Rough openings are made in the factory to each window maker's specification. How that works for large glazing, round windows, headers and air sealing.
A lot of people assume a panel system means small, standard windows. It is the opposite. Because every opening is drawn and made before the panels leave the factory, large glazed walls are easier to get right than they are with a saw on site.
Openings are made in the factory
All rough openings for windows and doors are pre-fabricated to meet the specifications of each window and door manufacturer. There is no measuring, no cutting, no scrap and no foam to trim on site. The panel arrives with the hole already where the drawing says it is.
Send the window schedule early
This is the one thing to get right. If you have a window and door schedule, send it with your plans, because the openings are built to it. Changing a window size after the panels are made is the expensive kind of change; changing it on the shop drawings costs almost nothing.
Large glass
A wall of glass does not fight the system. Large glazed walls are drawn in from the start rather than cut in on site, with beams and headers integrated into the shop drawings by our drafters working with your architect and engineer.
Round windows and curved walls
If your project has curved walls or round windows, it has been done before. Nearly every project is custom, and the panels are shaped to the design rather than the design to the panels.
Air sealing around openings
A factory-made opening means the gap you are sealing is consistent and small, which is a real advantage over site-cut openings. We cover the joints, tracks and blower door results in air sealing a panel shell.
Trim and cladding
Exterior trim and cladding attach to the panel studs like any other wall, so the window details you would draw for a framed house carry over. See cladding a panel wall for how each finish attaches.
Accuracy
Manufacturing tolerances are documented against HUD requirements, and every opening is located on the numbered panel drawings you receive weeks before the delivery.
Building in New England?
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Keep reading
Air sealing a panel shell: joints, tracks and what the blower door reads
The field of the wall takes care of itself. Every number you care about comes from the joints.
From a sketch to labeled shop drawings: how a panel package gets drawn
What actually happens between sending us a plan and a truck arriving at your lot.
Cladding a panel wall: siding, brick, standing seam and rainscreens
The exterior you present to the street is entirely your decision. Here is how each one attaches.
Get a price on your project.
A panel take-off and a delivered price, at no cost, and an honest comparison against building it the usual way.