A facade tender and BOQ succeed when they lock down measurable performance intent and interface responsibility before a single bracket is priced - so specify criteria such as U-value, SHGC, wind load and deflection, not just a product name. As the specifier, your document becomes the contract for how the building envelope will perform across its service life, and a loose BOQ transfers that risk straight back onto your drawings and your client. The gap between a tender that returns five comparable bids and one that returns five incomparable guesses lies almost entirely in how tightly you write the performance and scope language.
The common trap is treating a facade as a supply item, like ordering doors by the dozen. In reality it is a bespoke, engineered assembly that must reconcile your architecture, the structure's movements and the local climate at every junction. Whether the package is unitised curtain wall, a stick system, structural glazing or a spider-fitted glass wall, the same discipline applies - define what the envelope must achieve, then let qualified contractors engineer to it and compete on merit.
This guide sets out how to write performance criteria, structure priced line items, define interfaces and tolerances, specify hardware and mandate testing - so the bids you receive are technically comparable and the awarded scope has no gaps to argue over later. It is written for architects and specifiers running projects across Hyderabad, Secunderabad and the wider Telangana and Andhra Pradesh market, where climate, code compliance and lead times shape almost every glass decision.
What a Facade Tender and BOQ Actually Do
A facade tender is the package of documents that invites contractors to bid on your building envelope, and the BOQ (Bill of Quantities) is the priced schedule inside it that lists every measured item they must supply and install. Together they translate your design intent into an enforceable, biddable contract. Get them right and you receive apples-to-apples bids you can defend to a client; get them wrong and you receive a stack of qualified guesses that cannot be compared, audited or valued at variation stage.
A complete facade tender normally contains five layers of information, and each protects a different part of your risk:
- Performance specification: the measurable targets the envelope must hit - thermal, structural, acoustic, water and safety.
- Bill of Quantities: measured, separately priced line items against which contractors quote unit rates.
- Drawings and interface details: setting-out, junctions, slab-edge conditions and tolerances.
- Testing and submittal schedule: the mock-ups, calculations and warranties required as proof of compliance.
- Commercial and programme conditions: payment terms, lead times, milestones and liquidated damages.
Treat these as one coordinated system. A crisp performance spec undermined by a vague BOQ, or a detailed BOQ with no testing clause, still leaks risk. When you brief a contractor early - the design-assist that underpins glass facade and curtain wall engineering - you can pressure-test all five layers before the tender goes out and before a single unbuildable detail reaches bid stage.
Write Facade Performance Criteria, Not a Shopping List
Open the tender with a performance specification that any competent facade contractor can engineer to. Naming a single proprietary system may look precise, but it kills price tension and hides whether the bidder actually understands the intent. State the target values and let the systems compete on merit and price. A performance-led approach is the single biggest lever a specifier has over both cost and quality.
A robust performance schedule for a curtain wall BOQ should fix these headline parameters:
- Thermal: U-value (W/m2K) for glass, frame and the overall assembly, plus SHGC and VLT for vision glazing, tied explicitly to ECBC and NBC 2016 compliance.
- Structural: design wind pressure derived from IS 875 Part 3 for your site, terrain category and building height, with governing positive and negative (suction) values stated separately.
- Deflection: frame limits - commonly L/175 or 20 mm, whichever is less - plus a glass edge-cover check under full design deflection.
- Acoustic: weighted sound reduction index Rw (and Rw+Ctr for road, rail or airport exposure) matched to each room's use.
- Safety: laminated or toughened glass to IS 2553, fall-height and barrier-loading criteria, and framed-glass classification where relevant.
- Fire and life safety: perimeter fire barriers, spandrel firestop and compartmentation continuity per NBC 2016.
State clearly that these values are minimums to be verified by the contractor's own engineering and testing. That single sentence shifts the burden of proof onto the bidder and makes non-compliant substitutions far harder to slip through at award or on site.
Structure the BOQ So Facade Bids Are Truly Comparable
Break the facade into discrete, separately priced packages. A single lump sum against 'supply and install curtain wall' cannot be compared line-to-line, audited, or valued fairly at variation stage. Comparable bids come from a comparable structure imposed by you, not one left to each bidder's in-house format.
Split the priced BOQ into at least these heads:
- System: aluminium framing (alloy 6063-T6 or T5), finish (PVDF/Kynar or anodising with film thickness stated), gaskets, and structural or weather silicone carrying the sealant manufacturer's warranty.
- Glass and infill: each glass make-up (mm/mm/mm build-up, coating, low-E type, laminate interlayer), spandrel and shadow-box units, plus any louvres or opaque panels.
- Hardware: friction stays, floor springs, door closers, handles, locks and patch fittings, each scheduled by type, finish and brand tier (Taiton, Enox or Ozone) so an assessor can compare like for like.
- Interfaces: brackets, embeds, flashings, closures and the perimeter seal to adjacent trades.
- Operable elements: vents, doors and their operating hardware, priced per type and per rated cycle life.
- Testing and mock-ups: visual mock-up, performance mock-up and site testing as explicit, separately priced line items.
Require unit rates against measured quantities so re-measurement and variations are unambiguous, and ask bidders to schedule assumptions and exclusions in the same document. In Hyderabad practice, a mid-rise commercial curtain wall commonly lands between INR 1,800 and INR 3,200 per sq ft of facade depending on glass make-up, unitised versus stick construction and finish; frameless structural glazing and spider systems often sit higher again. That spread is wide enough that a structured BOQ pays for itself the first time you compare bids.
Indicative Facade Costs for Hyderabad and Telangana
Budgeting a facade before bids arrive is easier when you anchor to typical local rates. The figures below are indicative supply-and-install ranges seen on Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Andhra Pradesh projects in 2025-26; they move with aluminium and glass commodity prices, elevation complexity and site access, so treat them as a sanity-check band rather than a quotation.
- Stick curtain wall, standard DGU: INR 1,800-2,400 per sq ft of facade.
- Unitised curtain wall, high-performance low-E DGU: INR 2,400-3,200 per sq ft, rising with double or triple-silver coatings.
- Structural glazing (four-side SSG): INR 1,600-2,600 per sq ft depending on glass make-up and framing.
- Spider / point-fixed glazing: INR 2,500-4,500+ per sq ft for feature lobbies and atria.
- Aluminium composite panel (ACP) cladding: INR 550-950 per sq ft of panel face.
- Performance mock-up rig: INR 6-15 lakh depending on rig size and test scope.
Two caveats save money later. First, imported low-E glass and specialist hardware can carry 8-12 week lead times, so a keen rate on paper can still miss the programme. Second, the cheapest per-sq-ft rate frequently reflects a thinner glass make-up or lower-tier hardware - which is exactly why the performance spec and BOQ structure matter more than the headline number. Browsing our recent projects gives a realistic feel for what different budgets deliver on a finished Telangana facade.
Define Interfaces, Tolerances and Movement
Most facade failures live at the junctions, not in the middle of a panel. Your tender must name who owns each interface and to what tolerance, because ambiguity here is exactly where water gets in and disputes begin. In practice, the great majority of leak claims investigated across Secunderabad and greater Hyderabad trace back to an undefined interface, not a defective panel.
- Slab edge and structure: state the permitted construction tolerance and how the facade brackets accommodate it - three-way adjustable connections are standard and should be specified as such.
- Movement: specify the inter-storey drift, slab deflection at the head, thermal movement and building settlement the system must absorb without stressing glass or seals.
- Deflection heads: require a head detail that isolates the facade from live-load slab deflection above, with a clear movement-gap dimension.
- Waterproofing continuity: define the responsibility line where facade seals meet parapet, sill, plinth and adjacent cladding, on a continuous drained-and-ventilated principle.
- Fixing tolerances: state the cumulative and panel-to-panel alignment tolerances you will accept on the finished face.
Where the facade meets entrances, revolving doors or all-glass shopfronts, carry the same tolerance logic into the glass hardware and spider fittings so the transition detail is engineered up front, not improvised on site. A single dimensioned interface schedule, cross-referenced from every relevant BOQ line, removes the grey zones where scope - and blame - otherwise falls between trades.
Specify Facade Hardware and Operable Elements Precisely
Hardware is where a clean-looking facade quietly fails on durability if the BOQ leaves it vague. Vents that sag, floor springs that leak oil and handles that corrode in monsoon humidity are all specification failures, not bad luck. Schedule hardware to the same rigour you apply to glass and framing, and name the acceptable brand tier so 'or equivalent' cannot become 'or cheaper'.
- Name the operating type and rated cycle life for each opening element, and require corrosion-grade fixings for coastal-influenced Andhra Pradesh sites near Visakhapatnam and the AP coast.
- Schedule floor springs and overhead door closers by load rating, hold-open behaviour and body size against the actual door-leaf weight, not a generic assumption.
- List door handles, locks and access hardware by substrate and finish (SS 304 vs SS 316, PVD or powder coat) so bidders cannot swap to a lower-grade material.
- For frameless glass entrances and canopies, specify patch fittings and architectural glass hardware with matching glass thickness and edge-cover requirements.
- Where sliding vents or terrace doors are involved, tie the sliding-system hardware to track load and cycle rating, not just aesthetics.
Because we deal directly in Taiton, Enox and Ozone hardware, we recommend pinning down brand tier and lead times before the tender closes; you can compare the specified range against our services and current stock so the classic post-award argument over what 'equivalent' really means never gets started.
Mandate Testing, Samples and Submittals
Testing turns a promise into evidence. Make it a tender obligation with named standards, sequence and hold points - not a clause the contractor quietly negotiates away after award. If testing is not a priced line item, it will be the first thing value-engineered out when the budget tightens.
- Performance mock-up: air infiltration to ASTM E283, static and dynamic water penetration to ASTM E331 and AAMA 501, and structural load to ASTM E330 (or the equivalent CWCT sequence).
- Field and site testing: hose or spray water testing of completed areas at a defined frequency, with pass/fail criteria stated.
- Submittals: shop drawings, structural and thermal calculations, sealant compatibility and adhesion reports, and system warranties (typically 10 years on sealed units and 10-15 years on PVDF finishes).
- Samples: a visual mock-up for colour, gloss and glass tint approval, plus control samples retained on site for comparison during installation.
- Green rating: if pursuing IGBC, GRIHA or LEED, list the credit documentation and product data the facade package must provide.
Name the mock-up cost up front - INR 6-15 lakh for a mid-size Hyderabad project - so it is priced honestly rather than smuggled into preliminaries and then cut. A performance mock-up that fails on the rig is a cheap lesson; the same failure discovered at the fourth-floor spandrel after handover is not.
Climate, Glass Selection and the Hyderabad Context
Hyderabad sits in a composite, hot climate where solar gain - not winter heat loss - drives the facade. Over-tinting to control heat kills daylight and pushes up artificial lighting load, so select glass on the SHGC-to-VLT balance, not tint alone. This is the single most consequential glass decision for a Telangana project, and it is a decision the performance spec should make explicit rather than leave to the lowest bidder.
- Target SHGC of roughly 0.25-0.30 on vision glazing to meet ECBC while keeping useful VLT above ~0.40 with a high-performance low-E coating.
- Prefer double-silver or triple-silver low-E on a DGU with an argon-filled cavity where budget allows, and specify a warm-edge spacer to limit edge condensation.
- Account for high summer surface temperatures and thermal shock - confirm whether heat-strengthened or toughened glass is required for the make-up and for shadow-box conditions.
- For west and south-west elevations across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, prefer external shading, fins or ceramic frit over pushing the tint darker.
This is where design-assist earns its keep: pressure-testing buildability and BOQ structure before the tender goes out prevents unbuildable details reaching bid stage. Our team supports architects across Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Andhra Pradesh with shop drawings, fabrication and installation, and can review a draft BOQ before it is issued - get a free quote at the criteria-setting stage and you avoid an expensive re-tender later.
Evaluate Bids and Award Without Scope Gaps
A well-structured tender is only half the job; disciplined evaluation closes it. Score bids against a matrix that separates technical compliance from price, so the cheapest non-compliant bid never wins by default. The moment you average a lump sum, you lose the ability to see where a bidder has cut the glass make-up or the hardware grade.
- Build a compliance matrix mapping every performance parameter to each bidder's stated value, flagging deviations and qualified exclusions in red.
- Normalise the priced BOQ heads so a low framing rate hiding a high glass rate - or vice versa - is visible, not averaged away.
- Interrogate the assumptions and exclusions schedule; this is where scope gaps and future variation claims are seeded.
- Confirm the warranty chain: system, sealant, sealed-unit and hardware warranties should be named entities, not vague promises.
- Check delivery and lead time against the programme, since imported low-E glass and specialist hardware can carry 8-12 week lead times that outrank a small saving on rate.
When you are ready to test your criteria against real buildability and current Hyderabad pricing, an early conversation is far cheaper than a re-tender after incomparable bids come back. Reviewing a live glass facade project alongside your draft BOQ is the fastest way to spot the gaps before they are priced.
