# Measurements for Sliding Glass



## Virides (Jun 5, 2013)

I know I have shown the calculation method for sliding glass before, however I need to know how high to make a panel of glass if my open area is 500mm high. I will be using the track from bunnings.

I am currently not at home and I have the panel of glass in car to take to the glazier. Was hoping I didn't have to drive around to find this out 

Thanks


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## Planky (Jun 5, 2013)

Of the top of my head The instructions in the bunnings track says the overall length - 11 mm should be your glass size


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## Virides (Jun 5, 2013)

Thanks  That actually sounds familiar..


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## wokka (Jun 5, 2013)

I dont buy track from bunnings, but imagine they stock what ever is cheapest by the container load at the time. 
This would work on the track i use.
If by "open area " you mean the distance from the top of the bottom track to the bottom of the top track ; then you would need to allow + 10mm so 5mm goes into the bottom track and 5 mm up into the top track. For removal the whole 10 mm will need to go into the top track to allow clearance on the bottom track.
Clear as mud eh?


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## dickyknee (Jun 5, 2013)

Measure the opening with the track glued in and add 9-10mm ... I always did 9mm so I had a little room for error.


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## J-A-X (Jun 5, 2013)

Standard cowdroy tracks state -11mm


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## Justdragons (Jun 5, 2013)

jax is that the opening without track in -11mm or -11mm from the remaining opening with the track installed?


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## Virides (Jun 5, 2013)

Just to clarify also, the brand typically from bunnings is Cowdroy? This comes in white and brown right? I think we have some of this left over, but not sure about its brand, just know it was purchased at bunnings. Came in I believe 2.4m lengths. I remember the profile having a beaded floor for the bottom track.


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## RedFox (Jun 5, 2013)

Yep cowdroy. On the packet it says to measure the gap without the tracks then -11mm. But it also work to nail the tracks down measure the gap between tracks and add 9mm.


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## CptLici (Jun 5, 2013)

http://www.cowdroy.com.au/bb&plastrk.pdf

The bottom one?


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## J-A-X (Jun 5, 2013)

Justdragons said:


> jax is that the opening without track in -11mm or -11mm from the remaining opening with the track installed?



The opening without the track, then subtract 11mm.
When the tracks are installed and if your glazier is spot on you can put the glass in the upper track and clear the bottom track with a mm to spare. The glass then drops into the bottom track yet still has enough glass in the top track to not fall out


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## wokka (Jun 5, 2013)

Justdragons said:


> jax is that the opening without track in -11mm or -11mm from the remaining opening with the track installed?


Surely the opening wouldn't include the track since the track doesn't open. This thread is a good example of how terminology can cause problems.


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## andynic07 (Jun 5, 2013)

A picture is worth a thousand words


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## CptLici (Jun 5, 2013)

^ That's what was in the technical sheet I linked.


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## andynic07 (Jun 5, 2013)

CptLici said:


> ^ That's what was in the technical sheet I linked.


That is right it is from the cowdry site but it would appear some people may have not clicked on the link so I posted a picture.


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## CptLici (Jun 5, 2013)

Also what's interesting, is that it appears to be manufactured in Australia. What's more interesting is that Bunnings sells their products. I work for a large Australian manufacturer, and we also sell our product to Bunnings. So it would seem, Bunnings don't just buy cheap imported rubbish wherever possible, because if that was the case they would probably be buying the track from another supplier, and they certainly wouldn't be buying the product my company manufactures.


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## J-A-X (Jun 5, 2013)

wokka said:


> Surely the opening wouldn't include the track since the track doesn't open. This thread is a good example of how terminology can cause problems.



Measure the opening without the track. The "-11mm" takes into account the track plus a mm of room to get the glass in easily (some glaziers are more accurate with their cuts than others)
This is for the "cowdroy" brand tracks. Others may have slightly different measurements. There's normally a guide included if you look.


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## Virides (Jun 5, 2013)

CptLici said:


> Also what's interesting, is that it appears to be manufactured in Australia. What's more interesting is that Bunnings sells their products. I work for a large Australian manufacturer, and we also sell our product to Bunnings. So it would seem, Bunnings don't just buy cheap imported rubbish wherever possible, because if that was the case they would probably be buying the track from another supplier, and they certainly wouldn't be buying the product my company manufactures.



We have tried to get our product into Pet Stores. As of yet, no luck. We talked to a distributer but he basically said Pet Stores want +100% or more profit margin on products. Essentially he said they were greedy, but even when we made our price so low that we basically were making nothing, still no go.

So we basically have to do this ourselves which is why we really need to rely on word of mouth and shows.


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## CptLici (Jun 6, 2013)

Virides said:


> We have tried to get our product into Pet Stores. As of yet, no luck. We talked to a distributer but he basically said Pet Stores want +100% or more profit margin on products. Essentially he said they were greedy, but even when we made our price so low that we basically were making nothing, still no go.
> 
> So we basically have to do this ourselves which is why we really need to rely on word of mouth and shows.



I have no idea what margin Bunnings are getting on our product, but I do know we sell to Bunnings via a distributor. I also know that we supply our product in quantities of 40,000 at a time. 

Manufacturing in Australia and making a profit is almost impossible these days. The only way we are still doing it is because we engineer our own machinery that works differently to the off-the-shelf machinery that makes our products, therefore providing greater economy of scale and allowing us to make a profit and compete against Chinese imports.


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## wokka (Jun 6, 2013)

CptLici said:


> I have no idea what margin Bunnings are getting on our product, but I do know we sell to Bunnings via a distributor. I also know that we supply our product in quantities of 40,000 at a time.
> 
> Manufacturing in Australia and making a profit is almost impossible these days. The only way we are still doing it is because we engineer our own machinery that works differently to the off-the-shelf machinery that makes our products, therefore providing greater economy of scale and allowing us to make a profit and compete against Chinese imports.


 If shops are to maintain Australian workplace standards they need 100% to cover compliance costs. Alternatively they can adopt third world pricing and third world standards. I know a lot of the prodcuts I buy direct are less than 50% of Bunnings retail so they are therefore marking up by more than 100%.Thats how our system works to maintain the standards of living we enjoy in Australia.


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## CptLici (Jun 6, 2013)

wokka said:


> If shops are to maintain Australian workplace standards they need 100% to cover compliance costs. Alternatively they can adopt third world pricing and third world standards. I know a lot of the prodcuts I buy direct are less than 50% of Bunnings retail so they are therefore marking up by more than 100%.Thats how our system works to maintain the standards of living we enjoy in Australia.



I guess the trick is knowing who the manufacturer is, to be able to buy direct from them for less. For example, on our products we sell in Bunnings, there is actually no tie back to us as the manufacturer. It is not branded with our brand that we sell to distributors and contractors, and our company name is nowhere to be seen. The distributor who buys from us and sells to Bunnings does the branding. 

I actually saw one of our new products stocked in a Bunnings here in Sydney the other week, priced at $60. If you can track us down as the manufacturer and find our factory in Brisbane, you can buy the same thing for $25


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## wokka (Jun 6, 2013)

CptLici said:


> I guess the trick is knowing who the manufacturer is, to be able to buy direct from them for less. For example, on our products we sell in Bunnings, there is actually no tie back to us as the manufacturer. It is not branded with our brand that we sell to distributors and contractors, and our company name is nowhere to be seen. The distributor who buys from us and sells to Bunnings does the branding.
> 
> I actually saw one of our new products stocked in a Bunnings here in Sydney the other week, priced at $60. If you can track us down as the manufacturer and find our factory in Brisbane, you can buy the same thing for $25


 But like you say bunnings take 40,000 at a time which makes it worthwhile to sell at a discount.I buy 1000 $25 bunnings items for $10. To stay relevent to this thread, I buy say 50 x 3.6m top and 50 bottom track at about 40% retail.Companies try to sell one item at a time at bulk rates, until they do their sums and find they are behind the eight ball.
, but i am sure there is a bit of middle ground.


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## Justdragons (Jun 6, 2013)

Virides, please make black plastic track.. signed the reptile community.. lol 

Although i would imagine cowdry would have a patent on their track design??


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## CptLici (Jun 6, 2013)

Justdragons said:


> Virides, please make black plastic track.. signed the reptile community.. lol
> 
> Although i would imagine cowdry would have a patent on their track design??



Just the plastic, probably not. The ball bearing track, apparently yes:

"H.M. Cowdroy's other major inventions include the highly successful ball bearing sliding glass track, a sashless sliding window and a sliding door track system featuring ball bearings on a top race section, which was patented and sold under manufacturing licence around the world."


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## Virides (Jun 6, 2013)

Justdragons said:


> Virides, please make black plastic track.. signed the reptile community.. lol
> 
> Although i would imagine cowdry would have a patent on their track design??



Costs quite a lot to get a die made and then some for the extrusion. Usually it is a minimum run like 300m or based on weight like, 300kg or so to make it worthwhile.

Money we don't have, but would love to do...


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## RedFox (Jun 9, 2013)

Black track would be really good. Maybe the reptile community should look at group funding.


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## Virides (Jul 11, 2013)

So I finally got up to installing the panels and the -11mm was too big, It was more like -12/-13mm. Also the cowdroy says on the website that 6mm can fit, and yet it doesn't. Had to opt for 5mm.

So with one day left till the show I will have the enclosures finished


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## andynic07 (Jul 11, 2013)

Virides said:


> So I finally got up to installing the panels and the -11mm was too big, It was more like -12/-13mm. Also the cowdroy says on the website that 6mm can fit, and yet it doesn't. Had to opt for 5mm.
> 
> So with one day left till the show I will have the enclosures finished


That is strange, I used the measurements that they suggested and it worked perfectly on both my enclosures, maybe you didn't measure correctly or the glass place cut it wrong. Also it does say to use 5mm glass.


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