Commercial glazing is almost always on the critical path. The building envelope needs to be closed before interior finishes can start, and glazing is the last major envelope trade to install. A glazing delay of two weeks pushes everything downstream by two weeks — drywall, MEP rough-in, flooring, millwork, and ultimately the certificate of occupancy and owner possession. After completing 350+ commercial projects across Florida, ACG has seen the same five problems cause the overwhelming majority of glazing schedule failures. They're predictable. They're preventable. And fixing them doesn't require a bigger budget — it requires better process.
Delay #1: Late Submittals
Late submittals are the single most common cause of glazing schedule failures on commercial construction projects. The sequence is always the same: the glazing sub isn't under contract early enough, or the GC doesn't issue a submittal deadline at award, or the sub doesn't start the shop drawings until the GC asks about them weeks later. By the time the submittal is submitted, reviewed, and approved, the fabrication lead time pushes the installation date past the scheduled milestone.
What makes this delay particularly frustrating is that it's entirely preventable — and it doesn't cost anything to prevent. It requires only two things: awarding the glazing subcontract early and setting a hard submittal deadline at award that works backward from the required installation date.
The Prevention: Backward-Schedule the Submittal Requirement
Start with your required installation date. Work backward through fabrication lead time (10–20 weeks depending on the system), the submittal process (6–10 weeks for a first-round approval cycle), and shop drawing preparation time (2–4 weeks). That gives you the date by which the sub must submit. Issue that date in the subcontract as a contractual requirement — not a suggestion.
For a project requiring glazing installation on October 1, the math looks like this:
- Installation start: October 1
- Less fabrication lead time (14 weeks): Fabrication must start by June 24
- Less submittal approval time (8 weeks): Submittal must be approved by April 29
- Less submittal preparation time (3 weeks): Submittal must be submitted by April 8
April 8 is the drop-dead submittal date. Issue that date in the subcontract. Track against it weekly. If the sub is behind, escalate immediately — not after the deadline passes.
For a deeper dive on what's in a glazing submittal and why it takes as long as it does, see our complete submittal process guide.
Delay #2: RFI Loops
An RFI (Request for Information) is a formal question from the contractor to the design team seeking clarification on something in the contract documents. RFIs are a normal part of construction — no set of drawings is ever completely unambiguous. The problem is when RFIs multiply, take too long to answer, or create circular dependencies that prevent the glazing sub from moving forward.
RFI loops on glazing scopes typically involve one or more of the following: unresolved glass type or specification questions, unclear sill conditions or threshold details, hardware that isn't coordinated with the architectural drawings, or coordination conflicts with the structural engineer's framing drawings. Each open RFI is a question the sub can't answer — which means a portion of their shop drawings can't be completed until the RFI is resolved.
The Prevention: Front-Load RFI Resolution
The most effective way to prevent RFI loops is to identify and resolve likely RFIs before the glazing sub submits. At award, require the sub to conduct a thorough drawing review and submit all anticipated RFIs within two weeks of contract execution. Resolve those RFIs before the shop drawing clock starts. A glazing sub who submits shop drawings without outstanding RFIs is dramatically more likely to receive a first-round approval.
Establish a 10-business-day maximum response time for glazing RFIs in the project's RFI protocol — and enforce it. If the design team is routinely taking 3–4 weeks to answer glazing RFIs, you have a schedule problem that needs to be surfaced to the architect and documented.
When an RFI involves a conflict between the glazing spec and another trade's scope — fire stop systems, thermal envelope continuity, window-to-wall interface — bring all affected parties to the table simultaneously rather than resolving it sequentially through multiple RFIs. One coordination meeting is worth five RFI cycles.
Delay #3: Material Lead Times
Commercial glazing lead times are long by construction standards. In 2026, standard storefront aluminum extrusions from major manufacturers are running 10–14 weeks. Specialty curtainwall systems are 14–20 weeks. Custom glass specifications — particular coatings, colors, or sizes — can extend beyond 20 weeks. Impact-rated IGUs require two separate fabrication processes (glass fabrication and lamination), which adds time.
The problem isn't that lead times are long — every experienced construction professional knows glazing takes time. The problem is when lead times extend beyond what was anticipated at bid time, or when the approved submittal reveals a glass specification that's harder to source than the original proposal assumed.
The Prevention: Confirm Lead Times at Award, Not at Order
Require your glazing sub to confirm current lead times with their manufacturer at the time of award — not at the time of order. Lead times change. A system that was 12 weeks at bid time may be 16 weeks by the time submittals are approved and the order is placed. Knowing the actual lead time at award allows you to adjust the schedule before you have a problem, not after.
For projects where schedule is the primary constraint, discuss expedite options at award. Most manufacturers offer premium fabrication slots for expedited orders — at a cost premium. Whether that premium is worth paying depends on the cost of a glazing-driven schedule delay to the overall project. In most cases, a modest expedite fee is far less expensive than two weeks of extended general conditions and delay damages.
Also consider material split-shipping on large projects: ordering frames and hardware separately from glass allows certain installation activities to begin before the glass arrives, compressing the field schedule. Discuss this option with your glazing sub during the preconstruction process.
Delay #4: Coordination with Other Trades
Glazing sits at the intersection of multiple trades. The structural frame must be correct before curtainwall anchors can be set. The masonry or framing rough openings must be within tolerance before storefront can be installed. The exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS) or other cladding must be sequenced correctly with the glazing perimeter. The MEP rough-in at the slab edge must be complete before window wall can be set. Any one of these predecessor activities running late pushes glazing.
Beyond predecessor activities, glazing also has concurrent coordination requirements. The exterior waterproofing sub needs to install their flashing at window sill conditions — that work must be coordinated with glazing installation to avoid conflicts. The sealant sub (if separate from the glazing sub) must follow glazing installation with perimeter caulking before the envelope can be considered complete. If the glazing sub is also responsible for perimeter sealant, their scope needs to be clearly defined in the subcontract.
The Prevention: Run a Glazing-Focused Coordination Meeting Three Months Out
Three months before your scheduled glazing installation start, run a coordination meeting specifically focused on the glazing predecessor activities and concurrent interface conditions. Who is responsible for each interface? Are rough openings built? Are they within tolerance? Is the structural frame ready for curtainwall anchors? Are waterproofing flashings detailed and ready to install?
Three months is enough lead time to resolve problems — it's not enough time to recover from them if you discover them the week before installation is supposed to start. The meeting agenda should include: rough opening status and tolerance verification; structural readiness for curtainwall (if applicable); waterproofing flashing sequencing; perimeter sealant scope responsibility; inspection and progress documentation protocol; and schedule milestones with responsible parties named.
Document the meeting in writing. Follow up on open items weekly. This is not glamorous project management — it's the kind of blocking-and-tackling that keeps glazing scopes on schedule.
Delay #5: Punch List Scope Creep
The punch list phase of a glazing scope — the final inspection, corrections, and closeout documentation that precede substantial completion and final payment — is where schedule problems that seemed minor throughout the project compound into real timeline impacts. Punch list scope creep happens when items accumulate that were never part of the original glazing scope, items that should have been addressed during installation are deferred to the punch list, or the punch list review process itself becomes a multi-round exercise in ever-expanding comments.
Punch list delay is particularly costly at the end of a project because the timeline pressure is maximum — the owner wants occupancy, the GC wants final payment, and every day of delay has direct financial consequences. A punch list that runs four weeks over can add meaningful general conditions cost to the project and strain the relationship between the GC and the glazing sub.
The Prevention: Define Scope Precisely and Inspect Progressively
Punch list scope creep has two root causes, and preventing it requires addressing both:
Root cause 1: Undefined scope. When the glazing subcontract scope letter is vague about what's included and excluded, the punch list becomes the battlefield where scope disputes get resolved. "Perimeter sealant — included or excluded?" "Touch-up paint on damaged framing — included or excluded?" "Hardware adjustment — included or excluded?" These questions have right answers, but the right time to answer them is at award, in writing, not at punch list time. A detailed scope letter with explicit inclusions and exclusions eliminates most punch list scope disputes. For help building a complete glazing scope letter, see our scope letter guide.
Root cause 2: Deferred installation issues. Items that are noticed during installation and not immediately corrected tend to appear on the punch list — multiplied. A damaged frame that was noticed in Week 3 and documented but not replaced becomes a punch list item in Week 20, with all the schedule and cost pressure of the closeout phase attached to it. Establish a policy of immediate correction for installation deficiencies — scratch it off the list when it's found, not when punch list time arrives.
Progressive Inspections Through the Project
Running a mini-inspection with the glazing sub at 25%, 50%, and 75% completion prevents punch list accumulation. A 30-minute walk-through at each milestone to identify and immediately document any deficiencies creates a running punch list that the sub can address progressively — not a 200-item list that appears three weeks before substantial completion.
Progressive inspections also provide an opportunity to catch issues before they become more expensive to fix. A glass unit with an internal seal failure that's caught at 50% completion can be replaced during the normal installation phase. The same unit caught at punch list, when the lift equipment is gone and the building is occupied, costs significantly more to replace.
How ACG's Process Prevents These Delays
Every one of these five delays is a process problem — not a resources problem, not a budget problem, and not a problem that requires an experienced glazing sub to be someone other than who they are. The right process prevents them. ACG has developed our project management process specifically around the friction points that cause glazing schedule failures on Florida commercial projects.
We provide a required submittal date acknowledgment at contract execution — our PM confirms the submittal date in writing before leaving the kickoff meeting. Our estimating team conducts a drawing review and submits preliminary RFIs within 10 business days of contract execution on every project. We confirm manufacturer lead times at award and flag any deviation from bid-time assumptions before it becomes a schedule problem. And our closeout process includes progressive inspections starting at 25% complete, so the punch list at the end of the project is short.
If you're building in Florida and you're tired of glazing being the trade that causes schedule problems, visit our GC Resources page to learn more about how ACG operates. You can also contact us directly or use our Scope Engine to generate a preliminary estimate — we'll return a complete scope within 48 hours of receiving your drawings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the most common glazing delay on Florida commercial projects specifically?
In Florida, late submittals and material lead times are the most common glazing delays, and they frequently compound each other. Florida's impact and product approval requirements add complexity to the submittal process — product data must include Florida Product Approvals or Miami-Dade NOAs, and submittals that don't include the right documentation come back for revision. The combination of complex submittals and long lead times for impact-rated products means the front-end planning phase is critical. Projects that don't start the submittal process early rarely recover.
How early should glazing be awarded on a commercial project?
For a project with a 12-month construction schedule, glazing should be awarded and under contract within the first 4–6 weeks. For a 6-month schedule, glazing should be one of the first subcontract awards — even before rough framing is complete if the schedule demands it. The glazing sub needs construction documents (or near-final documents) to start shop drawings, but they can begin preconstruction planning — reviewing drawings, identifying RFIs, confirming product approvals, and getting in the manufacturer's queue — well before drawings are permit-issued.
Can glazing ever be fast-tracked?
Yes, but with constraints. The submittal and approval process has minimum cycle times that can't be compressed past a certain point — a first-round approval typically takes at least 6 weeks from shop drawing submission to architect return, and less than that is unusual. Fabrication can sometimes be expedited with premium pricing. The most effective fast-track strategy is to overlap activities: start preconstruction work (drawing review, RFI identification, preliminary shop drawings) before the glazing subcontract is formally executed, and place a material deposit with the manufacturer as early as possible to hold a fabrication slot while submittals are being prepared.