An estimate is a scope of work with prices attached, not a single number on a business card. The estimates that cause trouble in South Florida are the short ones: a room count, a brand name, and a total, with the permit, the stucco, and the design pressure left for later. You can ask better questions in the hour the estimator is in the house. You should. The contractor checklist is the screen for who you let in the door. These are the questions for the visit itself. Our process is what we are prepared to walk through when you ask them.
What product is this, exactly?
Ask for the manufacturer, the series, the frame material, and the glass package, written down. "Impact windows" is a category. PGT, CGI, ES Windows, and Custom Window Systems are the lines we sell, and each line has more than one series. We are a dealer-installer, not the factory, so the answer should name the product we are buying for you, not a private label we cannot support later. Ask where the Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance or Florida Product Approval will appear on the proposal. If the house is in Miami-Dade or Broward, "we'll use something that passes" is not an answer. The approval has to fit the size.
Ask what design pressure the openings were sized for, and whether a second-floor or coastal opening was treated differently from a sheltered first-floor window. Ask whether the sliding door, the French doors, the sidelights, and the garage are in the price. A whole-home total that skipped the slider is not a whole-home total. The guide to comparing deals is about this kind of matching. Use it while the estimator is still there, not after three proposals have arrived in three formats.
What does the price include?
Read the inclusions out loud. Permit and permit fee. Removal and haul-away of the old units. Stucco cut-back and patch. Interior trim or drywall repair. Screens. Hardware. Final inspection. Cleanup. If painting the stucco patches is not included, the proposal should say the homeowner paints after the patch cures. If scaffolding is required, it should be in the number. A low quote that adds these later was not a low quote.
Ask how long the product takes to build after the order, and what has to happen before the order can be placed. Association approvals and, if you are using it, My Safe Florida Home written approval both sit in front of manufacturing. We should be willing to say that a grant project does not start early. Financing, if you want it, should be quoted as financing, from the financing page, not blended into a monthly price that hides the cash scope.
Who does the work, and how is it warranted?
Ask who measures, who pulls the permit, and who is on site for the installation. A salesman who will not be there on install day is fine if the installing company is the one on the contract and the license. Ask whose warranty covers the glass and whose covers the installation. Manufacturer warranties and labor warranties are different documents. We should be able to point you at both without a story about a lifetime guarantee nobody can define.
Ask what happens if a city correction or a hidden rotten buck changes the scope. A written allowance, or a clear change-order rule, is better than a handshake. Ask how openings are protected if it rains mid-day, which it will. The article on choosing a contractor belongs next to these questions. None of them require you to pretend you are an engineer. They require the estimator to be specific.
What should you have ready?
A list of rooms that leak, a note about association rules, and any wind-mitigation report already on file will make the visit shorter and the proposal tighter. If you care about frame color, say so before the measure, not after the glass is ordered. If you are selling the house, say when the closing is so the permit can be planned around a final inspection. If you only want a number for one door, say that too. We would rather price the door than force a whole-house proposal you did not ask for.
Red flags during the visit itself
Write the answers down before the estimator leaves the driveway, and keep that note with the proposal so you can compare it later. Be wary of an estimate that refuses to leave a written scope, that asks for a large deposit before a measure, or that tells you permits are optional in Miami-Dade or Broward. Be wary of a price that only works if you sign that day, and of any promise of a specific insurance percentage. Those are sales tactics, not engineering. A good visit is a little boring. Someone measures, asks about leaks and association rules, and tells you what they are not including. You should be able to read the proposal a day later and still know which series is going into which room. If you cannot, ask for a revision before you compare it with anyone else's total.
You can send the same questions to every company you invite. The useful estimate is the one that answers them in writing. When you want that visit from us, request a free estimate or call (754) 600-4876. Florida Impact Windows & Doors, 3000 Stirling Rd, Hollywood, FL 33021.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should an impact window estimate include?
The series, the approvals, the opening list, design pressure, permit, haul-away, stucco or trim, and a clear note about anything not included, such as painting. A single total without that scope is not comparable.
Should the estimate name a Miami-Dade NOA?
In Miami-Dade and Broward, yes. The proposal should identify the approval that covers the sizes being ordered. Outside the HVHZ, it should still name the Florida Product Approval or NOA being used.
Is the cheapest estimate the best value?
Only if the product, the pressure rating, and the included labor match the other proposals. A lower number that excludes the permit, the slider, or the stucco is a smaller job, not a better price.
When should I ask about My Safe Florida Home?
At the estimate, before anything is ordered. The grant is up to $10,000 for qualifying homes and generally requires written approval before work starts. It is not a line the installer can add after the glass is in.