Glaziers are usually the last people the builder thinks about and the first people the project manager blames when the program slips. We have been on enough Western Sydney fit-outs to know the pattern. Plasterers running late, ceilings going up, joiners ready to roll, and the glass that was meant to be on site last Thursday is still curing in the toughening oven somewhere off the M4.
This post is for the project managers, site supervisors and shopfitters who want to schedule commercial window repair and replacement without dragging the program.
The short answer
Commercial glass needs a six to twelve working day lead time from final measure to install for standard toughened. Double glazed, low-iron, frosted or oversized panels need three weeks. Book the glazier to measure as soon as the frame is in and square, not when the painter has finished. Slot the install between trades, not after them, and give the glazier a clean wall to work against.
Why glass blows out programs
Glass is unlike most other trades. We cannot make it on site. We cannot pull a panel out of the ute and trim it to fit. Every piece comes off a CNC table, gets toughened in an oven that runs once or twice a day, and arrives in a labelled crate on a curtain-side truck.
A few things follow from this:
- Measure mistakes do not show up until the panel arrives. Then it is a rework week.
- Last-minute changes cost the program, not the supplier.
- You cannot “just trim a bit off” a toughened panel.
- The order of trades matters more than people realise.
Get the sequencing right and glass will not slow you down. Get it wrong and you lose a week.
Lead times by glass type
Approximate from final measure to delivered, ready to install:
- Standard 6mm toughened clear: 6 to 10 working days
- 10mm or 12mm toughened clear: 8 to 12 working days
- Laminated (6.38, 8.38, 10.38): 7 to 12 working days
- Low-iron toughened (true white): 10 to 15 working days
- Frosted, sandblasted or printed: 10 to 15 working days
- Double glazed units (IGUs): 15 to 20 working days
- Oversized panels over 3.6m: 20 working days plus
Add a couple of days for site delivery, especially if the panels are oversized and need a curtain-side truck or a suction crane.
When to call the glazier in
The wrong moment is “when everything else is finished and the room looks tidy”. By then you have lost two weeks.
The right moment is as soon as the frame or opening is structurally fixed, plumb and square. That means after the framing carpenter has finished and before the plasterer skims out the reveals.
A few benchmarks for typical Western Sydney fit-outs:
- Office partitions: measure when the head and floor track are fixed and adjustable studs are roughed in. We work to the finished line you give us.
- Shopfronts: measure when the aluminium frame is installed, sealed and square. The frame supplier should give us a measure date.
- Glass doors and entries: measure once the pivot patches or hinges are fixed and the wall is plumb above.
- External facade glazing: measure when the structural opening is squared and waterproofed.
If a glazier turns up to measure something that is not in its final position, we will measure it and quote it, but we will tell you. The risk of rework is on whoever forces the measure.
Site access realities
The glass is the heaviest part of the build for its size. A 12mm toughened panel two metres tall weighs around 60 kilos. A double glazed unit double that. Getting it in and around a building matters.
Things that make a glaziers’ day:
- Clear corridors to the install location.
- No scaffold or plant blocking the entry door at the time of delivery.
- A loading dock or kerbside access for the truck.
- Enough room for two installers to swing the panel.
- Power for suction lifts when the glass is over about 80 kilos.
Things that ruin a glaziers’ day:
- A storage container parked across the front of the building on install day.
- Stair cases that take a four-metre panel through a series of right angles.
- Other trades using the install location for lunch.
- A new lift that has not been commissioned yet.
A two-minute walk-through with the site supervisor a few days before delivery saves an hour of swearing on the day.
Sequencing tips that save time
The trades around the glaziers need to be in the right order or the glass goes in late.
Before the glazier:
- Framing complete and signed off.
- Aluminium frames installed, plumb and waterproofed.
- Electrical first fix complete in the wall.
- Plastering and first paint to the wall edge.
After the glazier:
- Second paint and final touch ups.
- Joinery butting up to the glass.
- Floor coverings if the panels go to the floor.
If the painter wants to be in the room when we install, that is fine. Two trades in one room is normal. If the floor sander wants to be in the room when we install, that is not fine. Sand dust in fresh silicone leaves marks for years.
Insurance, compliance and certification
For any commercial install we deliver:
- Manufacturer’s compliance certificate against AS/NZS 2208 for safety glass.
- Energy ratings on IGUs.
- WHS documentation on site (SWMS, induction).
- Public liability insurance certificate.
- Certificate of installation.
If your contract requires a code-compliance certificate from the BCA / NCC perspective, ask the commercial glazing team what is included before the order goes in. Better to know upfront than chase a piece of paper after handover.
Working with us on a fit-out
The smoother fit-outs we work on share a few habits:
- Glazier in the early site walk-through, before the program is finalised.
- A single point of contact on site who can answer measure questions on the day.
- An updated set of drawings shared in PDF, not screenshots.
- Glass schedule signed off in writing before order.
- Final measure done with the supervisor present.
We have done this with builders in St Marys, Penrith, Kingswood, Glenmore Park and Cranebrook. Same approach works for fit-outs in retail, office, industrial and the smaller medical and dental projects.
A note on changes mid-job
Changes happen. A client wants frosted instead of clear on the meeting room. The tenant decides the partition needs a swing door. The architect realises the glass should be acoustic-rated.
The earlier the change comes through, the cheaper it is. Before the order goes in, a change is just paperwork. After the panels are toughened, a change is a new order, a new lead time and a stack of glass nobody can use. We will tell you the cost honestly each time, and we will not order anything without your written sign-off.
When to call us
Reach out as soon as the project hits these milestones:
- A glass schedule is on the drawings.
- A program has a fit-out completion date inside the next eight weeks.
- A retail tender requires same-day make-safe capability.
- A facade or curtain wall job needs a local installer.
Call 02 4722 2787 or send the drawings through our contact form. We will book a site visit and turn around a quote in plain language.
FAQ
Do you do after-hours commercial installs? Yes. Retail tenants, hospitals and aged care facilities often need after-hours work. Plan it in early and we will programme accordingly.
Can you replace one panel in a series of curtain wall glass without disturbing the others? Often yes. It depends on the frame system. Send photos and the original supplier name and we can usually tell you within a day.
Do you supply and install or only install? We supply and install. Single point of accountability. If there is a defect, we own it.
What is the longest panel you can install? We have done panels up to 4.5 metres tall with the right equipment. Anything over 4 metres is a planned crane lift, not a same-day job.
If you book us early, glass will be the trade that does not give you grief. That is the whole point of writing this down.
