Glass sliding panels look simple on a drawing: two or three sheets of glass on a track, sliding neatly across an opening. The quotation, however, is where the project either holds together or starts leaking cost and delay. A manufacturer cannot price a made-to-measure panel from a room name alone. Below is the information a China-based supplier such as SANTERSON needs in order to issue a usable, comparable quotation for glass sliding panels, and why each item changes the price.
1. The opening, not the room
Send dimensions for the actual opening the panels will close: the clear width and clear height, measured at several points, plus the wall build-up on each side. Sliding panels need space to travel, so the supplier also needs to know how much solid wall exists alongside the opening for the panels to stack against, or whether a bypass or pocket detail is required instead.
Tell us the substrate behind the opening (masonry, stud wall, timber frame, existing reveal) and whether the floor is finished or still to be laid. A small shift in the finished floor level changes the track height and the panel ｄｒｏｐ, and discovering that after production has started is expensive to undo.
2. Panel layout and how the system must operate
State how many panels you expect, which direction they travel, and whether they should stack to one side or meet in the centre. Say who will operate them: a homeowner, hotel guests, or cleaning staff with trolleys passing through. Frequency and users drive the hardware grade far more than most buyers expect.
Our Sliding Panel Systems range is configurable rather than catalogued to a fixed size, and Santerson Glass Sliding Panels is specified with project-specific dimensions, layout and finish options. Related configurations in the same family, such as Santerson Acoustic Sliding Panels and Santerson Partition Sliding Systems, follow the same rule: track, hardware and opening dimensions have to be confirmed per project before a firm price exists.
3. Glass type and safety requirements
This is the item most often left blank, and it carries real cost and real risk. Tell the supplier where the panels are used and who is around them, then let the safety requirement be stated rather than assumed: toughened or laminated glass, minimum thickness, whether any panel sits near a doorway, stair, or a child-occupied area, and whether the project has an inspection regime that will ask for evidence.
Also state what the glass has to do optically. Clear, low-iron, tinted, frosted, ribbed, mirrored or printed glass all behave differently in a room, and the supplier needs the choice before ordering. If a decorative pattern is required, share the artwork or a reference sample with the enquiry.
4. Frame, finish and hardware
Specify the frame profile and finish (aluminium or steel, colour or anodised tone, gloss or matte), plus handle style and whether a handle-less edge is wanted. Frames are visible joints in a finished interior, and matching an existing door or window series across a project only works if the reference is included in the enquiry.
Hardware questions are practical: top-hung or floor-guided, concealed or exposed track, soft-close or magnetic latch, lock or no lock, and whether a floor track is acceptable where the panels cross a threshold. These decisions affect both price and the floor build-up, so they belong in the enquiry stage.
5. Drawings, schedules and the point of truth
A dimensioned elevation of each opening, a door and panel schedule with unique tags, and the architectural finish schedule are what let two quotations be compared honestly. If your drawing set already shows sliding panels, send the sheets as issued, with revision numbers. If it does not, say so plainly; the supplier can then propose a layout for approval instead of guessing.
Where the panel forms part of a wider built-in package, send those drawings too. Panels coordinated with cabinetry, wall panelling and doors are usually priced and produced together, and a single coordinated drawing set prevents the classic failure: three trades quoting three different reveal depths.
6. Commercial terms and delivery detail
Quantity of each configuration, site location, delivery address, and your intended delivery terms belong in the first enquiry. So does the programme: the date drawings must be approved, and the date panels must be on site. Panel systems are manufactured to order, so a stated programme lets the factory plan production around your installation sequence rather than yours around theirs.
As a one-stop furniture and building materials supplier, SANTERSON arranges freight, customs paperwork and door-to-door delivery as part of project delivery, so sharing the destination and your preferred terms early keeps shipping out of the unexpected column. Villa and hotel work in Australia, where the site records projects in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Willoughby and North Turramurra, should still confirm import terms case by case rather than assuming a previous arrangement applies.
A quick pre-enquiry checklist
- Clear width and height of every opening, measured at multiple points, with wall build-up and floor level noted.
- Panel count, travel direction, stacking space, and who will use the panels day to day.
- Glass safety requirement as stated by the project, plus glass thickness, tint and any decorative pattern.
- Frame profile and finish, handle style, track type, and soft-close or lock requirements.
- Dimensioned elevations, a tagged panel schedule, and the revision status of the drawings you send.
- Quantities, delivery address, delivery terms, and the two dates that matter: drawing approval and on-site delivery.
Send those six blocks of information and the quotation comes back specific enough to compare line by line. Send a room name and a photograph, and every supplier will price a different interpretation. If you are specifying glass sliding panels for a villa, hotel or office fit-out, contact our project team with your drawings and we will confirm what we need before pricing.