On a structural-fab package, the aluminum window and door RFQ lives or dies by the schedule: mark, type, width, height, handing, quantity, and a single revision number reused across every supplier invited to bid [S3].
A bid-ready aluminum window and door RFQ is built from five sections, scope of work, drawings and schedules, performance criteria, quantities and options, and commercial and delivery terms, and any one left blank produces non-comparable numbers [S5].
Opening Schedule: the Document That Drives Aluminum Weight and Hardware Count
The opening schedule is the single document that controls aluminum weight, glass area, machining time, hardware count, and the repeated-unit pricing discount, so a one-row-per-opening spreadsheet with mark, type, width, height, handing, quantity, and drawing revision is the minimum the supplier needs to start takeoff [S3]. A left-hand casement, right-hand casement, and fixed unit can share the same rough opening but are not the same product, and pricing them as one line forces the supplier to pick a default that one of the three will reject [S1]. For structural-fab jobs, the schedule should also carry any mark that interfaces with miscellaneous metals, mullion-to-beam clips, sill pan to deck, and head channel to curb, because those interfaces are the first place the structural scope and the glazing scope collide on site [S2].
Drawings and Performance Criteria: Where Code Becomes a Number
Performance criteria are the section that decides whether three quotes are actually comparable, and they should carry the building code, climate zone, design pressure, the air/water/structural test standard, the energy compliance path (NFRC ratings, U-factor, SHGC, VT, air leakage), acoustic targets, and the required product certifications, with a defined comparison basis for any "or approved equal" clause [S5]. A typical residential U-factor target sits in the 0.27-0.40 Btu/hr·ft²·°F range and SHGC in 0.21-0.40 depending on climate zone, while a commercial office spec usually tightens U-factor to 0.28-0.38 and pushes SHGC below 0.30 on the west elevation to control cooling load [S1]. Design pressure is the number most often left blank on RFQs that come back with a $400 spread per opening, because a DP-30 casement and a DP-50 casement of the same size do not share a profile system [S3]. For a structural-fab scope, designers should also flag any opening that is part of a fire-rated door assembly or a smoke-rated wall, since the listing and the frame reinforcement have to be carried together, not picked after the bid.
Frame System, Glass Build-up, and Hardware: Configuration Is the Real Price Driver
Two openings of identical size can carry different prices by 30-60% once frame system, glass build-up, and hardware are fully scoped, because each variable changes profile weight, machining time, sash reinforcement, and hardware capacity independently [S3]. The variables that move the number most are thermal-break versus non-thermal frame, profile depth (typically 50-90 mm for residential and 70-150 mm for commercial), glass capacity (single 4-6 mm, insulated 22-32 mm, laminated 6.38-11.52 mm, or insulated-laminated up to 40 mm), Low-E coating count, gas fill (air, argon, krypton), spacer type, and the safety treatment (tempered, heat-strengthened, or laminated) [S3][S1]. Hardware must be specified down to the operating class: a Class 1 casement hinge rated for 130-150 lb sashes is not interchangeable with a Class 3 residential hinge, and rollers on a sliding door are sized by panel weight in 220-330 lb increments, not by opening width [S3]. For project sites that fall under impact zones or high-wind regions, NOA or equivalent approval and a matching design pressure must be listed in the RFQ, otherwise one supplier will price the standard product and another will price the impact-rated one [S5]. When the opening is part of a system-window-door curtain-wall hybrid, the mullion-to-transom interface, the gasket compression, and the drainage path need to be drawn out, because those three items are where a door-window-curtain-wall package silently doubles in scope.
Finish, Color, and Sample Approval: Where Lead Time Quietly Doubles
Finish specification is the most common place a "fast" RFQ turns into a 12-week lead time, because powder-coat batch color, anodizing dye lot, and the coated-face count (one side, two sides, or interior/exterior split) all change production planning, and a sample-approval cycle before production adds 2-4 weeks on its own [S3]. For structural-fab projects where the aluminum package is shipped together with miscellaneous metals, the spec should state whether the window finish must match a handrail or guardrail finish in the same color family, since PVDF and anodize do not produce the same RAL match under the same code [S2]. When an opening is in a coastal or high-exposure zone, AAMA 2604 (50% fluoropolymer) or AAMA 2605 (70% fluoropolymer) should be named instead of the generic "powder coat," because the cheaper polyester grade fails a 3,000-hour salt-spray test that coastal projects routinely write into the spec [S5].
Commercial and Delivery Terms: the Line Items That Hide Inside a "Lump Sum"
The commercial block is where most comparison failures start, because a lump-sum quote that does not break out freight, packing, hoisting, structural clips, caulking, and interior trim cannot be compared to a quote that does [S5]. Each of those should appear as its own line: freight basis (prepaid and allowed, separately quoted, or FOB jobsite), packaging method (crated, cardboard-protected, blanket-wrapped), delivery window in weeks from approved shop drawings (typical aluminum package lead time is 8-14 weeks ex-works Asia, plus 4-6 weeks ocean transit for overseas supply), staged shipment sequence if the project has multiple buildings, and warranty terms in years (industry standard is 10 years on the frame, 5 on the insulating glass seal, 1 on hardware and finish) [S1][S3]. The RFQ should also state the payment terms, the quote validity in days (commonly 30-60), the importer of record for overseas supply, and the duties and reasonable-care obligation, because a quote that does not flag those is not actually a quote [S5]. For structural-fab scopes that include an aluminum-alloy component, the alloy temper (6063-T5 for extrusions, 6061-T6 for structural members) and the source-mill marking are also commercial terms, since certified mill test reports drive both quality and customs paperwork [S2].
Common RFQ Mistakes That Force a Requote
The mistakes that consistently push an aluminum package into a second round are well-known and entirely preventable: omitting design pressure, asking for "Low-E" without a coating count, writing "standard hardware" instead of naming the operating class, leaving finish as a sample to match later, and burying freight in the unit price [S5][S1]. Specifiers also lose time by sending floor plans without elevations, which leaves the supplier guessing at sill height, head height, and any floor-to-floor variation between similar marks [S1]. For mixed packages that include both windows and a fire-door opening, the RFQ has to call out the fire rating in minutes (20, 45, 60, 90, or 180), the temperature rise rating if required, the listing agency, and whether the frame is part of the listed assembly, because a fire door priced as a standard door is the most expensive line-item error on a typical mid-rise bid [S5]. Reviewers at the aluminum-window-door encyclopedia note that a clean RFQ takes 2-3 hours to assemble, while the average two-round requote process costs 5-8 engineering hours per supplier, which is why a single, complete submission is faster even when it feels slower [S3].
Two trackable signals for the next 6-12 months: the energy-code tightening of U-factor targets in the 0.25-0.30 Btu/hr·ft²·°F band for commercial envelopes, and the wider adoption of NFRC-certified simulation reports as a bid prerequisite rather than a post-award submittal [S5]. For projects bundling the aluminum package with the structural-fab scope, the same five-block RFQ structure also covers guardrails, aluminum-alloy ladders, and lightweight architectural metalwork, so building the schedule once and reusing it across all four sub-packages is the single most effective compression of bid time [S2].
Background reading: Access Control System Price Guide 2026: Per-Door Cost Drivers and Benchmarks.