Window and Door Site Delivery and First-Installation Inspection

1. Compare actual openings with the controlled schedule

Survey representative and high-risk openings before production release, then confirm the completed openings before installation. Record width, height, diagonals, level, plumb, sill condition, wall build-up, finish datum and the intended frame position using the project’s approved method.

Do not convert one measured opening into a silent production-size change. Group deviations, identify affected marks and obtain the authorised design and commercial disposition. The required installation joint and tolerance come from the project detail—not a universal allowance.

2. Inspect delivery before responsibility becomes unclear

Match container, package and opening-mark records using the export packaging guide. Photograph the seal and container condition before unloading, then record package damage before units are moved or unpacked beyond what the receiving procedure requires.

Count packages and accessories against the controlled packing list. A missing handle carton and a broken glazed unit need different containment, evidence and recovery routes; both need an item identity and time-stamped receiving record.

• Container and seal identity
• Package count and labels
• Visible impact, moisture or movement
• Affected opening mark and product
• Glass, finish, frame and accessory condition
• Carrier/insurer notice requirements
• Quarantine, repair or replacement decision

3. Decide pre-glazed or site-glazed as a project method

Factory glazing can preserve controlled assembly but increases transport and lifting weight. Site glazing can reduce unit weight yet transfers glass handling, setting, sealing, protection and quality controls to site. Neither route is automatically safer or better.

For large or high-level units, connect pane size and weight, access, lifting equipment, storage, weather, competent labour, glazing instructions and responsibility for breakage. Do not leave the decision until the container is open.

4. Use the first installed unit as a release gate

Choose a representative or high-risk opening—not the easiest unit. Confirm the opening, product identity, fixing route, support, level and plumb, perimeter layers, drainage, sealant geometry, operation, hardware and finish interfaces against approved project documents.

ASTM E2112 recognises that installed fenestration performance depends in part on installation procedures, workmanship, trade coordination and sequencing. A first-unit review should therefore include adjacent trades and envelope interfaces, not only the window installer.

1. Record the approved detail, materials and responsible installers.
2. Inspect concealed stages before they are covered.
3. Check frame geometry and operation after fixing and glazing.
4. Review continuity of water, air and insulation layers as designed.
5. List deviations, corrective action, owner and reinspection date.
6. Release repetition only after the authorised first-unit disposition.

5. Define field checks before performing them

Function, drainage, sealant and appearance checks should have a stated method and acceptance route. If field water or air testing is required, identify the governing project specification, method, sample selection, pressure or spray conditions where applicable, observation boundary and responsible parties before testing.

Laboratory and field evidence answer different questions. Use the test report review guide to keep the tested assembly, installed perimeter and project acceptance route separate.

Failure control: When leakage appears, record where water was applied, where it was observed and the installation state. Do not immediately cover the symptom with extra sealant and erase the evidence path.

6. Hand over protection and maintenance responsibilities

Define who protects glass, frames, tracks, drainage openings, hardware and sealants from welding spatter, cement, paint, impact and premature use. State when protective films must be removed based on product and project instructions; leaving them indefinitely can also damage finishes.

Handover should connect each opening mark to inspection status, outstanding work, keys, restrictors, accessories, cleaning limits and maintenance information. Protection is a controlled temporary condition, not a promise that following trades will be careful.

Separate three decisions when only part of the site is ready

In a hypothetical delivery, the ground-floor openings are ready, the upper floor is still under wet trades, and an accessory carton has a quantity discrepancy. Do not issue a single ready-to-install instruction for the whole truck. Separate receipt of the goods, release of individual openings for installation, and approval to repeat the first installed detail.

At receipt, record the package identities, counted quantities and observed condition without treating a delivery signature as technical acceptance of every unit. Connect the accessory discrepancy to the packing-list line and affected opening marks. Keep the goods identifiable while the receiving team obtains the disposition required by the project procedure.

For installation, identify which marks have the approved opening and interface conditions. Keep the unready floor on a separate hold list with a named owner and the evidence needed to release it. A successful ground-floor first unit does not resolve a different sill or wall condition upstairs. Ask the responsible team whether those conditions need another first-unit review.

Send a usable site-readiness return before scheduling crews

Prepare one row per opening group: location, package reference, current drawing revision, opening readiness, outstanding adjacent work, access constraints and proposed inspection date. Add the responsible person for each unresolved item. Use this return to coordinate delivery and labour rather than promising a universal number of installation days.

Where phased delivery is requested, ask whether frames, glazing and accessories can remain matched and whether the packing order supports the agreed sequence. Record the storage and protection arrangements for deferred units with the responsible site team. Do not move or unpack units solely to improve the spreadsheet when the approved handling plan does not permit it.

Before repeating work, obtain the first-unit disposition and identify exactly which details and opening groups it covers. Keep receipt, installation readiness and repeat-work approval as separate statuses so a team can see why an opening remains on hold.

Use the export packaging guide together with the installation checklist for the related steps. Discuss your delivery sequence with the project reference and relevant opening marks.

FAQ

Continue the project review

Connect this guide with the proposed window and door systems, then review how Cavorlen approaches manufacturing and quality control. When your schedule is ready, send it through the project review form.

Related buyer guides

• From Opening Mark to Packing Label: Building Window Traceability That Survives Delivery
• Designing Window and Package Labels for Site Installation
• First-Installed Window Mock-Up: What Must Close Before Repetition