What happens at a building survey

For a car there is nothing to inspect: you send the model and we quote. A building is different, and pretending otherwise is how buildings receive the wrong film on the wrong side.

Why the quote cannot come first

Two offices with the same floor area can need different films, because their glass faces different directions and the sun does not reach it the same way. Until somebody has stood in the room, a figure on paper is a guess.

So the survey comes first and the quote comes after. The survey is a scheduled, paid visit. Asking us a question on WhatsApp costs nothing, and that is the right place to start.

Why the survey is paid

A fair question, because some installers offer a free visit.

Our survey is technical work, not a sales call. A technician spends hours on site, measures every pane, records the glass type and takes readings. What comes out of it is a specification document, and it is yours.

A free visit is usually not a technical visit. It exists to produce a quote, and its cost is still there, only hidden somewhere else.

Getting ready before we arrive

The survey runs faster when three things are in place.

Access to every glazed area, including rooms that are normally locked, such as meeting rooms, stairwells and roof access if there are skylights.

Floor plans if you have them, in any form. They help, although we measure everything ourselves regardless.

The name of one person who knows the building. Questions about replaced glass, earlier film or a planned refurbishment usually have one person in the building who can answer them.

What we do on site

1. Measure the glass. Pane by pane, elevation by elevation, including the glass people forget, such as stairwells and skylights.
2. Check orientation. Which side takes the morning sun, which takes the afternoon, and which never gets it at all.
3. Record what is already there. Existing film, double glazing, laminated glass and coatings all decide which film is safe to fit.
4. Take readings. We measure before, then measure again after installation, so you compare your own building rather than a brochure.
5. Ask what is actually bothering you. Heat, glare on screens, fading, privacy or glass safety. The answer changes the specification.

Why the glass type matters

Point three above is the one most often skipped, and the most expensive to get wrong.

Double glazing holds heat between its two panes. Laminated glass behaves differently from ordinary glass. Some glass already carries a factory coating. Fitting the wrong film to the wrong glass can damage the glass, and that kind of damage is not covered by any film warranty.

This is why somebody has to see the glass. It is not a question that can be answered from a photograph.

What you receive afterwards

A specification per elevation, not one product name for the whole building. Each side gets a film, a shade and the figures we publish: infrared rejection, total solar energy rejected, UV and VLT.

You also receive a cooling saving estimate worked out for your building. With film fitted, cooling cost in a commercial building typically falls by about 30% est. That figure is an estimate and stays marked as one, because the real result depends on your glass area, orientation, your air conditioning system and the film chosen.

The work is then arranged around you

Film goes on the inside face of the glass, so there is no external scaffolding and no glass replacement. We work zone by zone so a floor stays usable, and most rooms are back in use the same day. Work outside normal hours can be arranged if that suits you better.

Every installation is registered for a digital e-warranty as it completes, so the building owner has one record that can be checked later.