Preparing for
Installation
A short read that will make install day faster, smoother and easier on everyone. Five minutes of prep the night before saves us all a lot of shuffling around when the van pulls up. Thank you for choosing Harbour Glass.
Your Install Day Checklist
If you only read one thing on this page, read this. The rest is the reasoning behind it.
- 1 Dry the shower recess, benchtop or install zone the morning of the job.
- 2 Clear the work area of towels, toiletries, kettles or ornaments.
- 3 Keep pets and small kids in a separate room while we work.
- 4 Leave the driveway clear if you can, we are carrying full sheets of glass.
- 5 Have any last minute questions ready when we arrive, then let us crack on.
- 6 Wait 24 hours before first use of a shower so the silicone can cure.
The Morning of Your Install
Dry the wet zones
If your install is a shower screen, please give the recess a quick towel dry the morning we arrive. Our team takes their boots off at the front door as a courtesy, and there is nothing worse than stepping into a shower recess in socks and finding a puddle in the corner. Wet socks are the fastest way to slow a job down. A tea towel over the tiles for two minutes fixes it.
Same rule applies to benchtops for splashbacks, poolside for pool fencing, and staircases for balustrades. Dry surfaces are safer to work on and easier to seal against.
Pets in another room
We genuinely love pets. That is not a corporate line, it is the truth. Dogs and cats make the workshop and job sites better. But a shower screen install involves power tools, sharp offcuts, drills through tile, and full height sheets of glass being carried through hallways. It is not a safe environment for a curious dog or an underfoot cat, and it is very hard for us to keep an eye out for them while we are focused on a precise cut.
The kindest thing for everyone is to pop them in a separate room, or the back yard, with a bowl of water and a chew for the duration of the visit. We will be in and out in a few hours, and they can come and inspect our work when we are done.
Kids too, where possible
Small children love watching tradies work, and we get it, but the same safety logic applies. Glass offcuts are razor sharp. Silicone is a mess if it ends up on carpet. If you can keep the little ones out of the immediate work zone until we have packed up, we can focus on doing your install properly.
Access and Workspace
Driveway access
If you can leave a clear run from the road to the front door, that saves us carrying full sheets of glass across a lawn. If the driveway is tight, park the second car on the street on install morning.
A nearby power point
Our tools run off standard mains power. If your install zone is a long way from a GPO, an extension lead helps. Otherwise we bring one and route it politely.
Clear the work zone
Towels, toiletries, ornaments, cookbooks, whatever lives near the install area, please shift it out of the way. If we have to move it, we might not put it back exactly where you had it.
Someone home
Ideally an adult is home at the start of the visit so we can confirm the setout with you and answer any last minute questions. Once we start work you are welcome to head out, or head into another room if you prefer.
While We Are Working
The friendliest thing we can ask, and it always feels a little cheeky, is this. Ask us anything you like when we arrive and again once we have packed up. In between, please leave us to it.
There is nothing rude in the request. Glass work is precise. A single distraction during a cut, a hardware alignment or a silicone bead can cost us a panel and cost you a wait. We would much rather stay focused for the two or three hours it takes to do the job properly and then have a proper chat over the finished work.
If something urgent comes up mid job, tap the shoulder, no problem. Otherwise a cuppa left on the bench is always welcome, and always noticed.
Some noise, a little mess
Cutting hardware to length and drilling anchor holes into tile makes noise. It sounds worse than it is, and it is over quickly. We use dust extraction on drill work, but a fine white powder can settle nearby. We wipe it down before we leave, and it wipes off any surface it lands on.
We clean up after ourselves
Every install ends with a proper clean. Offcuts bagged, silicone tools wiped, hardware polished, the glass itself given a first clean with the 50 percent methylated spirits solution we recommend for ongoing care. You should not have to touch a broom after we leave.
What to Expect on the Day
| Job Type | Typical Time On Site |
|---|---|
| Framed or semi frameless shower screen | 2 to 3 hours |
| Frameless shower screen | 3 to 4 hours |
| Glass splashback | 2 to 4 hours |
| Mirror | 1 to 2 hours |
| Glass pool fencing | Half a day to two days depending on run length |
| Balustrades | Half a day to a full day |
These are typical ranges. Your job may sit outside them for good reasons, and we will let you know at booking.
After We Leave
Give the silicone 24 hours to cure
This one matters. Silicone needs a full 24 hours to fully cure before it is exposed to water. If your install was a shower screen, please do not use the shower for the first day. It is the difference between a seal that holds for years and a seal that lifts in the first month.
Same rule for pool fencing near a wet pool coping, and any splashback where silicone was used at the joins. If you are not sure whether your install includes silicone that needs curing, ask us on the day and we will tell you.
First clean, take it easy
We give the glass a first clean before we leave. For the first week we recommend a soft microfibre and warm water only. Skip the cleaning products and the squeegee for a few days while everything settles.
Ongoing care
Once you are past the first week, the maintenance routine is dead simple, and there are a couple of things people commonly get wrong that will damage your glass permanently. We wrote a short guide covering the lot.
Something We Have Not Covered?
If your job has a wrinkle we did not think of, or you just want to double check the plan before install day, get in touch. A quick call now is easier than a rescheduled visit later.