Commercial glazing quotes look similar on the surface. The difference between them shows up on site, on sign-off, and on the callback rate 6 months later. Here are the 8 checks we recommend before signing.
1. Licensed and named on the invoice
The invoice should name a licensed glazier, not just a company ABN. In NSW glaziers do not need a specific glazing licence, but they should carry a Contractors Licence for building work and be able to name individual glaziers who are trade-qualified.
2. Public liability insurance dated within 12 months
Ask for the Certificate of Currency. It should be current, name the company you are contracting with, and show cover of at least $10 million. On commercial fit-outs the head contractor will usually ask for $20 million.
3. AS 1288 and AS/NZS 2208 named on the quote
If those two standards do not appear anywhere in the quote or the terms, the glazier is not thinking about sign-off. Every serious commercial glazing quote calls out AS 1288 as the installation standard and AS/NZS 2208 for the safety glass.
See our commercial glazing service for the standards we work to.
4. Stamped-glass photos handed over at sign-off
Every toughened or laminated pane installed on a commercial job carries the AS/NZS 2208 stamp in a corner. A serious glazier will photograph every stamp after install and hand you the photos as part of the sign-off pack. If they will not, they are not confident in what they installed.
5. Two or three commercial references you can actually call
Ask for three commercial references from jobs of similar size and type. Ring them. Ask three things: did they turn up when they said they would, did they clean up, and did the paperwork arrive with the invoice.
Our references include the Joan Sutherland Centre, Marshalls Mercedes-Benz, Nepean Motor Group, and Fred’s One-Stop Shopping.
6. Written exclusions in the quote
Silence about scaffolding, EWP access, working hours, patching, painting, or boarding disposal usually means a variation is coming. A clean quote spells out what is not included so you can budget the missing bits separately.
7. Realistic lead time, not the best-case
A glazier who quotes “next week” for a custom IGU or a curtain wall panel is not being honest about lead time. Typical Penrith market lead times, for reference:
- Standard toughened panes: 3 to 5 business days.
- Laminated safety glass: 5 to 7 business days.
- Custom IGUs (double glazed): 7 to 14 business days.
- Curtain wall panels: 4 to 8 weeks depending on frame system and manufacturer.
If the number you are being quoted is much shorter than these, ask why.
8. Same-week response on emergencies during the job
Things break during commercial jobs. A cracked pane during install, an incorrectly-cut IGU, a hardware failure. The question is not whether the glazier makes a mistake, it is how fast they fix it. Ask what their turnaround on a defect during install is. The right answer is “same-week make-safe and same-week replacement”.
Bonus: what a good commercial quote looks like
A well-written commercial glazing quote is 2 to 4 pages long. It has a cover page with the scope and standards, an itemised schedule of panels, exclusions, lead time, warranty terms, and a reference to the public liability policy. If yours is one page and vague, that is a red flag.
Quote us against your other quotes
If you already have a commercial glazing quote in Penrith and want a second opinion, send it through. We will price the same scope like-for-like so you can compare apples to apples.
