United inches?

[Fred]

Local window contractor advertised whole house installation price based on

600 united inches. So what is united inches, is that total horizontal length?

[Matt K]

United Inches is height plus width of each window opening.

[Gideon]

Try one or more of the following: 1) Using a good dictionary. 2) Phoning the folks who ran the ad mentioning united inches. 3) Doing a Google search using these search terms: definition "united inches"

[Robert Allison]

No, united inches is some kind of arcane measurement for estimation purposes. UN = heighth + width (in inches)

So, a 3' x 4' window would be 36 + 48 = 84 united inches

Stupid, huh?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes, but they have been doing that for decades that I know of. All windows were priced that way when I was in the business. Typical windows may be 30 x 42 or 72 UI. That 600 UI deal does not allow for many windows in a house. I have 17 windows at about 72 or 66 UI each. They are allowing for about 9 windows in the advertised price.

[Dr. Hardcrab]

"Fred" wrote

United inches is what the MLS team from Washington will lose the championship by this year........

[Jeff Wisnia]

Why did you feel you needed to tell him that, Gideon?

It's not like the OP posted his question to "alt.cooking casseroles", you know.

Seems to me this newsgroup would look like the ideal place to get an arcane term like that explained.

I for one learned one more thing I hadn't known before by following this thread.

Jeff

P.S. Don't bother asking me why *I* felt I needed to tell *you* that, Gideon, 'cause I couldn't come up with an answer other that I have *way* too much time on my hands right now, and I'm in a PO'd mood. I'm sitting here at home waiting for a "tree guy" to come over and give me an estimate and he's nearly an hour overdue allready.

[Fred]

Thanks for the info. So united inches could have any variable of window areas.

[Robert Allison]

Yes, it has been around forever and has its origin in the dark ages, thus the term "arcane". I have always wanted to sit down and figure out a window size that would really screw up this method of estimating, so that they would start to stick with useful numbers instead of this system, but I just don't have the time. United inches is one of those measurements that just irritate me.

OK, rant mode off.

[John McGaw]

You wanted something that would screw them up? How about one window with

600ui? I bet a window measuring 192 X 408 (16 feet X 34 feet) would pose some problems for any manufacturer and unless they had some fine weasel wording in their advertising...

[Colbyt]

Robert gave you the correct answer for windows.

For shipping on the other hand UPS adds in the 3rd dimension. L+W+H.

Colbyt

[George E. Cawthon]

May I add to your discussion? I too have never heard the term, but I do like to learn new ones. I haven't checked the internet for the term and I am not going to. There are many arcane terms, but united inches is just plain dumb, it doesn't make sense and almost everyone uses a different term. It's no wonder we haven't heard it before, and business using it is living in the past, way past.

As for Gideon's disdain, he is also wrong. I have many different dictionaries, good ones and not one has united inches. Before somebody points out that united inches is an old term, my 1900 copyright Webster International doesn't show the term.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Not really. Having been in the window business, it was a usefull and accurate way of pricing. UI takes in the main costing facorts, the linea feet of frame needed to build the window. Simple and it works so why do someting more complex? Why multiply for square inches when all you have to do is add to get the UI?

If a window sells for $5 a UI, at 24 x 36 is easily priced at $300 and a 24 x 37 is $305. Using square inches, it would be priced at 0.34722 per square inch Now make the window an inch larger and how many steps is it to get the new price? No calculator, do it in your head. Do the pricing for an old house with 20 windows and six or seven different sizes.

Everyone in the window business uses UI as a matter of every day fact. Those using diffeent terms are from different fields where shoes sizes are simple to them, not dumb like the rest of us think. Or letter sizes for drills. Or lower numbers for thicker wire sizes. Or scoring in tennis.