Commercial roller shades cost whatever the line items on your estimate add up to, and there is no reliable public per-square-foot number that will price a bid for you. Subcontractors build the price from the takeoff up: material from the manufacturer's quote for each size, motors and controls by count, accessories by the foot, labor from their own crew rates, then the job costs a bid set adds (spare shades, mock-ups, lifts, freight, bonds, retainage, prevailing wage), and finally overhead, profit and a contingency sized to what the documents leave open. This post walks through that build in order. It has no made-up dollar figures, because the only prices that matter are your manufacturer's and your crew's.
Start from a takeoff you trust
Every number below multiplies something from the takeoff, so errors there grow. Before pricing, you want one line per shade with room, tag, type, mount, width, height and the source of each size, plus counts of motors, keypads, power supplies, side channels and pockets. Spare shades, the mock-up and any alternate belong on their own lines. If you are building that list yourself, follow our roller shade takeoff from the window schedule; the spec clauses that add quantity are in spec section 12 24 13: what to read before you bid.
Material: get the manufacturer to price each size
Roller shades are custom products priced by width and height, so the material number comes from your manufacturer, not from an average:
- Send the commercial desk a quote request with the product, fabric and openness, color, mount, control (chain, crank or motor), fascia or headbox, and each size with its quantity.
- Ask for each size priced separately, plus accessories (side and sill channels, pockets, fascia over coupled runs) and the freight terms.
- Flag sizes that may exceed the product's limits or the fabric's roll width. The SWFcontract guide spec, for example, lists fabrics with roll widths up to 126 inches; a wider shade has to be railroaded, may need seams, or may become two coupled bands.
- If the fabric color is "as selected by Architect from manufacturer's full range," price the standard color group and say so in your clarifications.
Add the spare shades the spec asks for. The New York OGS master spec asks for full-size spares equal to 5 percent of each size, color and fabric, "but no fewer than two units." On a job with many sizes that minimum can add a lot of shades, so price it as written and ask the GC how it applies.
Motorization and power coordination
Motorized shades need the most care, because their scope splits across trades. Count, as separate lines:
- Motors: one per independently driven roller. A dual shade with both bands motorized has two.
- Controls: keypads or switches per room or group, any sensors, interfaces to a building or lighting control system.
- Power supplies or panels if the system is low voltage.
- Low-voltage cable, if it is yours.
- Programming, commissioning and owner training. The OGS master's Part 3 includes a demonstration article for motor-operated shades.
Then settle who provides power. The OGS master lets the architect choose 110-V ac, 220-V ac, 24-V dc, 12-V dc or solar-powered dc motors, and its Part 3 says "Connect motor-operated roller shades to building electrical system." Division 26 normally brings the circuits and boxes, but that sentence can put the final connection on you. Read Division 26, check the electrical sheets for boxes at shade heads, and send a question if the two disagree. Then write the answer into your proposal: what you include, what you exclude, and what you assume.
Work by others: pockets, blocking and sealant
Some items that shades depend on belong to other trades. The OGS master's editor notes send wood blocking for mounting shades to Section 06 10 00 or 06 10 53 and the sealant at light-blocking accessories to 07 92 00. Drywall pockets and soffits are normally framing and drywall work. Extruded pockets and closure panels can still be yours if the shade section specifies them.
Do not leave these silent. List each one in your exclusions ("blocking by others," "drywall pockets by others") and price anything the spec puts in your section.
Labor: your rates, per unit, by product
Labor is the number only you can produce. Most subs price it per shade by product type (manual single, coupled set, motorized, dual, blackout with channels), then add for:
- Height and access: lifts or scaffolding for tall glass, atriums and clerestories.
- Site conditions: occupied buildings, after-hours work, security badging, long walks from parking or a single freight elevator.
- Trips: the field measure, the mock-up, the main install, punch list and training are separate visits.
- Travel and lodging on out-of-town jobs.
Public work changes the rate. The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts generally apply to federal and federally assisted construction contracts over $2,000, and require laborers and mechanics on site to be paid at least the prevailing wages the Department of Labor determines. When the bid documents include a wage determination, price labor at those rates rather than your shop rate, and allow time for the payroll reporting that comes with it.
Bonds, insurance and retainage
On larger and public jobs, the payment terms carry costs of their own:
Bonds
Federal law (the former Miller Act, as set out in FAR 28.102-1) requires performance and payment bonds from the prime contractor on federal construction contracts over $150,000. GCs often ask subcontractors for their own bonds too. If the bid documents or the GC's invitation ask for one, get the premium from your surety before bid day and carry it as a line.
Insurance
Check the GC's subcontract requirements: limits, additional insured endorsements and waivers. A higher limit than you carry today has a cost.
Retainage
Retainage is money withheld from each payment until the work is complete. A ConsensusDocs article puts the prevailing range at 5 to 10 percent where states set a limit, and notes some states require reductions partway through. As an example of the arithmetic only: on a $40,000 subcontract with 10 percent retainage, $4,000 waits until closeout, often months after your manufacturer has been paid. Know the rate before you bid and decide whether the wait is priced in.
Freight, delivery and job costs
Smaller items that add up on a commercial bid:
- Freight from the manufacturer, and whether it ships to your shop or the jobsite.
- Storage and handling: the SWFcontract spec asks for shades labelled by location and stored indoors in unopened packaging until install.
- Submittals, samples and shop drawings, which take office time.
- The mock-up: MechoShade's guide spec asks for a mock-up of one roller shade assembly, rebuilt "until satisfactory results are achieved" if it is rejected.
- Warranty beyond the manufacturer's standard, if the spec asks for more years than your manufacturer gives.
- Permits or fees, if any apply to your scope.
Contingency, addenda and alternates
A contingency covers what the documents do not settle, not general nervousness. Size it to your open items: heights marked Field verify, an unanswered question about pockets, a fabric not yet selected. Close as many as you can with questions before the RFI deadline, so the contingency gets smaller.
Read every addendum for changes to Division 12, the window schedule, ceilings and electrical, and acknowledge each one on the bid form if the form asks for it. Price alternates (motorizing a room, adding blackout to classrooms) as separate numbers. If the spec makes window coverings a cash allowance, your takeoff and pricing still matter: they show the GC whether the allowance covers the scope.
Overhead, profit and the proposal
Add your overhead and profit the way you do on any job, then write the proposal so it says exactly what you priced:
- Scope: products, quantities by type, and the documents and addenda you priced from.
- Basis of price: manufacturer and fabric, sizes from the drawings subject to field measure.
- Inclusions: spares, mock-up, motors and controls, programming, training.
- Exclusions: blocking, drywall pockets, power and boxes, anything you did not price.
- Clarifications: how you read each open question, such as the spare-stock minimum.
- Terms: how long the price holds and the lead time after approved submittals.
A clear proposal protects the price you calculated. If the takeoff is the part that slows you down, our commercial shade takeoff service delivers the counts, sizes and sources, the questions for the GC and proposal language to paste, in 48 hours from complete documents. What to expect from any takeoff provider is in window covering takeoff services: what you get and how they're priced.
Frequently asked questions
How much do commercial roller shades cost per square foot?
There is no dependable public figure. Manufacturers price roller shades by width and height for each product and fabric, and labor, motors, access and job requirements vary by project. Price each bid from your manufacturer's quote for each size and your own labor rates.
Should motorized shades be priced separately?
Yes, at least on your estimate. List motors, controls, power supplies, cable, programming and training as their own lines, and make clear in the proposal who provides power and the final electrical connection.
Who pays for blocking and shade pockets?
Usually other trades: master specs point blocking to rough carpentry (06 10 00) and drywall pockets are framing and drywall work. Extruded pockets or closure panels specified in your own section can still be yours, so read both and list the exclusions.
What is retainage on a subcontract?
It is a percentage withheld from each payment until the project or your scope is complete, commonly 5 to 10 percent. Check the subcontract for the rate and when it is released, and allow for the wait in your price.
Do I have to include spare shades in a commercial bid?
If the spec's extra materials paragraph asks for them, yes. Price them as written, as their own line, and ask the GC whether a "no fewer than two units" minimum applies per size or per job.