It is possible for you to roughly gauge the likely cost of repairing your scratched glass. It will not be an exact estimate as a professional glass polisher will see a lot that you will not, but it will give you an idea of the costs involved.
Firstly, do you need a glass polisher?
This may sound a little defeatist, but for small repairs or for repairing single units, employing a glass polisher may not be the most cost effective option when compared to replacement. A standard double glazed window in your house can be replaced for around £70.
So you have determined that you need a glass polisher, what are the points you need to consider?
You are only likely to see the scratches relevant to your field of vision and the lighting conditions on that particular day. A window could be completely covered with scratch damage, but in winter sun light you may only notice that a certain section is scratched. You have that section repaired and notice more scratches on spring or summer sun, really annoying. Lighting angles matter. A good glass polisher will be looking at the complete picture when assessing your glass.
To view you glass as we would – Take one step back from the window, look directly at the glass and look for the scratches. Now get down on your knees and look up towards the sky. You may well find that you see more scratches. Look up from the left, look up from the right. Vision angles matter.
Consider your usual lighting conditions. If artificial light, up-lighters, down lighters, spot lights etc, play a big part of you usual lighting conditions, view the glass under those same conditions.
It is often helpful to use a marker pen to highlight the scratched areas so you have a more complete picture when you have finished.
Is the scratching on the inside or the outside of the glass or both sides. Remember, each side of the glass is a surface and should be thought of as a separate glass unit to be repaired.
If the glass in question is above ground floor and scratched on the outside, how will it be accessed? Do you need an access tower (you cannot polish glass from a ladder) or scaffolding. Note: Sometimes it is cheaper for you to hire such equipment yourself. Most companies will charge an additional 20% handling charge to provide this equipment. Always check with your glass polisher what type and size of tower they require before you hire it.
Glass polishing can be dusty, so do you need to protect the floors or carpets or furniture? This should not result in additional charges, as a good glass polisher will already have protection materials with them, but it will eat into the glass polishers time, so allow 10 – 20 minutes in each area for protection. Polishing outside is still dusty but the dust is easily swept or hoovered up.
Remember that glass polishers are human. They need to take a break now and again. Glass polishing is hot, physical work, so allow for this this in the mental picture you are forming in your head.
If you are on a construction site, you may need a site Health & Safety induction. Some inductions are 10-15 minutes, some can be 2-4 hours. This is still time onsite and will probably be charged for as part of the day rate. When you have 4 or 5 glass polishers onsite, some site inductions can be very costly.
Important: If for any reason your glass polishers cannot start work when they arrive, due to access problems or other contractors working, basically anything beyond the control of the glass polisher, you are likely to be charged for their time anyway. Always make sure that they have unrestricted access to the areas of work on the day/s they are booked to attend.
Like we said at the beginning of this page, you are unlikely to be able to estimate the cost of your repairs exactly, but hopefully this will give you an idea of what a professional glass polisher will take into consideration when estimating the cost of your repairs.
As always – if you have any questions or need any further guidance, please call us – we are here to help.
