What a supplier should do for a new building, how to compare quotes that are not for the same thing, and the questions to ask before you sign.
A window package is one of the largest single purchases on a new building, and one of the few that can stop the whole job if it arrives late or wrong. Choosing a new construction window supplier is therefore less about the price per window than about who will get the right product, approved, to the site in the right order. This article explains what a good supplier does and the questions to ask before you sign.
Some general contractors have their own installers and want materials only; others want one company responsible for the opening from order to water test. Both are legitimate. The advantage of a single contract is that there is no argument about whether a leak is a product problem or an installation problem. The advantage of supply-only is cost control for a contractor with a good crew. We work both ways: see material supply for supply-only orders.
If you buy supply-only, make sure the supplier still provides installation details, anchor schedules and a site visit for the first units. Most installation problems come from a detail nobody drew.
European aluminum systems such as Cortizo and Reynaers, and European uPVC such as Aluplast, offer tilt-and-turn operation, slim sightlines and very good thermal performance. Domestic products are generally faster to obtain and easier to service. The honest comparison includes more than the unit price: lead time, shipping, import duty, how replacement parts are obtained, and whether the product has North American test reports for the performance class your building needs. A supplier who fabricates locally from imported profiles, as we do with several systems, shortens the lead time and keeps service local.
Ask for the lead time in writing, broken into stages: shop drawings, approval, fabrication, shipping. The approval stage is the one the supplier cannot control, so the schedule should say how many days the design team has to respond. Agree what releases fabrication: approved drawings and field dimensions, with a deposit. Then work backwards from the date the facade needs windows. On most projects the window order has to be placed while the foundation is still being poured.
Delivery sequencing matters as much as the date. Windows should arrive labeled by floor and opening, in the order they will be installed, in quantities the site can store.
Two window quotes are rarely for the same thing. Before comparing totals, line them up item by item:
A low number usually has one of these missing.
You can see our completed new buildings in the portfolio, including 408 Lefferts Avenue, 17 Dodworth Street and 5-13 47th Road.
Ask for a finish sample and a corner sample of the actual system before approval, and on larger jobs a full-size mock-up window installed in a sample of the wall. The mock-up is where the flashing detail, the sealant color and the sightlines are settled, and it is the unit that is water tested first. It costs little compared with changing three hundred windows.
Order attic stock with the main order: a few spare sashes, glass units in the common sizes, handles, hinges and gaskets. They arrive with the job at production cost and they turn a broken window two years later into a one-day repair.
A typical order needs a deposit to release fabrication, with further payments on shipping or delivery and a balance on completion. Read what the deposit commits you to: custom windows cannot be returned, so sizes and finishes must be right before release. Ask how price changes are handled if the project is delayed past the quoted validity date, and who carries the cost of storage if the site is not ready when the windows are.
Takeoff and pricing, shop drawings and submittals, field measurement, fabrication management, sequenced delivery and after-sales support, with installation if required.
Supply-only suits contractors with an experienced crew. A supply-and-install contract puts one company in charge of the finished opening, which avoids disputes over leaks.
Early: on most projects the order is placed during foundations or structure, because shop drawing approval and fabrication together take months.
Not automatically. European systems offer tilt-and-turn operation and strong thermal performance; domestic products are usually faster to obtain. Compare lead time, test reports and parts supply as well as price.
Thermal ratings for the frame and glass, structural, air and water reports showing the performance class, and acoustic data where the site requires it.
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About this page. Written by Alex GC Inc. d/b/a Alex Glass Construction and reviewed before publication by Aleksandr Chernovolenko, Managing Partner, with our design and estimating lead and a field foreman. Our foremen hold the NYC DOB Site Safety Training supervisor card and our crews the 40-hour worker card; we are certified to fabricate, install and service Alutech and Everest aluminum systems. Facts are drawn from our own projects, manufacturer test data and the applicable codes; where we are giving an opinion, we say so. Last reviewed September 2026. Credentials
Send the window schedule, elevations or the architect’s specification section. We will price the package, with or without installation, and tell you the lead time.
