Window services: sorting cleaning, repairs, tinting and shutters

What the job involves

This category covers five distinct jobs, each priced its own way. Cleaning is charged per house or per pane. Repairs — broken glass, sash cords, hinges, seals — are charged per window. Tinting is charged per square metre of glass. Shutters and full window replacement are charged per opening. So the same house can generate a small job or a large one depending on which service you're after.

For the bigger-ticket items, material and customisation drive the price. Plantation shutters are made to measure in basswood, PVC or aluminium, and replacement windows range from standard aluminium sliders to double-glazed or timber units at several times the cost. All five services scale with how many windows you have and how big they are, and second-storey access adds cost to every one of them.

One common problem worth naming: windows fogging up between the panes means the sealed glass unit has failed. Often the glass unit can be replaced without a whole new frame, which is far cheaper than replacing the window.

How the cost works

A whole-house window clean sits at the bottom of the range, repairs or tinting across a few windows land in the middle, and plantation shutters through the living areas or several replacement windows reach the top. The estimate on this page adjusts for the number of windows and which service you need, so treat any figure as indicative for each job type.

Which service you choose is the biggest determinant, then the number and size of windows, then access and materials. Because the five jobs price so differently, the one comparison rule that matters is getting the price per window or per square metre in writing, so you can line up quotes across different-sized jobs rather than comparing a single lump sum that hides the rate.

Choosing the right specialist

Most window work — cleaning, tinting, shutters — is an unlicensed service, though glazing (replacing structural glass) can require a licence in some states, so check when a job involves new or replacement glass. Otherwise, judge on specifics: for tinting, quality ceramic film costs more than dyed film but rejects far more heat without bubbling or purpling over time, so ask which you're being quoted.

Get everything priced per unit — per window, per pane, per square metre — so quotes are comparable. For shutters and replacement windows, confirm the material (PVC versus basswood, single versus double glazing) each price assumes, since those shift the number a lot, and for fogging windows, ask whether the sealed unit can be replaced on its own before agreeing to a whole new frame.

Mistakes to avoid

Window-service regrets come from comparing unlike jobs or overlooking the cheaper fix.

• Comparing quotes as lump sums instead of per window, per pane or per square metre
• Replacing a whole window when only the fogged sealed glass unit had failed
• Assuming all tint is equal — cheap dyed film bubbles where ceramic keeps rejecting heat
• Not confirming shutter material and glazing before comparing prices
• Overlooking that second-storey access adds cost to every window service
• Skipping the licence check where new or replacement glazing requires one