Supply only: exactly what's included and what isn't
Supply only means you buy the manufactured windows and doors; installation and everything around it is yours to arrange. This guide sets out precisely where the line sits, so nothing surprises you on delivery day or when building control asks for paperwork.
What arrives on the lorry
- Fully assembled frames made to your ordered sizes, in your chosen colours
- Your sealed glass units, supplied separately from the frames — a frame has to be fixed unglazed, so the glass travels as loose units and goes in once the frame is in the opening
- All frame hardware fitted and adjusted: handles, locks, hinges and friction stays
- Cills supplied loose for you to fit under the frame where ordered
- Trickle vents supplied where ordered, ready to fit to the sash during installation
What you arrange
- Measuring — before ordering; the made-to-measure sizes are your responsibility
- Removal and disposal of the old windows
- Fixings, packers, low-expansion foam, silicone and trims — the consumables of fitting
- The installation itself: fixing the frame, fitting the cill and vents, then glazing and toe-and-heeling the units (our guides cover each step)
- Building Regulations compliance and certification — see the FENSA guide
- Someone to receive and check the delivery
Where responsibility sits
The split is clean: we're responsible for manufacturing what you ordered — the sizes, colours, glazing and options on your confirmation — and for it arriving undamaged. You're responsible for having ordered the right thing: sizes that fit your openings, safety glass where regulations require it, vents where Part F expects them, and an egress opener where a bedroom needs a fire escape. The designer surfaces all of these choices, and the guides explain each one, but on a supply-only purchase the specifying decisions are the buyer's.
The pitfalls that catch first-timers
- Ordering the opening size instead of the frame size — deduct 10mm each way from brick-to-brick
- Forgetting safety glass below 800mm or beside doors — check every low cill
- Skipping trickle vents to save a few pounds, then failing a building-control check
- Not checking the delivery before signing — inspect glass and frames while the driver waits
- Booking the fitter for delivery day itself — leave slack for the unexpected
Frequently asked questions
- Is supply-only cheaper than an installer overall?
- Usually, substantially — you pay the factory for the product and a tradesperson's labour for the fit, without the installer-company margin that bundles both. Get local labour quotes to see your total.
- Can my builder order for me?
- Yes — many customers have their joiner or builder measure and place the order, or register a trade account and buy at trade terms.
- What paperwork do I get?
- An order confirmation with the full specification of every item — sizes, colours, glazing and options — which is also what you check the delivery against.
- What if something arrives damaged?
- Check everything before the driver leaves and note any damage at the point of delivery, then contact us — see the delivery-day checklist guide for exactly what to look over.