Help need Glass

sg1

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Sep 4, 2002
Posts
2
Loc
Fayetteville, NC
Plaese help finding regular clear picture glass precut 8x10 16x20.... for a reasonable price. My local glass companies are asking for a 16x20 $12.60. I open up my frameshop by the end of january 2003 and i realy would like to get some better prices. Can anybody please help me.
Email:SilkGardenNC@earthlink.net
 
Don't know about down in N.C. but around these parts we buy it wholesale from Glass Wholesaler, or boxed from one of the many "suppliers". Check Yellow Pages? Also check pricing or ask for suggestions from your Matboard or Chop supplier.

BTW. Welcome to the Grumble and Good Luck!
 
Try Southern Moulding in Kennesaw, GA, Rechenbech's in Knoxville, TN, Roanoke Moulding, in Roanoke, VA. All of these folks sell glass of all kinds, in all sizes, and ship to your area. Charles might can give you a better source closer to you, but those are the ones I use in the Atlanta area, especially Southern.
 
Welcome to the grumble fellow North Carolinian! Good luck in the opening of your new frame shop. Try Roanoke Moulding in Roanoke, VA. They even deliver to storefronts in your area. You might also try G & G Moulding out of Morganton, NC

I'm at home and don't have either phone number. If you have trouble locating their 800 number, email me and I'll find the numbers for you.

Janet Lowry
Right Angles Picture Framing
Clayton, NC
 
Well, at least we know you'd be able to sell it for less than what your competitors are selling it retail. $12.00 for a 16x20 regular piece of to-go glass is extemely high. It should retail for something in the five dollar range. Good luck.
 
<strike>Oh geez! ANOTHER North Carolinian??? What's going on down there?</strike>

Welcome to the Grumble, sg1.

Kit
 
sg1
Your local glass shop would not consider 16 x 20 a standard size. They typically buy sizes such as 36x60,36x84,48x60,48x84. Either by the piece or by the case(2000 or 4000lbs). They then cut to your your desired size charging you a cut-size price. The quality standards they follow are "architectural quality". Which are not nearly as stringent as what your needs require.

The folks listed as sources in previous posts are all good at what they do.
HOWEVER!!,
We would appreciate it if you would give us a call.
We offer:
FMI-Select Series clear picture framing glass, non-glare glass.
Guardian Inspiration UV Glass.
We are a full-line fabricator offering "true custom beveled mirrors"
Bevels from 1/2"-2"wide.
You may call us at 800 329-9330
http://www.fmiglassandmirror.com
As a fellow business owner I wish you the best of luck!
 
We use a powder packed glass from an actual glass company. The only problem is it comes in 36x48 and you have to buy a pallete which lasts us 2 years.

the cost per is $3.00 per sheet
well somewhere around there I estimated the cost.

the smaller glass is going to be harder to find at a cheaper price unless you find it powder packed. It is longer to clean but over the years I have gotten used to it.
 
If I might suggest,most framers generate enough "end cuts" to last a life time. A client comes in and gets a 13 1/2" x 40" piece framed and presto you have an 18 1/2" x 40 piece left over. After a short time, I'll bet you will have a "mountain" of these end cuts, also.

Most all major suppliers carry glass in 50 sq ft boxes,and your experience will tell you which sizes you should stock. But in any case, you will generate enough scraps to never buy small sizes again (unless you specialize in minis)

Not to be disagreeable with the prior poster, but for the slight difference in cost between powder or paper packed glass, save your elbow and buy paper packed boxed glass,it's virtually cleaned when you cut it

[ 01-19-2003, 02:14 PM: Message edited by: Bob Carter ]
 
It's an interesting question.

Do many framers buy glass in assorted sizes?

I buy only 32 x 40. There is always enough scrap to glaze smaller pieces; larger ones will probably get plexi.

My reasons for not buying the smaller sizes are mostly personal: the boxes are too heavy to lift; they don't store conveniently anywhere; I am more likely to need a 16 1/4 x 22 1/2 than an exact 16 x 20.

So, what's the concensus?

Kit
 
We buy glass in assorted sizes. We do not buy smaller than 16x20. If a piece is bigger than 32 x 40, I am too short to lift it up onto the cutter. I can carry it there, but I have to have someone taller than a runt put it there for me.

I am not aware of the cost. I do not do the ordering.
 
I use so little glass, because of my customer base, that each piece is a special order. I'm just weighing in on the sizes. I use Cyro's Acrylite glazing, and I have them cut it into 48"x48" sheets. That's what fits easily into the back of my truck, and is easiest for us to store and handle in the shop. Like Bob stated, though. There is no sense in buying any smaller stuff. I generate enough scrap to glaze everything else.
 
When I started out, I bought 26x32 and sn occasional box of 32x40. I had tons of scrap. Even with using a lot of it for smaller frames, I found that many times when I pulled it out, it was scratched. I gave gobs of (approx) 11x14 and smaller to the local high school art department to practice for their stain glass cutting. Finally I decided to start carrying other sizes, and now I have hardly any waste at all. I carry 16x20, 20x24, 22x28, 26x32, and whatever that next size up is (I'm still at home) all in paper packed. I have saved more time and money this way than you could have ever convinced me that I would have. I carry all of these in regular and reflection control, and am adding uv gradually, and will phase out regular as I run out.

And yeah, all of the larger pieces get acrylic.

Betty
 
Like Betty we buy every glass size from 16 x 20 on up to 32 x 40. Beyond that size, we use plexi.

And Bob, for those really weird sizes, like the 13 x 39 panoramas, we increase the cost of the glass 'cause we know we're going to get stuck with a very large piece of odd-sized material.

Finally, all these glass products are UV. We carry no regular glass at all.
 
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