Guide
How a window schedule works
On commercial work, the window schedule is the document everything else follows. If you are quoting punched-opening work, this is the language.
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A window schedule assigns a type mark to each distinct unit, then maps every opening in the building to one of those marks. It is the fabrication order, the pricing basis, and the install checklist at once.
Type marks
Rather than describing every opening individually, the schedule defines a limited set of unit types — W1, W2, W3 — each with a size, an operation, a glazing package, and a finish. Every opening in the building then references one of those marks.
Consolidating openings into as few marks as the building allows is what makes a large scope economical, because each distinct type carries its own setup cost in fabrication.
What each row carries
A usable schedule row tells the fabricator everything needed to build the unit without going back to the drawings.
- Mark
- The type identifier referenced on the elevations and floor plans.
- Rough opening
- Measured dimensions, with tolerance, not nominal sizes.
- Operation
- Fixed, casement, awning, projected, hopper, or a combination unit.
- Glazing
- Insulated unit makeup, low-E coating, and the U-factor and SHGC targets.
- Finish
- Anodized or painted, with the specific color designation.
- Remarks
- Egress requirement, safety glazing, hardware limits, or historic profile notes.
Schedule to elevation to site
The elevations show where each mark lands on the building, which is how an occupied-building sequence gets planned: the crew works an elevation, and the marks on that elevation tell them what arrives on the truck.
This is also why the quote form asks for opening counts, elevation counts, and unit types instead of an area figure. Those three fields are the schedule in compressed form.
Ready to put numbers to it
The quote form branches by buyer type, so you only answer the questions that apply to your project.