Much of the commercial building here is recent, and we are usually working in a shell that has never been occupied. That sounds easier than a refit and it brings its own problem: nothing has been tested, so the floor, the walls and the ceiling are whatever the builder left, and nobody has found out yet.
Checking the floor before setting out a partition
A partition needs a level base, and a new concrete floor is frequently not level across a whole unit.
Over a long run a few millimetres becomes a visible taper at the top of the glass, which is the first thing anybody notices.
So we take levels across the floor before setting out, and where there is a fall we either pack the base channel or plan the run to hide it. Finding it first means it is a packing detail. Finding it during glazing means re-ordering glass.
Walls that are not plumb in a new shell
A newly built wall can be out of plumb without looking wrong, and a vertical glass edge against it shows the error immediately.
That is why a partition meeting a wall usually lands in a channel with some tolerance rather than being scribed tight to it.
We check the wall with a level before deciding, and where the error is large we would rather say so and let you have the builder correct it than absorb it in the glazing. Absorbing it is possible and it is not free, and it tends to look like our problem afterwards.
Fitting out before the rest of the trades finish
In a new unit several trades are often working at once, and glass fitted early gets damaged by everybody who comes after.
Glazing should be near the end of a fit-out sequence, after the ceiling, after the flooring and after any painting.
Where programme pressure means it has to go in earlier, we protect the panels and charge for it, because the alternative is replacing scratched glass at handover. We would rather have that conversation at the start than at the end.
How the job works
- Tell us about the jobSend a few photos, rough sizes and what you need. Use WhatsApp or the form. For a repair, a short video of the door moving helps a lot.
- We call you back in about 2 minutesWe confirm what you need and a time to visit. Where we can, we give you a rough price on the call.
- We come and measureWe measure the opening and check the walls, floor and ceiling around it. Anything made to size is made to these measurements, so they must be right.
- You get a written priceIt lists each item, with GST as its own line. If anything about the job changes, we tell you before we go ahead.
- We fit itYou approve the price and pay the advance. Our own team fits the work, checks that every door and window opens and closes properly, and clears up. Most jobs are done in 3 to 4 days.
