Where is everyone getting glass from fo so cheap?

b4tn · Aug 24, 2015

I am having a hard time finding panels for a 40b sump project with the following cut list in 1/4" glass.

One panel 17 3/8" x 12"
One panel 17 3/8" x 11"
Two panels 17 3/8" x 10"

My local glass shop wants $35 each panel!! Ace hardware said they can get 1/4" glass and have not got back to me with a quote yet but I have a feeling it will also be a lot. I looked online at a couple other places and most of them are $20-30 per panel and then you have to pay shipping. Am I missing something? I see several people get all the pieces cut for $35-50 for all of them.

TheEngineer · Aug 24, 2015

Try a different Ace Hardware. The one I used to live near would have been $15 for all 4 of those. Lowes has a glass cutting area, maybe try them.

b4tn · Aug 24, 2015

I have not heard from Ace yet. They might be reasonable. But after seeing the online quotes for cut glass and getting a $35 each from my local place I am not optimistic. I can get a 40b sump kit in 1/4" acrylic from ebay for $99. You would think cut glass would be half that not more expensive!

hybridazn · Aug 24, 2015

While the price of glass has really gone up in the last couple years that is still way too much, even tempering those the prices shouldnt be that much. It almost seems like they dont want to cut those pieces for you so they gave you a crazy quote on them.

b4tn · Aug 24, 2015

Maybe I should go by a another 40B for $36 and try to cut it up lol

b4tn · Aug 25, 2015

This is ridiculous. Here is my quote from my local Ace which is nearly identical to the quote from a local glass shop. I am waiting on one more quote from another shop local to me and if it is similar I will probably just get a sheet of acrylic from Home depot.

1) 17" 3/8 x 12" = $30.45 + tax
1) 17" 3/8 X 11" = $30.29 + tax
2) 17" 3/8 X 10" = $30.13 each for a total of $60.26 +tax

saltnewb · Aug 25, 2015

Look for a local glass shop, of course they can offer way better prices for you. When I used to build custom wrought iron doors with glass inserts, that's where we got all our glass. All the box stores charge ridiculous prices. As far as Ace, they have residential stores and commercial stores, better pricing at commercial stores, from what I remember.

saltnewb · Aug 25, 2015

I mean look for another local glass shop

TheEngineer · Aug 25, 2015

Another thought is that it could be the size you're looking for. If they can only cut those out of large sheets, you are going to pay for the whole large sheet. Check what their panel sizes are. You might be better off fitting several pieces onto one large sheet and asking them for multiple cuts.

saltnewb · Aug 25, 2015

Here's what I found on Lowes for replacement glass, http://www.lowes.com/Building-Supplies/Glass-Acrylic/Replacement-Glass/_/N-1z0u6nv/pl#! You'd have to cut it down yourself, but it looks like they have what your looking for under $2.50. You would need a couple sheets of it though. Never one, just noticed it is the wrong thickness

b4tn · Aug 25, 2015

saltnewb said:
I mean look for another local glass shop

And that's my frustration. Both of my local glass shops quoted me $35 per panel which is more expensive than Ace. I have another quote request in for the last glass shop I could find in my area. As much as I have already spent on this project it irritates me to spend more than double than I feel I should but may just bite the bullet.

joeyhatch11 · Aug 25, 2015

Thats insane!!! Thats like $23 a square foot. At most, some places would charge $9 sq ft. Each of those piece works out to about 1.5sq ft. I build small tanks and get a good deal from my local glass guy but thats insane. Someone must really be hard up for money to charge you that. Wish you were closer to me.

b4tn · Aug 25, 2015

I lived in Mt Holley for awhile. I used to take my Jeep to Wharton to escape MD on the weekends lol. Its only a 2 hour drive ha ha

steve&mari · Aug 25, 2015

I used the panels from Lowe's and they cut to size free. They're working fine in our sump.

b4tn · Aug 25, 2015

Well, my last attempt seems to be a winner. They just quoted me $14.25 for each panel, $57 +tax still a bit high but not $120 high.

TheEngineer · Aug 25, 2015

Are you asking them to do any finishing work?

It's a little far from where you are, but the Ace I used to go to is in Timonium.

b4tn · Aug 25, 2015

I just called and placed the order and it will be ready to pay and pick up on Friday. It came to $60.42. That's all 4 pieces in 1/4" with polished edges. I figured that its about 5 square feet total so it comes out to about $12 per square foot.

ReefMadScientist · Aug 25, 2015

I personally would wait till Petsmart has another one of their $1 dollar per gallon sale.

Yes $40 dollars for a 40 gallon tank.

I can find 40 gallon tanks on Craigslist all day long. I can get some for free at my LFS but they may need to be resealed.

Mike in CT · Aug 25, 2015

I think it also comes down to labor sometimes. Even if it only takes them a 1/2 hour to do your job, they still have to factor in what's it takes to keep the lights on. I work in a machine type shop, and people would stop in off the street to get something done that would take us a couple hours. We would give them a break and only charge half our normal hourly shop rate, and they would think we were trying to screw them. I think I paid about 20 bucks a panel for my sump panes, but they were thicker then Home Depot had ( I think only 1/8....but I could be wrong) and they put nice bevels on them so I didn't have to worry about getting cut.