Journal · Standards

What the standards actually govern.

AWI grades, construction types, installation tolerances and finish systems — reading the standard before you stamp approved.

• AWI Casework Standards: Construction Types a Specifier Should Know

  The standards define casework by construction type and interface style. Naming the right one turns a vague specification into a comparable bid.

• AWI Finish Standards: Specifying Sheen, System, and Performance

  A finish specification that names only a color has specified almost nothing. System, sheen, and performance are separate decisions with separate consequences.

• AWI Installation Standards: The Tolerances That Decide the Punch List

  Installation tolerances are where a millwork specification either has teeth or does not. They are also where most punch list disputes are actually settled.

• Test Reports and Certifications: What to Require and What to Skip

  Certification requirements are easy to copy into a specification and expensive to satisfy. Knowing which ones do work is worth more than requiring all of them.

• Writing a Millwork Spec Section a Fabricator Can Actually Bid

  Most millwork specifications are long and still leave the decisions that matter unmade. A section a fabricator can bid is specific about a short list of things.

• Architectural Woodwork Standards: What the AWS Actually Governs

  The Architectural Woodwork Standards are referenced in nearly every millwork specification and read by almost no one. Knowing what they actually govern makes them useful rather than decorative.

• AWI Premium, Custom, or Economy: What Grade You Are Really Specifying

  The three AWI grades are the mechanism by which a millwork specification controls quality. A specification that names no grade has selected none of them.

Vertical Custom Supply · Journal · FAQ · Book a call · Terms · Privacy