ACG Blog

The Commercial Glazing RFQ Checklist Every Florida Architect Should Use

What architects should include in a commercial glazing request for quote to get accurate, comparable bids from Florida commercial glaziers. Built from 350+ projects of pattern recognition.

By Connor Walsh, President — American Commercial Glass · May 23, 2026 · 8-12 minute read

We bid roughly 200 commercial glazing projects per year. About a third arrive with incomplete RFQ packages that force us to estimate scope, ask follow-up questions, and submit conditional bids. Here's the RFQ checklist that gets architects accurate, comparable, fast bids.

Drawings — what we actually need

Storefront elevations with glass type called out. Door schedule (single, double, automatic operator, hardware). Curtain wall sections (mullion depth, glass thickness, IGU configuration). Detail sections at head, sill, jamb. Anchor conditions (slab edge, concrete masonry, steel). Most architects send elevations and floor plans only. Without sections and details, we estimate anchor labor and miss things.

Glass spec — call out the actual product or the performance criteria

Specify Solarban 70XL low-E, Viracon VRE-67, SentryGlas Plus interlayer at 0.090 inch — actual products. Or specify SHGC ≤ 0.27, VLT ≥ 0.55, U-factor ≤ 0.32, laminated impact-rated per FBC 1626 — actual performance criteria. Do not specify 'high-performance low-E' without numbers; we'll have to guess what you mean and our guess might not match the next glazier's guess.

Aluminum system spec — Kawneer or approved equal

Spec Kawneer Trifab VG 451 with 9/16 IG and 2.25 inch mullion, OR call for 'aluminum thermal storefront system, 2.25 inch sightline mullion, kynar finish, approved equal acceptable.' The 'approved equal' opens YKK AP YES 45 IG and Tubelite T14000 — both qualify and typically save 8-15% on the storefront line item.

AHJ and permit pathway

Tell us the AHJ. 'Miami-Dade NOA required' is different from 'Broward NOA acceptable' is different from 'FL Product Approval.' The submittal package complexity doubles between FBC and HVHZ. Architects who don't tell us the AHJ get bids that may not include the right NOA/Product Approval documentation.

Schedule — when do you need substantial completion

If you need substantial completion in 90 days from contract, tell us. We may need to reroute material orders, source from in-stock inventory, or qualify alternate manufacturers. The bid changes. If you need it in 180 days, we can engineer to spec and source the right material. Both are buildable; pricing differs.

Warranty expectations

Manufacturer warranty (Solarban 10-year, YKK AP 5-year aluminum) plus installer warranty (we offer 2-year labor standard, 5-year extended on commercial). Tell us if you need 10-year extended installer warranty — it changes the bid price. Architects who don't ask get standard. Architects who ask get a real number.

Commissioning and field testing requirements

Field water testing per ASTM E1105? AAMA 502 testing? Air infiltration testing? These add 1-3% to the bid. We need to know in advance to subcontract testing. Architects who add them after award get change orders.

Send-us-plans pathway

We accept RFQ packages at [email protected] or via our send-plans intake. Standard turnaround is 48 hours for commercial bids on complete packages. Incomplete packages get a clarification-question email within 24 hours. We don't disappear — we either bid or we tell you we're declining inside 48 hours.