For glazing contractors, installers and window suppliers
Window estimating and takeoff services
Every window counted by type from the plans and the window schedule, with its size, operation, frame, finish and glass, priced line by line.
- Counted by type and size
- Glass and operation on every line
- 24 to 48 hours
In short
What window estimating covers
Window estimating is the takeoff and pricing of a building's windows from the plans, elevations and window schedule: fixed, single-hung and operable aluminum windows, interior and hollow-metal windows, and the glass, finish and sealant each one needs. Every window is counted by its type or mark with its size, operation, frame and glazing, then priced. MassBid Estimation prepares window takeoffs and estimates for glazing contractors, window installers, suppliers and general contractors, typically in 24 to 48 hours.
- Scope
- Fixed and operable aluminum windows, storefront-framed windows, interior windows, glass, sealant
- CSI section
- 08 51 13 aluminum windows, 08 50 00 windows, 08 80 00 glazing
- You send
- Plans, elevations, window schedule and types, glazing notes, specs and addenda
- You get
- Marked-up plans or elevations with every window dotted by type, and a priced workbook
- 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
Monday · 1:30 PM
Twelve window types on the schedule. Thirty of one, one each of five others, and two that are twenty feet wide.
Window counts go wrong in two ways. Types that look alike get merged, and the big units get counted as one window when they cost as much as six. The schedule gives the sizes; the plans and elevations give the count; the notes give the glass.
A supplier needs all three on one line. So does anyone checking the number.
Four ways a window bid loses money
01 · The types
Similar windows merged into one type
Two windows the same width and a few inches apart in height are different units with different prices.
What changes
Every type on the schedule is counted separately and listed with its exact size.
02 · The glass
Tempered and insulated glass assumed
Safety glazing near doors and floors, and the insulated makeup, are in notes that a count from the elevation never reads.
What changes
Glass type is taken from the schedule and glazing notes and written on each line.
03 · The operation
Fixed and operable priced alike
A single-hung or casement window costs more than a fixed lite of the same size, and has hardware and screens.
What changes
Operation, manufacturer series and frame are carried in the description.
04 · The interior
Interior windows left off
Hollow-metal borrowed lites and interior glazed openings are on the interior plans, not the elevations.
What changes
Interior windows are counted from the plans as their own group.
Then and now
What has changed in window estimating
Windows used to be counted from the elevation and priced each. Four things have changed the takeoff.
Energy codes
U-factor and solar heat gain requirements mean the glass makeup and frame are specified, not left to the supplier.
Safety and impact glazing
Tempered, laminated and impact-rated units are required in more locations and have to be identified window by window.
Larger units
Wide fixed window walls are common even on small buildings. One of them can be a tenth of the window budget.
Lead times
Window lead times have lengthened, so exact counts by type and size are needed at bid, not after award.
Real window work
Sample window takeoffs and estimates
Pages from finished jobs: a two-story childcare building, a dental office and a five-story hotel in Georgia, and a school addition in South Carolina. Client names, brand names and title blocks are removed; the quantities are as delivered. Click any page to enlarge.
By type
Window takeoff by type on two floor plans
Protects you fromTwelve styles counted as three.
Elevations
Hotel window count on the elevations
Protects you fromA floor of windows missed.
By mark
Exterior and interior windows by mark on a floor plan
Protects you fromInterior windows nobody counted.
Priced estimate
Priced window estimate, style by style
Protects you fromA window allowance with no schedule behind it.
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 window estimate
Window cost breakdown for a two-story childcare building
Line totals from one finished estimate: a two-story childcare building in Georgia of about 10,750 square feet, with fixed aluminum windows in twelve styles.
Windows came to $118,696 of a $165,179 glazing estimate. The commonest unit, 4 ft 8 in by 8 ft 2 in, was $1,999 installed, about $52 per square foot of opening. Two window walls over 22 ft wide were $24,206 between them, a fifth of the window cost. With doors, hardware, general requirements and markups the bid total was $226,757.
Figures are from the delivered estimate, rounded to the dollar, with the smallest styles 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed window, 4'-8" x 8'-2" | 30 EA | $59,956 |
| Fixed window wall, 26'-6" x 10'-5" | 1 EA | $13,369 |
| Fixed window, 6'-0" x 8'-2" | 5 EA | $12,839 |
| Fixed window wall, 22'-2" x 9'-4" | 1 EA | $10,837 |
| Fixed window, 4'-8" x 8'-4" | 2 EA | $4,077 |
| Fixed window, 4'-8" x 7'-6" | 2 EA | $3,671 |
| Fixed window, 6'-8" x 10'-5" | 1 EA | $3,642 |
| Five smaller styles | 7 EA | $7,851 |
| Interior hollow-metal windows | 4 EA | $2,454 |
| Windows | 53 EA | $118,696 |
Building somewhere else? See figures from jobs in Texas, California, Florida and other service areas.
Full sample
Read a full sample, page by page
We do not have a sample for exactly this scope online yet. This is the closest one. Storefront, doors and windows, from a finished job: a automotive service building, 5,600 sq ft in Kentucky. Open it full screen, scroll through all 5 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
Window estimating for glazing contractors, installers and suppliers
Glazing contractors
A count by type with size and glass, priced and ready for a supplier quote.
Glazing estimatingWindow suppliers and dealers
Counts only, by type and size, in the format you quote from.
Supplier takeoffsHome builders
Windows counted with the rest of the house, by elevation.
Residential estimatingGeneral contractors
An independent window number to check a quote, or to carry when none comes in.
GC estimating
Window scopes we take off
- Fixed aluminum windows
- Single- and double-hung
- Casement and awning
- Sliding windows
- Storefront-framed windows
- Window walls
- Vinyl and wood windows
- Interior windows
- Hollow-metal borrowed lites
- Insulated and low-E glass
- Tempered safety glazing
- 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 window estimate
Send the drawings
Plans, elevations, the window schedule and window types, glazing notes, 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, describe, price and two QA reviews
Every window is dotted by type and counted; size, operation, frame and glass are taken from the schedule. A separate QA team checks the counts against the schedule, 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
Window 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 contractors and suppliers 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
Window estimating FAQ
It is the takeoff and pricing of a building's windows. Each window is counted by type from the plans and elevations, described from the window schedule with its size, operation, frame and glass, and priced to produce an estimate a glazing contractor or supplier can bid from.
The count of each window type, its size, operation, frame material and finish, the glass makeup, any safety glazing, interior windows, and sealant, backer rod and shim in linear feet.
Both. Windows are dotted on whichever shows them most clearly, usually the elevations for repeated floors and the plans for low buildings, and the count is checked against the window schedule.
Yes. Safety glazing is taken from the schedule and glazing notes and written on the line, since it changes the price of the unit.
Yes. Hollow-metal borrowed lites and interior glazed openings are counted from the interior plans as their own group.
It depends on size, operation and glass. On one childcare building we estimated, a fixed aluminum window 4 ft 8 in by 8 ft 2 in with insulated tempered glass was $1,999 installed, about $52 per square foot, before markups.
08 50 00 Windows, with aluminum windows at 08 51 13, wood at 08 52 00 and vinyl at 08 53 13. Glazing is 08 80 00.
Yes. This page shows a full sample from a finished job (storefront, doors and windows, for a automotive service building, 5,600 sq ft in Kentucky), which you can open full screen and read page by page. It is the closest sample we have online for this scope. 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.
Have a window bid due? Send the drawings.
Free quote in about 20 minutes. Window 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.