Windows on site, from the truck to turnover.

Most window damage happens on site, between the truck and turnover. It rarely happens at the factory, and it rarely happens once people live in the building. Four habits prevent nearly all of it: check every unit as it arrives, store units upright and dry with air around them, move them as few times as possible, and keep them covered while the other trades work.

Vistaza supplies windows and does not install them. This is guidance for the general contractor, the superintendent and the installer. Where it differs from the installation instructions issued for the job, the job's instructions win.

Receiving.

Damage that is not written down at delivery becomes an argument later. Decide before the first truck who receives, where the pallets go, and how they get there.

1. Check the delivery against the packing list, pallet by pallet.
2. Look at every unit before the delivery slip is signed. Check the glass, the frame corners, the handles and the hinges.
3. Check the type and size against the opening number on the unit's sticker. A wrong unit found on day one is a reorder. Found on installation day, it is a hole in the wall.
4. Photograph any damage on the pallet, before the unit is moved, and write it on the slip.
5. Send each pallet to the floor it was packed for. Every extra move is another chance to break something.

Storing.

Upright, never flat, never stacked. A window is built to carry its glass standing up. Laid flat, the glass sags under its own weight and the frame carries loads it was not designed for. Stacked, the bottom unit carries everything above it.

• Stand units on their sills, on clean wood blocks, leaning slightly against a solid support. Tie them back so that wind or a passing cart cannot tip them. Large units are heavy enough to injure someone.
• Store indoors or under cover, in a dry area that is closed to through traffic.
• Leave air around them. Units wrapped tight in plastic and left in the sun trap heat and moisture. Uneven heating is one cause of stress cracks in glass, and trapped moisture stains frames and hardware.
• Store in the order of installation, by floor and by elevation. The unit needed first should not be at the back.
• Keep them away from wet concrete, mortar, lime and plaster. Alkaline run-off etches glass, and the mark does not wash off.
• Keep them away from welding and grinding. Hot sparks pit glass for good.

The simplest protection is time. Do not hold windows on site longer than the work needs. Phase the deliveries to follow the installation sequence, so that units arrive shortly before their floor is ready.

Moving.

• Carry units upright. Lift by the frame, never by a handle, a hinge or a mullion.
• Keep sashes closed and locked while a unit is carried or hoisted.
• Use two people, or lifting equipment, for anything large. Plan the hoist or the crane before delivery day.
• Do not drag a unit across its sill. The sill carries the drainage path and the visible finish.

Protecting installed windows.

Once a window is in, every other trade works around it. The risks are known in advance.

Trade	Risk	What to do
Masonry, stucco, concrete	Alkaline splash on glass and frames	Cover the opening. Rinse splashes at once with plenty of clean water. Do not scrape them off dry
Painting	Overspray, and masking tape left to bake on	Mask with a low-tack tape and pull it as soon as the paint is dry
Welding and grinding	Sparks on the glass	Shield the glass, inside and outside
Drywall and sanding	Dust in the hardware and the drainage slots	Keep sashes closed. Vacuum the frame before turnover
All trades	Openings used as a way in for materials	Choose other routes. If an opening must be used, cover the sill and the jambs with boards first
Final clean	Scratched glass	No blades, no scrapers, no abrasive pads

Glass and frames can be protected with a clear, self-adhesive film sold for that purpose. Leave it on through the wet trades.

Film has a time limit. Sun bakes the adhesive onto the surface, and dark frames heat up the most. Film that has stayed on too long tears when pulled, leaves residue, and can mark the finish. Take it off as soon as the messy work on that elevation is finished.

The safest window on a job site is the one that has not been delivered yet.

Before turnover.

1. All film and foil removed, with no residue left behind.
2. Glass cleaned with a soft cloth and a mild cleaner, and checked in daylight for scratches.
3. Frame rebates and drainage slots vacuumed. Pour a little water into the bottom of the frame and watch that it runs to the outside.
4. Every sash opened, closed and locked. Every limiter checked.
5. Gaskets seated in their grooves, with no paint or plaster on them.
6. Weep hole covers fitted on the outside.
7. Damage listed by opening number, so that the right part can be ordered.

Keeping track of it.

On a large job the hard part is knowing where each unit is. The install app holds a packing list for every container, lets the site manager check off units as they come off the truck, and produces a received slip. After that it follows each opening through the installation stages. The opening number on the shop drawings is the same number on the unit's sticker and in the app.

For what the building staff should do after turnover, see service and parts.