Does a new storefront have to be thermally broken?

On new and substantially altered exterior work in the DMV, generally yes. All three jurisdictions enforce a version of the IECC commercial envelope requirements, and a non-thermally-broken aluminum frame cannot hit the assembly U-factor no matter what glass you put in it. Straight glass replacement in an existing frame is a repair and is not usually held to the new-construction standard.

What ADA requirements apply to a glass entrance?

Three that drive design: a 32 inch clear opening width at 90 degrees, a maximum 5 pound opening force on interior doors, and manoeuvring clearance on both sides that depends on the approach direction. Vision lites need to start no higher than 43 inches. In practice the opening force is what fails inspections, because closers get adjusted up over time to fight wind.

When does glazing need to be fire-rated?

When it sits in a rated assembly — a corridor wall, a stair enclosure, an occupancy separation or a shaft. The glass and the frame must be listed together and labelled, and the rating has to match the wall. Tempered glass has no fire rating regardless of thickness. It is the longest-lead item in commercial glazing and the one most often discovered late.

Can you work after hours so we stay open?

Yes, and for retail and restaurants it is usually the right call. We schedule nights or Sundays, protect the interior, and have the space clean before open. It changes the crew and the sequence, both of which we confirm in writing before the work is booked.

Commercial About 4 min Free, no sign-up

Commercial StorefrontGlass Configurator

Name: Virginia Glass Windows
Address: Alexandria, VA, US
Telephone: (703) 470-7867
Price range: $$

Spec a storefront, entrance or partition system in minutes.

Storefront spec sheet
ADA and fire-rating flags
Aluminum and glass take-off

ScopeSets sensible defaults for framing and glazing. Change anything below.

Framing systemReusing existing frames is the biggest lever on this page.

Existing profile — verify pocket depth · 1–2 weeks. Glass only. The single biggest lever on this page.

Glazing packageExterior work in the DMV generally needs Low-E insulated.

The code baseline for commercial exterior work in zone 4A.

Opening layoutBays are the vertical divisions between mullions. Count them on the drawing.

Bays4

Bay width48 in

Opening height96 in

Bulkhead0 in

Opaque panel below the glass. Zero means glass to the floor.

Transom0 in

Separate lite above the intermediate horizontal.

16.0 ft wide by 8.0 ft tall · 128 sq ft of glass in 4 lites

Door packageHardware is where entrances fail inspection, and where the ADA obligations live.

Offset pivots, surface closer, deadlatch, ladder pull · 3–5 weeks

Add to the scope

JurisdictionDecides the review path and the permit clock.

Virginia USBC statewide. Glass-only replacement in sound existing frames is a repair and normally does not trigger a permit.

Measured elevation

4 bays · 16.0 ft

100%

Glass area

128 sq ft

4 lites

Largest lite

199 lb

46" x 96"

Set crew

2 glaziers

Four-cup carriers, glass dolly

Lead time

3–5 weeks

After approved submittals

ADA check needed on this door

A public accommodation entrance needs 32 inches of clear width at 90 degrees and a maximum 5 pound opening force on the interior side. On a 36 in leaf you get roughly 33 to 34 inches clear once the door thickness and stop come off. If the door faces wind, a power operator is often the only way to hold the force.

Scope of work

1 in insulated Low-E glazing1/4 temp Low-E #2 · 1/2 argon · 1/4 temp · 4 lites	128 sq ft
Existing framing retainedGaskets, setting blocks and sealant renewed at every lite	4 openings
Single doorOffset pivots, surface closer, deadlatch, ladder pull	1 leaf
Glazing laborStandard business hours	2-person crew
Demo and disposalCut out the old system and haul it. · Container and haul-off included	1 day/elevation
Lead time to install	3–5 weeks

Openings

Glazing

1 in Low-E IG

Framing

Existing

Aluminum

Existing

What we confirm on site

Pocket depth and bite on the existing frames, the route the glass takes to the opening, whether anything sits in a rated wall, and the actual sizes. Field measurements govern — the drawing above is design intent, not a cut list.

Quantities, weights and lead times are planning figures for the DC-MD-VA commercial market, derived from the layout you entered. Glass weight assumes the glass in the make-up at 12.98 lb per square foot per inch of thickness. Lead times run from approved submittals and exclude permit review where that is not in scope. A firm proposal follows a site survey and, on rated or engineered work, shop drawing approval.

Next step

Send this to our commercial desk

We survey the opening, confirm the framing system and come back with a proposal your GC or landlord can sign.

Glass area

128 sq ft

Re-glaze existing — 4 bays, 128 sq ft of 1 in insulated low-e

Scope: Re-glaze existing
Framing: Keep existing frames (Existing profile — verify pocket depth)
Glazing: 1 in insulated Low-E — 1/4 temp Low-E #2 · 1/2 argon · 1/4 temp
Layout: 4 bays at 48" x 96"
Bulkhead / transom: No bulkhead · no transom
Glass area: 128 sq ft across 4 lites
Largest lite: 46" x 96" · 199 lb
Handling: 2-person set, four-cup carriers, glass dolly
Aluminum take-off: None — existing frames retained
Door package: Single door · Offset pivots, surface closer, deadlatch, ladder pull
Added scope: Demo and disposal
Working hours: Standard business hours
Lead time: 3–5 weeks after approved submittals
Jurisdiction: Fairfax / Loudoun / PW

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What separates a commercial glass job from a residential one

Scale is the obvious part. It is not the hard part. What actually drives a commercial job is the review chain around the glass. Rated assemblies need listed products and submittals. Exterior work has to hit an assembly U-factor, which pulls the frame into the conversation. Entrances carry ADA obligations that live in the hardware, not the glass. And the building has to keep operating while the work happens.

The single largest variable is whether the existing framing survives. Re-glazing an intact storefront is glass, gaskets, setting blocks and labor. Replacing the system means aluminum, engineering, anchors, sealant, permits and inspection — a different trade sequence with a different schedule. That is always the first thing we assess on site.

Read the elevation, then the perspective

The elevation is the drawing that gets built from: bay widths, glass sizes, the transom line, the bulkhead, where the door sits in the run. The perspective settles the arguments the elevation cannot — how deep the mullion returns read from the sidewalk, how much of the interior shows through a Low-E unit against a clear one, and whether the door swing lands where people walk. Both are the same numbers.

Three things worth deciding early

Whether anything is in a rated wall. Discovering that during install is the most disruptive way to find out. It is a drawing review question, not a field question.
Whether you can lose the storefront during business hours. Decide it up front — it changes the crew, the sequence and the protection plan.
How the glass gets to the opening. A 199 lb lite needs a path. Sidewalk closures, elevator dimensions and interior routes decide whether a job is straightforward or a crane day.

Why there is no price on this page

Two storefronts with identical elevations routinely price differently by a wide margin — the frames are sound or they are not, the glass walks in or it flies in, the wall is rated or it is not, the permit takes two weeks or eight. Publishing a number would mean guessing at all four. Quantities, weights, lead times and code obligations are the things we can state honestly before anyone measures the opening, so those are what this tool gives you. The number follows the survey.

Questions people ask

The opening gets secured the same day — usually within a couple of hours for a board-up. The glass itself depends on what was in it. Clear tempered in a common size can sometimes be pulled from local stock within a day or two. A 1 inch insulated Low-E unit is made to order and typically runs two to three weeks. Anything fire-rated or security-rated runs several weeks because the assembly has to be listed as a unit.

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