Start with the opening designer note in the issued Section 08 51 13 and confirm that the window schedule, elevations, and details give each window’s size, type, operation, glass, anchorage, and mullions, and that the type article, performance class, and performance grade kept for each window type match the schedule. Then check that the wind design pressure, antiterrorism and windborne debris criteria, and thermal values for the project’s climate zone are filled in from the structural, security, and energy documents, and that egress, forced entry, window cleaning, and special operator windows are identified on the drawings as the notes require.
Assemble the review package
Gather the window schedule and window type elevations, the building elevations, the head, jamb, sill, and mullion details, the wall sections showing subframes, flashing, and sealant joints, the structural general notes with the wind design data, the antiterrorism criteria and standoff distances from the security or site drawings, the energy compliance documents with the climate zone, the life safety plans marking rescue or secondary escape windows, the electrical drawings for any motor-driven operators, and the issued Section 08 51 13 with Sections 08 81 00 and 07 92 00, plus Section 08 51 23 if steel windows are also used. Trace one window type from its schedule row to its details and performance values before assuming the others are complete.
WBDG publishes UFGS 08 51 13: Aluminum Windows as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 2, 2026). Use your project’s issued specification and amendments for the actual comparison; the guide specification does not automatically govern your project. The checklist below is an original suggested review workflow, not a reproduction of the UFGS requirements.
Eight checks to run against the issued set
Use one record per location or system. The CSV contains the same eight prompts plus fields for source revisions, observed evidence, the review owner, the decision, and closure references.
| Check | Sources to compare | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| What the drawings must show | Opening designer note + Provisions for Glazing designer note + window schedule, elevations, and details | Does the set give each window’s size and type, ventilator size, location, and swing or slide direction, fixed sash details, typical sections with glass thickness and the method of securing insulating glass, the anchoring method with clip and fastener types, mullion details, and the locations of special operators and forced entry resistant windows, as the notes list? |
| Window type, class, and grade | Windows article and its designation notes + Awning, Casement, Hung, Horizontal Sliding, Projected, Top-Hinged, Vertically Pivoted, and Fixed Windows articles + Combination Windows article + window schedule | For each type in the schedule, is the matching type article kept with one performance class and grade selected, are unused type articles deleted, is any optional performance grade the same one the schedule shows, and are windows assembled in combination the same class and grade, as the Combination Windows article requires? |
| Wind load and deflection basis | Wind Loading Design Pressure, Structural Performance, Design Data Requirements, and Mullions and Transom Bars articles + structural general notes + elevations | Is the wind design pressure blank filled in from the structural wind criteria, does the performance grade chosen for each type cover the pressure where that window sits on the building, and is the design pressure used for the adjoining windows stated for the mullions, as the mullion designer note asks? |
| Antiterrorism and windborne debris | Antiterrorism Performance Requirements, Computational Design Analysis Method, Dynamic Design Analysis Method, Standard Airblast Test Method, Engineer’s Qualifications for Blast Design, and Windborne-Debris-Impact Performance articles + security criteria + elevations | If the building falls under the DoD antiterrorism standards, is one validation method kept with its load blanks filled in by an engineer experienced in blast design, are tilt-in hung and pivoting types avoided, as the notes warn, and if the windborne debris paragraph is kept, do the drawings show which windows need basic or enhanced protection? |
| Thermal performance by climate zone | Thermal Performance article and its climate zone paragraphs + Certification article + Windows article + Thermal-Barrier Windows article + energy compliance documents + Section 08 81 00 | Is only the climate zone paragraph for the project location kept, do its U-factor and SHGC values match the energy compliance documents and the glass in Section 08 81 00, is the condensation resistance blank in the Windows article filled in, are thermal-barrier windows indicated where the section expects them, and is Energy Star kept only for residential units? |
| Mullions, anchors, and the opening | Mullions, Window Anchors, Fasteners, Accessories, and Anchors and Fastenings articles + opening designer note on related work + head, jamb, sill, and mullion details | Do the drawings give the mullion profile, reinforcing, anchorage, and cover fastening the Mullions designer note asks for, are structural supports at mullions and any wood subframes covered by another section, as the opening note expects, and are subframe receptors and subsills either drawn or deleted from the Accessories article? |
| Cleaning, operation, and egress | Window-Cleaner Anchors and Window Cleaners’ Bolts articles + Special Operators, Pole Operators, Extension Crank Operators, and Mechanical Operators articles + Life Safety Criteria article + elevations and life safety plans | Are window cleaner anchors shown where the designer note calls for them, with the two anchor and bolt articles made consistent or one deleted, are windows with high or grouped hardware identified with their operators and, for motor-driven operators, the electrical work in Section 26 20 00, and are rescue or secondary escape windows marked on the drawings, as the life safety note requires? |
| Finish, hardware, glazing method, and forced entry | Finishes, Anodic Coating, Organic Coating, Hardware, Provisions for Glazing, Forced Entry Resistant Windows, and Screens articles and their designer notes + elevations or finish schedule + Section 08 81 00 | Does the anodic class or organic coating kept follow the notes for the site’s environmental severity and for humid interior spaces, is stainless steel hardware kept where those notes call for it, is inside or outside glazing chosen and drawn, are forced entry resistant windows identified with impact-resistant glazing coordinated in Section 08 81 00, and are screens provided for operable sash? |
Worked example: a schedule with no class or grade and two cleaner anchor articles
Illustrative example: a three-story administration building has punched aluminum windows in three types: fixed, projected, and a fixed-over-projected combination joined by a mullion. The window schedule gives sizes and type marks but no performance class or grade, the issued Section 08 51 13 keeps all eight window type articles and every climate zone paragraph, the wind design pressure blank is empty although the structural notes give the wind criteria, the computational antiterrorism paragraph is kept with blank loads, and the elevations show no window cleaner anchors on the upper floors while both the Window-Cleaner Anchors and Window Cleaners’ Bolts articles remain.
Ask the architect to add the type, performance class, and grade to the window schedule, with the combination unit at a single class and grade, to delete the unused type and climate zone paragraphs, and to fill in the wind design pressure from the structural criteria. Ask the engineer responsible for blast design to fill in the antiterrorism loads or confirm that the paragraph can be deleted, and decide with the using activity how the upper windows will be cleaned so that the anchors are drawn or the extra articles deleted.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 08 51 13 covers individual aluminum window units. Glass and glazing are specified in Section 08 81 00 and the glazing guide, sealants in Section 07 92 00 and the joint sealant guide, framed storefronts and entrances in Section 08 41 13 and the storefront guide, and curtain walls in Section 08 44 00, while the notes send fire-rated, security, and detention windows to Section 08 51 23, so check those before calling a requirement missing. Items the notes assign to other sections, such as structural supports at mullions, wood subframes, shade and blind brackets, and electrical work for motor-driven operators, still need to appear somewhere in the set. Wind, blast, debris, and thermal values come from the project’s own criteria; the current guide section cites AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440, UFC 4-010-01, ASTM F2248, and ASTM E1996, so confirm the editions your project invokes with the architect, the structural and security engineers, and the authority having jurisdiction.
When requirements disagree, follow the project’s document-control and clarification process. Do not assume that drawings always override specifications, or the reverse. Identify the exact sources and request an authorized decision.
Close the issue across the affected documents
Record the location or tag, drawing and specification references, issue dates, observed difference, and the decision needed. Assign an owner and keep the item open until the response identifies the governing requirement. Check the revised drawings and specification references together; a response email alone may leave the issued package inconsistent.
For the overall process, use the guide to drawing and specification conflicts. Mark an inapplicable checklist row with a reason, and distinguish a verified correction from a question that still needs design information.
Where Groundbook fits
Groundbook’s drawing and specification review helps investigate potential disagreements in the documents you supply. Include the relevant specification sections and drawing references, then verify the cited evidence with the responsible reviewers before acting on a finding.