uPVC systems

Estimating for uPVC window and door manufacturers.

The uPVC cost model, not the aluminium one relabelled: profile by running metre, reinforcement by run, glass by unit, and welding allowances that match how the frame is actually made.

Sht 01 of 6 · The answer

How does an AI Estimator quote a uPVC window?

It takes the frame size and system, derives the sash and mullion sizes, works the running metres of outer frame, sash, mullion and bead, adds the galvanised steel reinforcement each of those needs, sizes the double-glazed units at the sash less 68 mm, then prices profile, steel, glass, hardware, welding and installation at your rates.

uPVC casement door standing in a workshop

Sht 02 of 6 · What it knows

What it has to understand about upvc systems.

Running metres, not kilos

uPVC is bought and priced by the metre. The take-off counts frame, sash, mullion and bead separately because they are different profiles at different rates.

Steel reinforcement

Every frame and sash run that needs reinforcing gets it, costed as its own line — the item most often forgotten in a manual quotation and the one that quietly eats the margin.

Multi-chamber and DGU

Chamber count, glazing pocket depth and the unit build-up — 5 / 12 argon / 5 and the rest — carried through to the glass schedule rather than assumed.

Welded corners

Corner welding and cleaning is labour per unit, not a percentage. It is quoted as labour so you can see it and change it.

Sht 03 of 6 · Worked example

One unit, drawn and priced.

PV-CW-02 — 1200 × 1500 mm. Glass 517 × 1372, derived from the sash less 68 mm rather than typed.

ElevationPV-CW-02

Developer — 44-unit residential block, Kozhikode

Quotation: QT-2026-0851
Date: 12 Aug 2026
Item: PV-CW-02

Casement window — 2 sash, side hung — 1200 × 1500 mm, 12 nos
60 mm multi-chamber uPVC, white, steel reinforced · 24 mm DGU — 5 mm clear / 12 mm argon / 5 mm clear

Quotation QT-2026-0851 line items
Description	Qty	Rate	Amount
uPVC profile — frame, sash, mullion, bead	269.95 m	34.00	9,178.30
Galvanised steel reinforcement	162.00 m	12.50	2,025.00
24 mm DGU — 5 mm clear / 12 mm argon / 5 mm clear	17.02 m²	132.00	2,246.64
Hardware — multipoint espagnolette, hinges, handle	12 set	210.00	2,520.00
Welding, cleaning & assembly	12 nos	95.00	1,140.00
Installation at site	12 nos	110.00	1,320.00
Subtotal			18,429.94
Overhead & margin, 18%			3,317.39
VAT, 5%			1,087.37
Total, AED			22,834.70

QuotationQT-2026-0851

Sht 04 of 6 · Coverage

Product types it quotes today.

Casement & side hung
Tilt-and-turn
2 and 3-track sliding
Sliding folding
Fixed & combination frames
French doors
Arched & shaped units
Ventilators

If yours is not on the list, it is a question rather than a no — bring it to the demo and we will quote it live or tell you plainly that we cannot yet.

Sht 05 of 6 · Questions

uPVC systems: the usual questions.

Does it handle DGU and triple glazing schedules?

Yes. The glass schedule carries the full build-up per mark — pane thicknesses, cavity, gas fill, spacer — with the unit sizes derived from the sash rather than typed. It totals the area per specification so your glass supplier can price straight off it.

Can it price both uPVC and aluminium in one quotation?

Yes, and mixed enquiries are common — aluminium sliders to the balcony, uPVC casements to the bedrooms. Each item is priced on its own cost model and they arrive as one document with one total.

What about profile suppliers who change rates often?

The rate card is a single place. Change the per-metre rate and every quotation issued after it uses the new one, with the old quotations keeping the price they were sent at.