Upper-story glass takes ladders, time, and nerve. Price panes as usual, then let IF apply a height multiplier the moment a job goes above one story.
24 panes at $6 is $144 on a ranch — and $216 on a two-story, because every upper pane needs a ladder set.
The example
Three houses, each with a pane count, per-pane rate, and story count.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Job | Panes | $ / pane | Stories | Quote |
| 2 | Ranch house | 18 | $6.00 | 1 | $108.00 |
| 3 | Two-story colonial | 24 | $6.00 | 2 | $216.00 |
| 4 | Townhome | 30 | $5.50 | 3 | $247.50 |
The formula
IF switches the multiplier on only when it is earned:
How it works
The multiplier only fires above one story:
B2*C2is the base price: panes times your per-pane rate.IF(D2>1,1.5,1)returns 1.5 for anything above a single story, else 1.- Multiplying applies the upcharge only where ladder work exists.
Tune the 1.5 to your market — some outfits use 1.25 for two-story and 2.0 for third-floor glass.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter panes, your per-pane rate, and the number of stories.
Variations
A multiplier per story
Use a lookup for graduated multipliers: 1, 1.5, 2.0 by story.
Upcharge only the upper panes
If you count panes per floor, apply the multiplier to upper panes only.
Pitfalls & errors
Counting all panes at the two-story rate overquotes ranch-heavy neighborhoods — split the pane count per floor when you can.
Screens, tracks, and storm windows are separate line items — do not bury them in the pane rate or the multiplier compounds them too.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Is 1.5 the right multiplier?
What about three stories?
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