Delivery and revisions
The package typically arrives within 24 to 48 hours. Addenda and revisions are free, with no limit and no time limit, and are handled on priority.
The work is done in-house by more than 20 estimators, typically with 7 to 10 years of industry experience.
What it costs
Storefront estimating prices
- Single project
- From $199. Simple scopes typically run $100 to $250.
- Larger buildings
- Typically $200 to $500. Large or multi-building projects are quoted individually.
- Monthly plan
- From $1,499 for 10 to 15 projects, for glazing contractors who bid every week.
Every job is quoted individually from the drawings, and the quote is free. See all pricing
After delivery
An editable Excel workbook and free revisions
- Formulas built in
An Excel workbook you can change yourself
The estimate arrives as an editable Excel workbook with the formulas built in. Change a quantity, a rate or a markup and every total follows. Move overhead and profit from 25% to 30% and the whole bid recalculates on the spot.
- No waiting
Adjust your bid at the last minute
If something changes just before the deadline, you do not have to send the estimate back and wait. Open the workbook, change the number and submit. The control stays with you.
- Priority turnaround
Free revisions, with no limit
Addenda, scope changes and pricing updates are all free, however many times you come back, and there is no time limit. Revisions are handled on priority and typically come back within an hour to a few hours.
Questions
Storefront estimating FAQ
It is the takeoff and pricing of aluminum-framed storefront: the frames, glass, entrance doors, hardware and sealant. Each frame is counted by mark with its size, panels and glass type, and unit prices are applied to produce an estimate a glazing contractor can bid from.
Storefront frames by mark and overall size, the panel sizes in each, the glass type, entrance doors, sidelites and transoms, sliding or folding systems, the door hardware set, and sealant, backer rod and shim in linear feet.
Storefront is a lighter system that sits between the floor and the structure above, usually one story high. Curtain wall is a heavier system that hangs outside the structure and can span several floors. They are priced differently, so each is taken off on its own lines.
Yes. Each frame's panels are listed with size and count, and tempered or spandrel lites are identified, so the glass can be ordered from the takeoff.
Yes. Doors are counted by mark, and the hardware set is listed item by item with a note of who furnishes it. On one storage building the storefront hardware set came to ten hinges, ten push-pulls, ten closers and five locksets, thresholds and weatherstrips.
It depends on the system, glass and size. On one self-storage building we estimated, an 8 ft 8 in by 8 ft insulated storefront window was $3,634 installed, about $52 per square foot of opening, before markups.
08 41 13 Aluminum-Framed Entrances and Storefronts. Glazing is 08 80 00 and door hardware 08 71 00.
Yes. This page shows a full sample from a finished job (storefront and glazing, for a equipment rental building, 10,500 sq ft in North Carolina), which you can open full screen and read page by page. It was built to that client's own specification, so the wage rates, pricing and overhead and profit are theirs. Ask us for a current sample in your own trade.
From our own pricing database, built with local vendors across the United States. An estimator enters the project's ZIP code and gets current material prices for that market, and vendors update their prices as they change. Labor is priced as union or open shop, or at Davis-Bacon rates with fringes on government work.
Yes. The estimate is delivered as an editable Excel workbook with the formulas built in. Change any quantity, rate or markup and the whole estimate recalculates. If overhead and profit was set at 25% and you want 30%, change that one cell and every total updates, so you can adjust your number minutes before the bid is due without sending it back to us.
As many as you need. Every revision is free, including addenda, scope changes and pricing updates, however many times you come back, and there is no time limit. Revisions are handled on priority and are typically returned within an hour to a few hours, depending on the size of the change.
A single project starts at $199, and simple scopes typically run $100 to $250. Larger buildings typically run $200 to $500. The quote is free and usually comes back in about 20 minutes.
Yes. Every estimate is built to the client's own specification. Send your unit prices or template and the package is returned that way, or order the count alone.
Related services and service areas
Have a storefront bid due? Send the drawings.
Free quote in about 20 minutes. Storefront takeoffs and estimates typically in 24 to 48 hours, built to your format, with free revisions with no limit. Based in Houston and estimating glazing in all 50 states.