The tiled opening looks square until your level says otherwise. A glazier shower glass quote must follow the finished opening, not the bathroom drawing or the client's rough dimensions.
Survey the surfaces that will remain. Turn those measurements into an approved enclosure specification. Price the whole job. Do not release custom glass until every order-critical detail is signed off.
Confirm the enclosure scope before booking the site measure
Start with the work the client expects. A photo does not tell you whether the job is supply only, survey and supply, supply and install, or removal and replacement.
Record the client, site address, room, opening reference and person authorized to approve the work. Ask for current drawings and clear photos. Write down the proposed layout: fixed panel, door, return panel, tub screen or another arrangement.
Name who chooses the visible finish. Then name who chooses the hardware layout. Those are separate decisions. A client may choose a finish while you select compatible hinges, clamps and support.
Check that the opening is ready
Require written confirmation that the curb, tub or shower base, tile, wall panels, flooring and adjacent fixtures are complete, in their final positions and staying in place. Do not book the final site measure without it.
Take fabrication measurements from finished surfaces that will remain during installation. If the opening is unfinished, do not promise fixed glass dimensions.
Issue a conditional estimate instead. State that the final price and specification depend on a shower glass survey after the opening is complete. An estimate gives the client a planning figure without pretending that unknown dimensions are settled.
Set the work boundary
Write down whether you are removing an old enclosure. State who disposes of it. State whether tile repair, waterproofing, wall repair, painting and cleaning beyond the immediate installation area are excluded.
If another contractor controls the bathroom, identify who must confirm site readiness. Use the renovation pre-start checklist to settle access, finished surfaces and outstanding trade work before you book the final survey.
Build one shower glass survey record
One enclosure needs one controlled survey record. Loose dimensions in text messages are how panel labels, units and fixing notes get separated.
Set a datum on the sketch. Mark the wet side, dry side, inside and outside. Show the door handing and opening direction. Give every panel a stable label and carry that label through the sketch, drawing, quote and supplier order.
Take shower screen measurements where the system sits
Build the survey sheet around the points that control the enclosure:
- Widths at each relevant glass or hardware plane.
- Heights at each panel edge.
- Diagonals or verified angles.
- Curb or tub profile.
- Falls and bows.
- Hinge and clamp positions.
- Obstruction clearances.
- Door-swing limits.
Mark where each measurement was taken. If the tiled opening is narrower at the top than at the curb, record both dimensions instead of averaging away the problem.
Put the measurement unit beside every dimension. Canadian jobs can arrive with metric drawings, imperial site notes or both. Never convert silently. Mark the original measurement and any controlled conversion.
Keep three kinds of dimensions separate
Use a panel schedule to show how the field record became an order. Give each panel these fields:
- Datum.
- Original field measurement.
- Controlled conversion.
- System clearance or deduction source.
- Fabrication dimension.
- Edge processing.
- Hole or notch coordinates.
- Orientation.
- Revision.
- Supplier confirmation.
Never overwrite the original field measurement with the fabrication dimension. Do not treat an old deduction or supplier rule as universal; record the source used for the selected glass and hardware system.
Tie photographs to the sketch
Take one wide photo and labelled close photos of each wall, corner, fixing line, curb or tub edge, obstruction and measuring point. Put the photo references on the survey sketch so the installer can match each image to the recorded condition.
Inspect fixings, movement and the carrying route
The panel can fit the opening and still fail as a job. The hardware needs a suitable fixing condition. The door needs room to move. The largest panel needs a safe route into the bathroom.
Record the known wall build-up. Note masonry, framing, board, tile backer and any known reinforcement. Mark unknown substrate conditions as unknown. Do not quietly price them as standard fixing work.
If the proposed hinge line crosses finished tile but nobody can confirm backing or concealed services, stop the design there. Ask the client or contractor controlling the bathroom for available construction records. State what investigation is included and what would require a change order.
Draw the full door arc
Draw the door swing on the sketch. Test it against the vanity, faucets, toilet, towel bar, handles, sloping ceiling and raised edges.
Check the handle from both sides. Check the bottom edge against the curb and floor fall. Check whether a support bar creates another clash.
A door may clear the curb and still strike a vanity handle at full swing. Find that before you order holes and notches.
Walk the panel route
Walk from the vehicle unloading point to the bathroom. Check exterior doors, condominium corridors, elevators, stairs, landings and tight turns. Find a place to stand and handle the panel near the opening.
The largest panel may fit the shower but fail to turn through a stair landing. Record that constraint before choosing the panel layout or pricing labour.
Ask the client or property manager for condominium booking, elevator, loading and protection conditions. Put supplied conditions on the job. Add extra handling, protection, parking, access equipment and waiting time to the cost sheet where the job requires them.
Turn the survey into an orderable enclosure specification
The survey describes the room. The specification describes what will be made and installed. Keep those records separate.
For every panel, state its label, orientation and place in the layout. Mark the wall edge, meeting edge, exposed edge and bottom edge. Record the processing attached to that panel.
Specify the glass without guessing
State the agreed appearance and required product documentation. Record edge work, holes, notches, cut-outs and other processing on the controlled drawing.
Confirm code and permit requirements with the authority having jurisdiction. Then confirm the required safety-glazing identification and accepted product records with that authority and the glass supplier before releasing the order.
Do not prescribe one glass thickness, fixing method or clearance for every enclosure. Match the glass, hardware, panel dimensions, support and fixing conditions as one system.
Order-critical holes, notches and edge processing must match the approved drawing because finished safety glass generally cannot be corrected on site. Confirm the fabrication limits with the supplier, give each dimension a clear origin and check panel orientation from the stated wet or dry side.
Complete the hardware schedule
List every hinge, clamp, channel, support component, handle, seal and fixing included in the design. State the visible finish and the panel each item belongs to.
Record where sealant is included. Do not use sealant as an answer to an unsuitable fixing line, bad door movement or an unmeasured gap.
Mark every unresolved design choice as a hold. A hold is not an allowance. It means the order cannot proceed until the question has an answer.
Set a glazier hardware allowance without hiding the design
Use a glazier hardware allowance when the layout is settled but a client selection remains open. Do not use it to cover an unfinished enclosure design.
Name the assumed component schedule, finish and processing basis. Build the allowance from current supplier costs for that selection.
Show the allowance amount as a separate quote line included in the quoted price. State how a changed selection will affect hardware, processing, delivery and labour.
Replace the allowance with the approved selection before ordering. Update the drawing, cost sheet and quote if the selection changes the job.
Build the glazier shower glass quote from full job cost
Price the enclosure from labour, materials, direct job costs and markup. Marking up fabricated glass alone leaves the survey, drawing, carrying and installation work unpaid.
Cost all labour attached to the job
Include the time needed for:
- Reviewing the enquiry and booking the survey.
- Travelling and completing the survey.
- Preparing the drawing and specification.
- Resolving supplier questions and checking the order.
- Arranging delivery or collection.
- Carrying, protecting and setting up the site.
- Installing, adjusting, sealing and cleaning.
- Completing handover records.
Use your own labour cost. Base it on the people doing the work and what their time costs your business. Do not copy a market rate.
Cost materials and direct job expenses
Include fabricated glass, edge work, holes, notches and cut-outs. Add hardware, channel, support, seals, fixings, sealant and consumables.
Add delivery or collection, parking, loading bookings, elevator bookings, protection, access equipment, waste and extra handling. Show investigation or difficult access as visible cost lines when they are part of the work.
Keep estimated and actual labour, glass, hardware, delivery, access and remake costs in matching buckets. This makes cost tracking useful after installation. The glazier job-costing guide explains how to preserve those costs without hiding a remake in general materials.
Apply markup to the defined cost base
Markup is the amount added to cost to produce the selling price. Margin is profit measured against the selling price. They answer different questions.
Use a cost base that includes every item your business intends to mark up. Keep allowances visible. If you need to test the result, use the profit margin calculator with your own job figures.
> Worked example — sample currency units, not Canadian glazing rates > > Oak Street is the house electrical example. Quote Q-1847 was 1,105. Job cost was 850, so profit measured against the original quote was 255. > > Margin was 255 ÷ 1,105, or about 23%. Markup was 255 ÷ 850, or 30%. > > Extra cable and chasing became a 160 change order, taking invoice INV-1847 to 1,265. The cost of that change is not supplied, so profit cannot be calculated from the invoice total.
Put the Canadian jurisdiction on the release sheet
One enclosure can raise several separate questions. Do not send all of them to the same office.
Record the province or territory and municipality on the release sheet. Ask the applicable provincial or territorial trade-certification body whether the contractor or trade needs certification for this work. Write down the answer and the body checked.
Ask the local building authority having jurisdiction whether a building permit, trade permit or municipal inspection applies to the enclosure or wider bathroom work. Record who owns that task. Do not promise responsibility for the whole renovation when your scope covers only the enclosure.
Check GST/HST treatment with the Canada Revenue Agency (opens in a new tab). Check QST, PST or another applicable provincial sales tax with the provincial tax authority. Ask your provincial or territorial workers' compensation board about coverage for workers.
These checks do not decide the glass dimensions. They decide whether the business and job records are ready for release. Keep them out of the measurement fields and put them in the approval record.
Write the quote around the approved enclosure
A complete glazier shower glass quote identifies the opening, panel layout and controlling drawing revision. It tells the client what is included and tells the installer which job was sold.
List the scope, glass specification, hardware schedule and finish. State the client responsibilities, assumptions and exclusions. Name any investigation that is not included.
Show the price in CAD. Record the applicable sales tax treatment after checking with the CRA and the applicable provincial tax authority. Do not copy tax wording from an old quote.
State who can approve the quote and drawing. Explain that approval does not release fabrication while listed holds remain open. For the document itself, adapt the quote template to the fields below.
GLAZIER SHOWER GLASS QUOTE Quote number: [Number] Client: [Client name] Site and room: [Address and room] Opening reference: [Reference] Province or territory: [Jurisdiction] Municipality: [Municipality] Scope: [Supply only / survey and supply / supply and install / removal and replacement] Panel layout and handing: [Panel labels and door direction] Glass specification: [Appearance, edges and processing] Hardware specification: [Components, support, seals and finish] Drawing reference and revision: [Reference] Measurement unit: [Unit] Included work: - [Survey and drawing] - [Glass, processing and hardware] - [Delivery, handling and protection] - [Installation, adjustment, sealing and handover] Hardware allowance amount included in quoted price: [Amount] Assumed component schedule: [Hinges, handle, clamps, channel, support and seals] Assumed finish: [Finish] Processing basis: [Holes, notches, cut-outs and other processing] Changed selection method: [Hardware, processing, delivery and labour adjustment] Client responsibilities: [Finished opening, access and approvals] Assumptions: [Known substrate and site conditions] Exclusions: [Investigation, repairs, other trades and patching] Price in CAD: [Amount] Applicable sales tax treatment: [Checked treatment] Payment terms: [Terms] Quote expiry or supplier-price condition: [Your current condition] Approval required from: [Name or role] Fabrication release requires: [Final survey, approved drawing, selected hardware and cleared holds]
For special-order work, state when payment is due before you commit to the supplier. Keep the quote approval separate from the payment record. The glazier deposit invoice guide shows how to connect the deposit to the ordered glass without treating it as final billing.
Stop at the fabrication release gate
Quote acceptance is not permission to order unresolved custom glass. Add a fabrication release gate after approval and before the supplier order.
At that gate, check the finished surfaces, final shower screen measurements, panel labels, fabrication dimensions, units, processing, hardware, finish, access conditions and open holds. Name the approved drawing revision and the person who approved it.
If the client changes the layout, finish or hardware after approval, stop the affected work. If the substrate or access condition changes, stop there too. Write a change order that records the price, time and specification effect. Get approval before ordering or continuing.
Attach the revised drawing to the approved glazier shower glass quote, withdraw the superseded revision and run a fresh fabrication-release check. Use the glass order confirmation process before the supplier order proceeds.