Windows and shutters priced per opening, in the open
An opening is a unit of work with five prices hiding in it: the unit itself, installing it, taking the old one out, trimming around it, and reaching it. Quotes that quote one bundled figure per opening hide which of those five is expensive on your house. This page separates them: windows and shutters each at supply price, installation and removal per opening, trim per opening, access and permits flat, the total glazed area worked out from your average window size, any minimum charge applied openly, contingency once and tax once, and the cost per opening for comparing bids.
Windows
Shutters
Finishing, access and charges
Minimum, contingency, tax and range
Disclaimer: This calculator gives estimates for general information only. It is not financial, medical or other professional advice. Structural openings, tempered-glass locations and egress rules are regulated in many places; work that changes an opening’s size belongs with a permitted design and a licensed installer.
What this calculator does
It prices a window and shutter project per opening, with the five components separated so each can be tested against the quotes you collect: the unit supplied, the installation, the removal and disposal of what was there, the trim and finishing that make the job look finished, and the access needed to reach upper openings safely. Windows and shutters are carried as separate families because their supply prices, installation times and lifespans differ, and bundling them produces the averages that hide money. The results add the project’s total glazed area, computed from your average window dimensions, because some quotes arrive priced by area and the two bases need a bridge before they can be compared. Around the lines sits the standard discipline: minimum charge openly, contingency once, tax once, range, cost per opening and a downloadable estimate.
How to use it
- Get the unit price and the installation price as separate numbers. A bundled per-window figure cannot be argued with; its two parts can. If one quote’s units are dearer and its installation cheaper, the separation tells you whether you are paying for better glazing or for slower fitting, which are very different purchases.
- Removal is a line because disposal is a cost. Old units, especially glazed ones, are bulky regulated waste in many areas, and the per-window removal figure here keeps that honest. A quote with removal at zero is either absorbing it in the unit price (fine, if stated) or planning to leave the old windows with you (a surprise worth avoiding in writing).
- Count shutters on the quote’s basis. Per opening and per panel differ by a factor of two on a wide window. The form prices whatever count you enter; the hint on the field exists because most shutter estimating errors are counting errors, not pricing errors.
- Trim decides whether the project looks finished. Architraves, sills and patching per opening look minor beside unit prices and dominate the finished appearance. A bid that leaves trim to others is not cheaper; it is unfinished at a stated price, and pricing trim here at least puts the remainder in the budget.
- Upper floors carry access, and access is flat. Scaffolding serves the whole elevation at once, so it enters as one charge rather than a per-window uplift. Where a quote spreads it invisibly across units, the per-opening figure inflates and comparison distorts; here it stands alone where it can be shared, hired once or negotiated.
How it is calculated
- Windows = count x unit price; installation = count x rate; removal = count x rate. Shutters likewise, count x unit price and count x installation rate. Trim = total openings (windows plus shutters) x the per-opening rate.
- Total glazed area = window count x average width x average height / 144, in square feet, shown when both dimensions are entered.
- Access, permits and other charges enter flat. Subtotal = the sum of the line amounts, each rounded to cents. Minimum charge: if a minimum is entered and exceeds the subtotal, the minimum becomes the base and the results state that the minimum charge applied. Contingency applies once to the base; tax once to base plus contingency. Total = base + contingency + tax. Per opening = total / total openings. Range = total less and plus your percentage.
Worked examples
A twelve window, six shutter house. Illustrative figures: 12 windows at $680 supplied, $8,160.00; installation at $240 a window, $2,880.00; removal at $65, $780.00; 6 shutters at $310, $1,860.00, installed at $85 each, $510.00; trim at $45 across all 18 openings, $810.00; access $450; permits $120. Subtotal $15,570.00; contingency at 5% adds $778.50 for a total of $16,348.50, or $908.25 per opening. The windows average 36 by 60 inches, 15.00 square feet each, for a total glazed area of 180.00 square feet.
Where the money hides in that job. Installation and removal together are $4,170.00, a quarter of the project, against $10,020.00 of units. A competing quote $1,500 lower on units alone and silent on removal and trim is not $1,500 cheaper; it is differently scoped, and the lines here are the checklist for finding where.
One shutter meets the floor. A single shutter at $310 with $85 installation is $395.00 of lines against a $495 minimum charge: the estimate builds on the minimum and totals $495.00, stating that the minimum charge applied. Single openings are priced by attendance, like every small job.
Reading your results
Read the per-opening figure only among like openings: a large picture window and a small bathroom window average into a number that describes neither, so mixed projects compare better by their lines. Then compare your total against any per-square-foot quote using the glazed area: divide their figure by 180.00 square feet in the example and the two bases meet. Finally, read the access and trim shares; projects on tall houses are legitimately access-heavy, and a suspiciously light access line on a three storey job is a safety question before it is a price question.
Limitations
- Openings are not uniform. Sizes, shapes, floor levels and wall construction vary around one house, and per-opening rates average them. A project with a few very large or very awkward openings prices better split into groups, run through this page separately and added.
- Frame condition is discovered on removal. Rotten sills and frames reveal themselves when the old unit comes out, and repairs to the opening itself are carpentry this estimate cannot predict; the contingency is the honest place for it.
- Glass specification changes price within one size. Double glazing, low-emissivity coatings, laminated and tempered panes all sit inside the unit price you enter. The page prices the figure you give it; the specification behind that figure belongs in writing on the quote.
- Energy savings are not netted here. Better windows may reduce heating and cooling costs for years, but those savings depend on the house, climate and energy prices, and belong in a separate comparison, not netted into an installation estimate where they would flatter any specification chosen.
Frequently asked questions
Should windows be priced per opening or per square foot?
Both bases exist because they suit different work: manufacturing thinks in area, installation in openings, since fitting time follows how many units are handled more than how big each is. This page counts money per opening and reports total glazed area alongside, so a per-area quote can be converted and compared: on the worked example, $16,348.50 over 180.00 square feet is the whole project at one area rate, useful for comparison even though no single line was priced that way.
Why is removal priced separately from installation?
Because it is different work with different costs: freeing a fixed old unit without damaging the opening, handling glazed waste, and disposing of it lawfully. Installers bundle it invisibly or exclude it entirely, and the separate line here exposes which. On the worked example removal is $780.00 across 12 windows, real money that a quote silent about it has placed somewhere, or nowhere.
What does the trim line cover?
The finishing that makes a fitted unit part of the room again: architraves and trims, the sill, filling and patching where the old frame met the wall, and paint to match. It is priced per opening because it repeats per opening. Leaving it out produces the recognisable result of new windows in unfinished holes, and the line’s modest size relative to units is exactly why there is no saving in skipping it deliberately.
When does access become a serious cost?
When openings cannot be reached from a ladder safely, typically above the first floor or over conservatories, slopes and fragile roofs. Scaffolding or a lift then serves the elevation as one hire, which is why it is a flat line here: on the worked example $450 sits against $16,348.50 of project, small, visible and shareable across every opening on that side of the house, rather than smeared invisibly into each unit price.
Related calculators
Method: per-opening build-up at user-entered rates with unit, installation and removal separated for windows and shutters, glazed area computed from average dimensions, minimum charge applied to the base, contingency once and tax once, exactly as defined on this page. Last reviewed: 13 October 2026.