Glass Partition Calculator: Panels, Doors, Channels and Film

What it calculates

For a straight run of glass partition, frameless or framed, the calculator gives:

• the number of fixed glass panels, in equal widths no wider than the module entered;
• the glass area, in sq ft and m², of the fixed panels, door leaves and over-panels;
• the number of glass doors and door hardware sets;
• the number of patch fittings, from an editable count per door;
• the running length of floor channel and ceiling channel;
• the area of frosting or manifestation film.

It does not calculate or suggest glass thickness, glass weight or the type of safety glass. Glass type and thickness are a safety decision made by the designer under IS 16231 (Use of glass in buildings) and by the glass supplier, not by this calculator.

Inputs

Partition run length is the full length of the glass line in feet, doors included.

Partition height is from finished floor to the underside of the ceiling channel.

Maximum panel (module) width is the widest fixed panel the design and the glass supplier allow. The fixed glass is split into equal panels no wider than this.

Glass doors is the number of door leaves; count a double door as two.

The assumptions panel holds the door leaf width and height, the number of patch fittings per door, the height of the frosting or manifestation band, and the wastage on film.

Method

1. Fixed run = run length − doors × door width.
2. Fixed panels = fixed run ÷ maximum panel width, rounded up; each panel is fixed run ÷ panels wide.
3. Over-panels = one above each door where the door is lower than the partition.
4. Glass area = fixed run × height + doors × door width × door height + over-panels × door width × (height − door height).
5. Door hardware sets = doors; patch fittings = doors × fittings per door.
6. Floor channel = fixed run; ceiling channel = full run length.
7. Film = band height × run length × (1 + wastage).

Assumptions

The maximum panel width (4 ft by default) is an input, not an assumption: it is limited by the design, by the glass sizes the supplier can process and handle, and by what can be carried into the building.

Limitations

• No glass thickness, weight or safety-glass type. These are set for each panel by the designer and glass supplier under IS 16231, whose Part 4 deals with safety related to human impact. They depend on panel size, how the glass is supported and where it is.
• Straight runs only. Corners, T-junctions and returns need corner profiles or connectors; add each straight run separately.
• Gross glass area. The area ignores the small gaps at joints and around doors, so it is slightly more than the glass actually ordered. Glass is ordered panel by panel to measured sizes.
• Doors are single leaves at a standard size. Sliding doors, double-action doors and leaves of different sizes need their own count.
• Vertical joints are not counted. Framed systems have vertical profiles at panel joints; frameless systems have sealed or clear-profile joints. Both come from the system supplier's details.
• Support for the ceiling channel is not designed. How the channel is fixed to the slab or carried through a false ceiling is a design detail for the system supplier.
• Acoustic seals, gaskets, silicone and fixings are left out. They follow the system supplier's details.

Worked example

A glass partition 30 ft long and 9 ft high with one door leaf 3 × 7 ft, panels no wider than 4 ft, 4 patch fittings per door and a 1 ft frosting band with 10% wastage:

The run needs 7 fixed panels, 1 door leaf and 1 over-panel (9 pieces of glass, 270 sq ft in all), 1 door hardware set, 4 patch fittings, 27 ft of floor channel, 30 ft of ceiling channel and 33 sq ft of film.

How engineers use it

On a fit-out, glass partitions are drawn as types on the layout, each with an elevation showing the panel divisions, doors, over-panels and film. The glass supplier and the designer then fix the glass make-up for each panel, and the system supplier provides the profiles, door hardware and fixing details. Quantities are taken off from those elevations. A quick estimate like this one is used at concept stage, to compare layouts or to check a supplier's quantities.

When a professional design must replace it

Use the calculator for early quantities and to check a supplier's count. Replace it with elevations and the supplier's shop drawings before ordering. The glass type and thickness of every panel, and the position of manifestation, must be decided by the designer and the glass supplier under IS 16231, and a glass partition that must achieve a fire or acoustic rating must match a tested system exactly.