The tiles look finished. Then you put a level on the wall and find the opening narrows towards the top. A sound glazier shower screen quote starts with that fact, not the width on the bathroom drawing.
Survey the finished opening. Record its shape. Specify the glass and hardware as one system. Then cost every part of getting that system measured, ordered, carried and fitted.
Confirm the job before booking the survey
Ask what the client wants before you travel. A photo of a shower recess does not tell you whether they expect supply only, supply and fit, removal of an old screen or repairs to surrounding finishes.
Record the client, site address, room and opening reference. Ask for drawings and clear photographs. Get a rough layout: fixed panel, door, return panel, bath screen or another arrangement.
Confirm who chooses the visible fittings. The client may care about the finish but leave the hinge and support arrangement to you. Write down both decisions. They are not the same thing.
Check whether the bathroom is ready
Ask whether the tray or bath is fixed. Check whether the tiles, wall panels and floor finish are complete. Confirm that taps, basins, toilets, towel rails and other items beside the screen are in their final positions.
A fabrication measurement must come from the finished tiles, wall panels, tray or bath that will remain during installation. If those surfaces are not ready, book a preliminary visit or provide an estimate with conditions. Do not turn unfinished building work into a fixed glass size.
If the wider bathroom project raises a question about building regulations approval, ask building control. In Scotland, check with building standards in Scotland (opens in a new tab). Do not assume that the screen installer owns approval for the whole bathroom project.
Define the scope
Choose one clear starting point:
- Supply only, based on approved panel dimensions.
- Survey and supply.
- Survey, supply and fit.
- Remove an existing screen, then supply and fit its replacement.
State who removes waste and old fittings. State whether tile repairs, making good and cleaning outside the immediate work area are included. This decision controls the survey, price and handover.
Record shower screen measurements from finished surfaces
Your shower glass survey needs more than one width and one height. The opening can be out of plumb, out of level, bowed or interrupted by raised tile edges.
Set a datum on the sketch. Label the wet side, dry side, inside and outside. Mark the door handing and the direction of opening. Give every glass panel its own label.
Measure the points that affect the system
Take widths at the positions that matter to the panel, channel, clamps and hinges. Take heights where the glass edges and support components will sit. Record the wall and tray or bath relationship at each panel.
Measure the diagonals or angles where they help describe the opening. Record tray falls, floor falls, wall bows, corners and local tile projections. Do not average away a problem.
The tiles may be finished while the wall is still out of plumb. The width at the tray can differ from the width at the top of the screen. Put both measurements on the sketch and show where each was taken.
Separate site sizes from order sizes
Use different fields for:
- Site measurements taken from the opening.
- Fabrication dimensions sent for manufacture.
- Installation clearances or deductions.
Never overwrite the measured size with the order size. Never leave a deduction trapped in your head. The approved record must show how you moved from the site to the order.
Do not treat a supplier deduction as a universal rule. Use the requirements for the agreed glass and hardware system. Send unresolved points back before you make the quote firm.
Photograph the measuring points
Take a wide photograph of the opening. Then take close photographs of each wall, the tray or bath edge, corners, fixing lines and nearby fittings.
Mark the photograph references on the sketch. A photo without a labelled measuring point helps less than you think when the job reaches the workshop or installer.
Create one survey sheet with panel labels, marked measuring points, fixing notes, hardware fields, photograph references and an approval box. Use it on the next shower screen enquiry before you promise a price.
Check fixings, door movement and access
The glass must fit the opening. The hardware must also fix to something sound, the door must move, and the panel must reach the room intact.
Record the known wall build-up. Note solid walls, framed walls, boards, tile backers and any known reinforcement. If you cannot confirm the substrate, say so in the survey and quote.
The proposed fixing line may land on a hollow section or where concealed pipes or cables could run. Do not price investigation as if it were a normal fixing. Ask the client or principal tradesperson for available construction information and state what remains unknown.
Test the door swing
Draw the opening arc. Check it against taps, basins, toilets, towel rails, handles, sloping ceilings and the route a person uses to enter the shower.
Check the handle from both sides. Check the bottom edge against falls and raised tile lips. Record whether a support bar or stabilising component creates another clash.
Test the full door arc and mark every clash on the survey sketch before holes and notches become permanent.
Plan the carrying route
Walk the route from the van to the bathroom. Check doors, stairs, corners, lifts, finished floors and space for turning the glass. Decide where the panel can be stood and handled.
Add the labour, protection and access equipment required by that route. For workplace questions about handling glass, lifting and site access in Great Britain, check the Health and Safety Executive (opens in a new tab). In Northern Ireland, check the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (opens in a new tab). Use that answer to plan the job, not to fill the quote with legal wording.
Turn the shower glass survey into an orderable specification
A survey records the opening. A specification tells the supplier and installer what the finished screen is.
Name each panel. State the layout, handing and relationship to the tray or bath. Record which edge meets a wall, which edge meets another panel and which edge remains exposed.
Specify the glass
State the agreed glass type and appearance. Record the finish, edge work, holes, notches, cut-outs and any other processing required by the design.
Before you lock the glass specification, ask the official building control body for the UK nation where the job sits which safety-glazing and building requirements apply. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, start with local building control; in Scotland, use building standards in Scotland (opens in a new tab). Record the answer on the job.
Do not prescribe one glass build-up for every job. Match the glass, panel dimensions, support and hardware as a system. Get unanswered technical questions settled before releasing the order.
Keep hole centres, notch positions and edge distances on the approved drawing. A hole in the wrong place is not an installation adjustment.
Specify every hardware item
List each hinge, clamp, channel, support component, handle and seal. State the finish. Record the fixing position and the panel it belongs to.
The client may have chosen a finish without choosing the hinge, handle, support bar or channel arrangement. Stop there. Turn the open choice into a stated allowance or get the selection approved before fixing the price.
State where sealant is included. Also show where a designed gap, seal, channel or fall controls water. Sealant does not repair a bad survey, a clashing door or an unsuitable fixing point.
Set the glazier hardware allowance clearly
Use a glazier hardware allowance only when a real product selection remains open. Do not use one to hide an unfinished design.
Name what the allowance covers. For example, identify whether it covers the hinges, handle, clamps, channel, support and visible finish within the agreed layout. Do not publish a made-up allowance value. Build it from your supplier costs for the assumed selection.
State what happens if the client chooses a different fitting or the layout changes. The adjustment should cover the difference in hardware cost, processing, delivery and labour caused by that choice. A cheaper fitting does not automatically mean the whole job falls by the same amount.
Keep the allowance separate in the cost sheet and visible as money included in the quoted total. Before ordering, replace it with the approved selection and update the price if needed.
Build the glazier shower screen quote from full job cost
Start with direct labour and materials. Then add every job cost needed to deliver the agreed result. Marking up the glass alone leaves the unpaid work everywhere else.
Cost the labour
Include the time used for:
- Enquiry checks and booking.
- Site survey and travel where you charge it to the job.
- Drawing, specification and supplier questions.
- Checking the order and arranging delivery or collection.
- Carrying, protection and site setup.
- Installation, adjustment, sealing and cleaning.
- Handover and job records.
Use your own labour cost. Do not copy a market rate. The cost must reflect who does the work and what that time costs your business.
Cost the materials and processing
Include the glass and all required processing. Add hardware, channels, supports, seals, fixings, sealants and consumables. Use current supplier information for the specified system.
Add delivery or collection costs. Include protective materials, access equipment and waste handling where they belong to this job. If a difficult carrying route needs another tradesperson, cost that labour too.
Add markup to the whole cost base
Markup is what you add to cost to reach the selling price. Margin is profit as a share of the selling price. They are not interchangeable.
Use your required markup on the cost base your business has defined. Keep allowance items visible so an unresolved fitting does not quietly absorb the return on the rest of the job.
For current VAT treatment, check with HMRC (opens in a new tab). Show the treatment clearly on the document without guessing at current rules.
Write a glazier shower screen quote the installer can use
The quote should identify the opening and describe the finished screen. It should also tell the installer what is included, what is not and which approved drawing controls the order.
Use this blank structure for the next job:
GLAZIER SHOWER SCREEN QUOTE Quote number: [Number] Client: [Client name] Site: [Address and room] Opening reference: [Reference] Scope: [Supply only / survey and supply / survey, supply and fit / replacement] Layout and handing: [Panel labels, fixed panels, door and handing] Glass specification: [Type, appearance, edge work and processing] Hardware specification: [Hinges, clamps, channel, support, handle, seals and finish] Approved drawing reference: [Reference and revision] Included work: - [Survey and specification] - [Supply and processing] - [Delivery or collection and handling] - [Installation, adjustment, sealing and handover] Hardware allowance items: [Items covered and assumed selection] Hardware allowance included in quoted total: [Amount] Allowance differences: [How changes to hardware, processing, delivery and labour will be priced] Client responsibilities: [Finished surfaces, access and selection approval] Assumptions: [Known substrate, final positions and site conditions] Exclusions: [Making good, tile repair, other trades and investigation] Price: [Amount] VAT treatment: [State treatment] Ordering condition: [Final drawing approval and deposit due] Supplier pricing condition: [State how a supplier change will be handled] Commercial acceptance: [Price and scope accepted by, date and written method] Fabrication approval: [Final drawing revision approved by, date and written method]
For more document structure, use the quote-writing guide. Keep the wording tied to this opening and this specification.
Write assumptions as site facts
State that the price relies on the tray or bath, tiles and adjoining sanitaryware remaining in their surveyed positions. Identify the drawing revision and survey date.
State the known fixing substrate. If the substrate is unknown, make the price conditional on a suitable fixing point being confirmed. Do not promise that ordinary fixings will solve an uninspected wall.
Write exclusions around the real risks
Exclude making good, tile replacement, plumbing, electrical work and concealed-service investigation unless you priced them. State whether removal and disposal of an existing screen are included.
Do not promise that the screen alone makes the whole shower area watertight. Define the screen layout, gaps, seals, falls and surrounding finishes that your scope relies on.
Tie the price to the named supplier specification and approved selections. If supplier pricing can change before approval, state how you will confirm the price rather than inventing a standard validity period.
Control site changes before ordering the glass
If the screen was priced from drawings, return after the finished tiles, wall panels, tray or bath are in place. Resurvey when the tray, bath, wall lining, tiles or sanitaryware move.
Do not edit an old size without leaving a record. Issue a revised survey or drawing. Mark the revision. Get written approval from the person responsible for the decision.
If the job changes, stop. Write a variation. Price the effect on glass, processing, hardware, delivery and labour. Get approval before committing to the changed work.
Worked example: control the variation and the margin
Oak Street is the house electrical example, but the document control applies to glazing. R. Chen's quote Q-1847 for the bathroom exhaust fan and four LED downlights was 1,105 sample currency units. The ceiling was lined and chasing was excluded.
Extra cable and chasing were approved on site as a 160 variation. Invoice INV-1847 was therefore 1,265. The change was written and approved before it disappeared into the final bill.
Against the original quote, job cost was 850 and profit was 255. Margin was 255 ÷ 1,105, or about 23%. Markup was 255 ÷ 850, or 30%.
The variation costs are not supplied. Do not combine the 1,265 invoice with the 850 cost or calculate profit on the invoice total. All figures here are worked-example currency units, not a rate card.
Get approval before releasing made-to-measure glass
Send the final drawing and specification to the responsible person. Ask them to approve the layout, handing, glass appearance and visible hardware choices.
The order record should show panel dimensions, holes, notches, edge details and hardware positions. It should also show the drawing revision. Approval of a finish colour alone is not approval of the fabrication details.
Confirm the deposit is due and paid before committing to custom glass. Use the glazier deposit invoice process to connect the payment to the approved order rather than an early guess.
Save the acceptance, approved drawing and supplier order against the job. If the client goes quiet, use a made-to-measure glass quote follow-up that asks for the missing decision without treating silence as approval.
Record the actual cost after installation
Cost tracking closes the gap between the glazier shower screen quote and the finished job. Record actual survey, drawing, ordering, handling and installation time against the same job.
Assign the glass, processing, hardware, delivery, consumables and waste costs. Record remake and return-visit costs separately. Do not bury them in general overheads if you want to know why the quote missed.
Save completion photographs and the handover record. Compare those records with the glazier shower screen quote, then note adjustments, site changes and any care or use instructions given to the client. The glazier job-costing guide shows how to compare glass, labour, access and remake costs without mixing jobs.
Yes Foreman can keep the approved survey, quote, variation, supplier order and actual costs together on the job. Attach the approved survey to the next job before ordering the glass.