On most new builds, windows pass through three or four companies before the first one goes in. Each handoff is a chance for a wrong size or a late delivery. Keeping window supply and installation inside one company won’t make a job perfect, but when something does go wrong, one company owns the fix.
On a typical build, one company quotes the windows, a distributor orders them, a manufacturer builds them, and a crew that never saw the quote installs them.
When that chain holds, nobody thinks about it. When it breaks, the builder usually finds out after framing is done and the crew is already on site.
This post is for builders and contractors deciding who should handle their openings. Homeowners planning a remodel deal with the same handoffs, and there’s a short section for you near the end.
Bad windows are rarely the problem
Jonathan Harvey ran a $200 million region for a national building products distributor before he and Greg Rowland started HarLand. In that job, he watched plenty of window projects go sideways. Almost every time, the trouble started where one company handed the job to the next.
On one two-million-dollar house, the windows arrived wrong, and the builder had to reframe all fifty openings.
Greg has spent about thirty years installing on Georgia houses, so he saw the same thing from the other side. His crews spent a lot of time standing around, waiting on products somebody else had ordered wrong, delivered wrong, or timed wrong.
Somebody always pays for those mistakes, and it’s rarely the companies pointing at each other.
ASTM E2112, the industry’s standard practice for installing exterior windows and doors, says coordinating the trades and getting the sequence right are essential. A split process makes both harder.
Where the handoffs break down
Here are four handoffs where window jobs commonly slip.
1. Measure to order
A bad measurement is the obvious one. Get it wrong, and you’re reordering or reframing.
The odds go up when one person measures, someone else orders, and a different crew installs. Nobody sees the whole picture until the window is in their hands.
2. Promise to product
This one is easier to miss. Someone picks a style, and a salesperson says yes before checking whether it comes in the size the opening needs.
If it doesn’t, or if a door would have to be cut down more than the manufacturer allows, the order stalls or comes in wrong.
3. Order to jobsite
A correct order can still go wrong on the way to the right opening.
Bigger projects usually have one drywall window, and it tends to get ordered wrong or put in the wrong spot. When several windows share the same size callout, it can easily end up on the first floor instead of where it was planned.
4. Install to service
Builders ask Jonathan about installation and service more than about how a window works. How hard is it to install? If a sash breaks on site, how fast can I get a new one? What are the lead times?
When window supply and installation sit with two different companies, those questions can bounce back and forth with no clear owner.
Atlanta adds its own wrinkle
In Jonathan’s experience, a lot of Atlanta homes have 10-inch sidelights and 10-inch transoms. Much of the country builds around 12, 14, and 16 inches.
On new construction, you can plan for that. On retrofit work, it can be hard to find a door that fits the existing opening. That’s why “sure, we can do that” is a risky thing to say before checking with the manufacturer.
Casements are another local shift. Jonathan has watched them become much more common in Atlanta custom homes over the past ten years. That gives builders and homeowners more to choose from, and more chances to promise a size before anyone confirms it.
How HarLand handles window supply and installation
HarLand orders the product and installs it with our own crews, under one contract.
Problems still come up on jobs. When they do, the fix happens inside one company instead of getting negotiated between three.
Product knowledge and crews in one place
Jonathan knows the products, the pricing, and the ordering. Greg has the crews. HarLand started when they decided to put both under one roof.
We work with about a dozen window and door manufacturers, including ProVia, Therma-Tru, Windsor, YKK AP, Western Window Systems, Simpson, and Lindsay. Having that many to pick from lets us fit the product to the job: energy ratings, style, timeline, minimum and maximum sizes, and the look you’re after. What’s available depends on the manufacturer and product line.
Setup comes first
We don’t like scheduling an install until the windows are sitting in our warehouse.
Once on site, the crew walks the house and counts every opening. They check that every window and every part is there, plan where to start, and set up their saws and brakes before anything comes out.
On a remodel, a homeowner watching day one might think nothing is getting done. Jonathan puts it this way: people do notice it, they just don’t know what they’re looking at. That setup is what keeps the crew from coming back later to a punch list that’s a page and a half long.
Questions to ask any window partner
Whoever you hire, these questions will tell you a lot:
- Who measures, who orders, and who installs? Is it the same company?
- Has the size been confirmed with the manufacturer before the style is promised?
- Will the product be on hand before the install is scheduled?
- When a sash breaks on site, who do I call?
- On a custom home, can we meet with the homeowner during product selection, before framing?
On custom homes, Jonathan likes to get the builder and the homeowner in the same room before framing, while products are still being chosen. Everyone hears the same thing at the same time, and the conversation stays inside the budget the builder and client already set.
If you’re a homeowner
A remodel is different because you’re usually living in the house while the work happens. Here’s how a HarLand project runs:
- Book a consultation. In your home, or at our Roswell showroom by appointment.
- Get one contract. We measure, spec the right windows and doors, and put your whole project under one name.
- We installed it. Our crews do the work under that same contract, and the owners are responsible for the result.
At the end, we walk through every window and door with you before we call the job done.
Your next step
If you have a build or remodel coming up in North Atlanta, start the window conversation early, before framing is best.
Builders and architects can send plans, a window schedule, or a list of questions. We’ll go through sizes, product fit, lead times, and how window supply and installation would work on your job.
Homeowners can book an in-home consult or visit our Roswell showroom at 602 Macy Drive by appointment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean when one company handles window supply and installation?
The same company measures, orders, and installs. At HarLand, the crews who install your windows work for the company that ordered them, so there’s one place to go with questions or problems.
Why do window orders go wrong on new construction?
Usually because of a handoff, not the product. A measurement is off, a style gets promised before the size is confirmed, or the product shows up wrong or late. Each company in the chain is one more place for a detail to get lost.
Why is it hard to find replacement doors for some Atlanta homes?
In our experience, many Atlanta homes have 10-inch sidelights and transoms, while 12, 14, and 16 inches are more common elsewhere. That can limit which doors fit an existing opening, so it’s worth confirming sizes before choosing a style.
Does HarLand work with builders or homeowners?
Both. We work with custom and production builders and architects on new construction, from spec through install. We also work with homeowners and contractors on remodels.