The Glazing Schedule and Site Readiness Manual

Chapter 1How to use this manual

This manual is for the project managers and superintendents who build glazing into a project schedule and get the site ready for it. It follows the work from award to close-in: the stages of a glazing schedule, the dimension decision that drives them, site readiness, the pre-install meeting, envelope sequencing, shop glazing, and RFIs.

Each chapter expands one or more posts in our BCM Field Guide series on LinkedIn. The forms in this manual are free to download, with no sign-up. Use them on any project, with any glazing contractor. Our companion Glazing Buyout Manual covers leveling bids and closing scope gaps before award.

Chapter 2Award to install: the stages of a glazing scheduleField Guide No. 09

Glazing is a chain: each stage waits on the last. A late submittal or an unready opening moves every stage after it, and fabrication time does not shrink to catch up.

The stages

1. Award and kickoff. Contract, insurance, and a kickoff meeting between the general contractor and the glazing contractor. A clear scope and a named contact on both sides set up everything that follows.
2. Submittals. Shop drawings, product data, samples, and calculations where delegated design applies make up the submittal package. Shop drawings are prepared during the submittal period; they do not take time out of the installation window. Quick review turnaround keeps the job moving.
3. Material release. Approved submittals release framing materials for order. Finish samples and glass samples may need approval before those items can be ordered.
4. Dimensions. Frames and glass are built to opening dimensions. They are either guaranteed by the general contractor or field verified once the openings are built. Chapter 3 covers the difference.
5. Fabrication and delivery. Framing is fabricated and glass is made to order, then shipped to the site in the sequence of installation.
6. Installation. With approved drawings, known dimensions, and a ready site, the install can proceed without stops.
7. Sealing, testing, and close-in. Perimeter sealant goes in, a third-party testing agency performs any specified field testing while the work is still accessible, and the building is closed in for interior trades.

The critical path

Three items usually set the glazing end date:

• Submittal approval. Every week of review is a week of material that can’t be ordered.
• Framing material lead times, including any special finish.
• The date opening dimensions are locked in, by guarantee or by field verification.

Track those three first. Glass is not the long-lead item; what holds it up is that it can’t be ordered until dimensions are known.

How to recover time

• Turn submittals quickly. Plan design-team review time into the schedule from the start, and push for prompt turnaround on resubmittals.
• Guarantee opening dimensions where you can. It moves frame fabrication and glass ordering ahead of the openings.
• If dimensions must be field verified, keep openings ready and tell the glazing contractor the moment an area is ready to measure.
• Ask what can run in parallel. Some elevations can be guaranteed while others are verified. Some systems can be shop glazed while the openings are built (Chapter 7).

Chapter 3Guaranteed or field-verified dimensionsField Guide No. 09

This is the single biggest schedule decision in the glazing scope, and it belongs to the general contractor.

Field-verified dimensions

With field-verified dimensions, the glazing contractor measures each opening after it is built, then fabricates frames and orders glass to those measurements. Framing material is frequently ordered and sitting in the glazing contractor’s shop, waiting for openings to be ready to measure. The date the openings are ready to field verify drives everything after it.

Guaranteed dimensions

With guaranteed dimensions, the general contractor commits that openings will be built to the dimensions on the approved shop drawings (or an agreed opening schedule), within agreed tolerances. The glazing contractor builds frames and orders glass right away, usually before the openings are even ready. Installation starts as soon as openings are complete, and the building can close in significantly earlier.

Guaranteed dimensions are always preferred.

What a guarantee needs

• A basis: the approved shop drawings, with date and revision, or an opening schedule listing each opening’s mark, location, width, height, and whether the dimension is rough or finished.
• Tolerances: the width and height tolerance, plumb and level, and the allowable difference between diagonals, agreed for the project.
• A remedy: what happens if an opening is built outside tolerance. Typically the general contractor corrects the opening or covers the resulting rework, remake, and schedule impact, as agreed in writing.
• Signatures from both parties.

Use the Guaranteed Opening Dimensions Form

How to use it, step by step:

1. Download the form and open it in a PDF reader that supports forms, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. Type directly into the shaded fields.
2. Section 1, Project information: enter the project name, project number, date of request, address, general contractor, project manager, and superintendent.
3. Section 2, Dimension basis: check one box: approved shop drawings, the opening schedule on page 2, or both (shop drawings with exceptions listed on page 2). Enter the shop drawing date, revision, and the elevations, levels, or areas covered.
4. Section 3, Tolerances: enter the agreed width and height tolerances (plus or minus, in inches), plumb and level (inches per 10 feet), and the allowable diagonal difference.
5. Page 2, Opening schedule: if you are guaranteeing by schedule, or listing exceptions, enter each opening by the mark on the shop drawings, with its location (elevation, level, grid), width, height, rough or finished, drawing reference, and notes. Add pages as needed.
6. Section 4, Guarantee: read it together. It states that openings will be built to the dimensions and tolerances stated, that frames and glass will be fabricated without field verification, and what happens if an opening is built outside tolerance. The form supplements and does not replace the subcontract.
7. Section 5, Signatures: the general contractor and the glazing contractor each sign and date. Keep the signed copy with the subcontract.
8. Put the date in the schedule. The signature date is when fabrication and glass ordering can start for the areas covered.

Chapter 4Ready for glazing: what the site needsField Guide No. 04

A glazing crew can only move as fast as the site allows. Glazing delays most often come from openings, access, or adjacent work that isn’t ready yet.

Openings and barrier

Openings complete. Framing, blocking, and embeds in place and built to dimension. With guaranteed dimensions, the frames are already built and waiting; with field verification, the glazing contractor measures as soon as openings are complete.

Air and water barrier ready. Rough openings prepared so the glazing system can tie into the building’s air and water barrier in the right sequence. The barrier is typically installed and inspected at openings before glazing.

Tolerances

Out-of-plumb or out-of-square openings are the most common field surprise. Agree on tolerance limits early, ideally at buyout, and check openings against them before the crew mobilizes.

Access and laydown

Access to the work. A clear path for lifts, hoisting, or scaffold along the elevations being worked, coordinated with other trades sharing that space.

Protected laydown. A flat, dry area to stage glass and framing close to the work, out of traffic and protected from damage. Glass stored on site needs to be kept dry, supported correctly, and out of direct sun when it is crated or stacked, following the fabricator’s storage instructions.

Adjacent trades, power, and lighting

Adjacent trades coordinated. Slab edge work, fireproofing, and interior finishes sequenced so the glazing crew is not installing around open work or tearing out finished work.

Power and lighting. Temporary power and adequate lighting at the work areas, especially as winter days get shorter.

If the site is not ready

Crews stand by, framing sits in the shop waiting on verified dimensions, and the building closes in later. Tell the glazing contractor early so the schedule can be reset instead of absorbed.

Use the Site Readiness Checklist

How to use it, step by step:

1. Schedule a walk of the area to be glazed with your superintendent and the glazing foreman, about a week before the planned mobilization date, so there is time to fix what is not ready.
2. Section 1, Project information: enter the project, the area or elevation, the date of the walk, the people involved, the planned mobilization date, and the dimension basis (guaranteed, or field verified with the date openings will be ready).
3. Section 2, Readiness items: for each item, check Yes, No, or N/A, and record who confirmed it and when. The “Ready when” column states what ready means.
4. Section 3, Open items: list every item checked No, with an owner and a due date.
5. Section 4, Walked and confirmed by: both parties sign.
6. Decide on mobilization. If open items will not close before the planned date, reset the date together rather than mobilizing into a site that is not ready.
7. Repeat for each area or elevation as the work moves around the building.

Chapter 5The pre-install meetingField Guide No. 13

Most field problems trace back to something nobody agreed on before the crew arrived: access, laydown, sequence, or who to call. A short meeting settles them in writing.

What to settle

• Scope and sequence: walk the elevations and agree on the order of work, area by area.
• Opening dimensions: confirm whether dimensions are guaranteed. If not, set the date openings will be ready to field verify.
• Submittals and releases: confirm approved submittals, framing release, and when glass can be ordered.
• Access and hoisting: lifts, scaffold, cranes, or hoists: who provides them and when they are available.
• Laydown and deliveries: staging location, protection, delivery windows, and who receives material.
• Site rules and safety: orientation, site-specific requirements, and how the crew’s daily hazard review fits the site safety plan.
• Adjacent trades: who is working near the openings, and what has to finish first.
• Testing and inspections: mockup status and coordination with the third-party testing agency for field testing.
• Contacts and communication: the superintendent, foreman, and project managers, and how issues and RFIs will flow.
• Open items: every remaining question, each with an owner and a date.

Who should attend

The general contractor’s superintendent and project manager, the glazing contractor’s foreman and project manager, and anyone whose work touches the openings, such as the envelope, electrical, fireproofing, and hardware trades.

Send minutes

Send written minutes within a day or two, to everyone who attended and everyone affected. Decisions that live only in a conversation get forgotten.

Use the Pre-Install Meeting Agenda and Minutes

How to use it, step by step:

1. Before the meeting, fill in the meeting information (project, date, location, areas or elevations covered, and who is preparing the minutes) and send the blank agenda to attendees so they come prepared.
2. At the meeting, record attendees with name, company, role, and phone or email.
3. Work through the ten agenda items in order. Under each, record the decisions and notes, the owner, and the due date. For item 2, check Guaranteed or Field verify, and enter the date openings will be ready.
4. Log action items on page 3 with a number, the action, the owner, the due date, and the status.
5. Distribute the completed form as the minutes within a day or two, and record who it was sent to and the date in the Distribution section.
6. Update the action item status at each weekly meeting until every item is closed.

Chapter 6Sequencing the envelopeField Guide No. 17

Doing envelope work out of order means tearing out or working around finished work. Getting the sequence right protects the schedule and the quality of the building.

The sequence

1. Structure and openings. Openings framed, plumb, and built to dimension.
2. Air and water barrier. The barrier goes on first and has to be ready to tie into the glazing.
3. Lock in dimensions. Guaranteed, or field verified on the finished openings, before frames and glass are made.
4. Install the glazing. Frames, glass, and gaskets or sealant go in with access, laydown, and weather conditions in place.
5. Seal and test. Perimeter sealant goes in, and a third-party testing agency performs any specified field water tests (commonly under AAMA 503, using ASTM E1105) while the work is still accessible.
6. Protect and close in. Once the building is closed in, interior trades can work. Protect the glass through the rest of construction.

Guaranteed dimensions change the order

With guaranteed dimensions, step 3 moves up. Frames are built and glass is ordered while the structure and barrier are still going in, so installation starts as soon as openings are ready and the building closes in sooner.

Common clashes

• Fireproofing and slab edge work blocking glazing access.
• Interior finishes starting before openings are weathertight.
• Lifts or scaffold removed before glazing sealant is complete.
• Field testing scheduled after access is gone, so retests are expensive or impossible.
• Construction damage to installed glass and finishes from welding, grinding, and cleaning.

What to show in the schedule

Show these as separate activities, with logic links between them:

Chapter 7Shop glazing vs. field glazingField Guide No. 23

Where the glass goes in changes your schedule.

Two ways to glaze

Shop glazing sets the glass into frames or units in the shop. Finished units ship to the job ready to install. Field glazing sets the glass on the building, after the frames are anchored in place.

Sealants and glazing tapes need clean, dry surfaces and the right temperature and humidity to bond and cure. A shop controls all of that. On a jobsite, dust, moisture, wind, and cold work against every joint.

Neither is better everywhere. The opening decides.

Which systems go where

Structural silicone and shop quality control

Structural silicone glazing bonds the glass to the frame with sealant, so the bond itself carries load. That puts a premium on surface preparation, adhesion testing, and full cure before a unit moves. ASTM C1401, the standard guide for structural sealant glazing, addresses its design and quality control.

The schedule effect and the trade-offs

With guaranteed dimensions, shop work runs while the openings are built, and finished units are set as soon as openings are ready.

The trade-offs: shop-glazed units are heavier and bulkier. They need a hoisting plan, room to stage, and protection in transit and on site. And the glass has to reach the shop earlier, so opening dimensions have to be locked in earlier.

What it needs from you

Questions worth asking your glazing contractor

1. Which openings will be shop glazed, and why?
2. What dimensions do you need, and by when?
3. How heavy are the largest units, and how will they be set?
4. How are units protected in transit and on site?
5. What adhesion testing and quality control happen in the shop?

How BCM approaches it

BCM Glass self-performs its fabrication in its own shop. Where the opening allows it, we glaze there too. With guaranteed dimensions, our frames are usually built before the openings are even ready, so the building closes in sooner.

Chapter 8Better glazing RFIsField Guide No. 16

A reviewer who has to decode a question will park it. The faster the issue is clear, the faster the answer comes back, and the less schedule it burns.

Six habits that get faster answers

1. One question per RFI, so it can be answered, tracked, and closed on its own.
2. Reference the documents: cite the sheet, detail, and spec section so the reader goes straight to the issue.
3. Include a picture: a marked-up drawing or a photo often says more than a paragraph.
4. Propose a solution. Reviewers can approve a proposal faster than they can design one.
5. State the impact: schedule, cost, or both, and the date you need the answer.
6. Send it early. Questions caught at bid or submittal cost less than questions found in the field.

A strong RFI and a weak one

Track and close

• Track every RFI: log the date sent, the date due, the date answered, and the impact. A clean log is your best tool when a delay question comes up.
• Close the loop: when an answer arrives, confirm it, update the drawings or shop drawings, and tell everyone affected.

Chapter 9Tools in this manual

Every tool is free to download, with no sign-up. Use them on any project, with any glazing contractor.

The Glazing Bid Leveling Workbook and the Division 08 Scope Responsibility Matrix are in the Glazing Buyout Manual and the Field Guide Tools library.

Chapter 10The glazing schedule checklist

Chapter 11Sources and basis