The unit the price is built on
How I count your windows
A pane, a window and a screen are not the same thing, and every estimate you get around here quietly assumes one of them. Here is exactly what I count, so the number you are quoted is the number you pay.
The rule
One window is one opening in the wall
That is the whole rule. Everything below is what happens when a window is bigger than one opening, smaller than one pane, or not in a wall at all. Seven cases cover almost every home in Folsom and El Dorado Hills.
A standard window
Counts as 1
One opening in the wall is one window, whether it slides up, cranks out or does not open at all. A sash split into two panes by a bar is still one window.
A sliding glass door
Counts as 2
Two full-height panels, roughly twice the glass of a window, and a track that collects far more grit. So I count it as two, and I say so before I start rather than after.
A bay window
Counts as 3
Three panels facing three directions. Each one needs its own position on the ladder or its own reach inside, so a bay counts as three windows even though it is one opening.
French panes
Counted per pane
Small panes divided by real bars are washed and dried one at a time by hand. A six-pane door is six. If the bars are stuck to the outside of one sheet of glass, it is one — tell me which you have and I will tell you which it is.
A screen
Not a window
A screen is never counted and never charged. It comes out, gets washed, and goes back on the same window. It is in the price on every job, every time.
A skylight
$30 each
A skylight is in the roof, not the wall, so it is not part of the window count. It is a separate line at a flat rate, and you see that line before you agree to anything.
A storm window
Counts as 1
A second frame over one opening is still one window. I take the storm panel off, clean both sides of both sheets of glass, and put it back the way I found it.
Something I have not listed?
Glass block, a greenhouse window, a shower screen, a shopfront. Send me a photo and I will tell you what it counts as before you book anything.
Worked example
A two-story home, counted out
This is an ordinary house around here: three bedrooms up, a kitchen and a front room down, a patio door onto the back garden and a bay at the front.
Counted my way it comes to 20 windows, which is the 16–25 band in the estimator. The screens are in the window price, and a second story adds about +30% because everything above head height takes a ladder and a second set-up.
| What is there | How many | Counts as |
|---|---|---|
| Bedroom, bathroom and kitchen windows | 11 | 11 |
| Patio sliding glass door | 1 | 2 |
| Bay window in the front room | 1 | 3 |
| French panes in the back door | 4 panes | 4 |
| Screens on every window | all of them | included |
| Window count | 20 |
Two skylights in the same house would sit on their own line at $30 each. They are not part of the 20.
If you get it wrong
Nothing bad happens
Miscount by five and you have not agreed to anything. The estimator gives you a range so you know roughly where you stand; the real number comes when I walk the house and count them with you, out loud, before I unload a single bucket.
If the count is higher than you thought, I tell you then and you can say no. If it is lower, the price comes down. What never happens is a bigger number appearing once the work is finished.
Now put a number on it
Take your count to the estimator, or read the starting prices first. Both are on the same numbers.