InstaBids

How many window and door installation bids should I compare?

Get more than one written window and door estimate, as FTC home improvement advice recommends, and compare them on one written scope listing each opening's size, product type, impact glass or shutters, old-unit removal, flashing, stucco and trim repair, disposal and any permit, rather than chasing a set number of replies.

Source: FTC home improvement hiring guidance, read 15 October 2026.

Researched by the InstaBids editorial team. Last checked: 15 October 2026

The front of a home with a row of new white-framed windows and a glass-paneled entry door.

Key facts

Why do bids for one job differ?

Compare window and door bids opening by opening, because companies can price the same house on different products: impact-rated glass or standard units with storm shutters, aluminum or vinyl frames, different glass packages, and removal of old units, new flashing and stucco or trim repair either inside or outside the written scope.

The FTC's home improvement advice says: "Get multiple estimates. A written estimate should include a description of the work to be done, materials, completion date, and the price." For each opening, ask every company to name the product line, frame material and glass type its bid assumes.

Source: FTC home improvement hiring guidance, read 15 October 2026.

Older painted frames can change the work itself. EPA's lead renovation page, read 15 October 2026, says: "Old or worn lead-based paint, especially on surfaces subject to constant friction like doors or window sills, can produce chips and dust that become a hazard when inhaled or ingested." The same page says: "In general, anyone paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be certified in lead-safe work practices." Ask each bidder how its written scope handles painted sills and frames in an older home.

Source: EPA Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, read 15 October 2026.

InstaBids gets you competitive written quotes without calls or home visits to bid; contractors never pay to see a request or to bid, and there is no fee during our pilot.

Post your request

When is a comparison less useful?

Choose impact-rated units or storm shutters for each opening before collecting more window and door bids. A quote for impact glass and a quote for standard glass with shutters handle the same opening in different ways, so a third or fourth estimate adds little until every written scope names the same product type.

Section 553.842(5) of the 2026 Florida Statutes, on product evaluation and approval, reads: "Statewide approval of products, methods, or systems of construction may be achieved by one of the following methods. One of these methods must be used by the commission to approve the following categories of products: panel walls, exterior doors, roofing, skylights, windows, shutters, impact protective systems, and structural components as established by the commission by rule." The same subsection continues: "A product may not be advertised, sold, offered, provided, distributed, or marketed as hurricane, windstorm, or impact protection from wind-borne debris from a hurricane or windstorm unless it is approved pursuant to this section or s. 553.8425." (F.S. 553.842(5), 2026 edition.) Ask each bidder to write the product approval number beside every window, door and shutter it quotes.

Source: Florida Statutes section 553.842, read 15 October 2026.

The product approval pages of the Florida Building Code Information System, read 15 October 2026, include a menu link labelled "Find a Product or Application". Looking up a quoted Florida approval number there yourself is optional.

Source: Florida Building Code Information System, Product Approval, read 15 October 2026.

How can I ask several companies the same questions?

Use one numbered opening schedule for every company: give each window and door a number, its room, rough width and height, how it opens, the product type you want and what happens to the old unit. Send each bidder the same schedule and photographs so every bid prices your openings, not its own count.

  1. Size: ask whether the new unit fits the existing opening or the bid changes the opening, and who rebuilds the wall around it if so.
  2. Water: ask how the bid seals and flashes each opening, and which sealant, tape or membrane it names.
  3. Finish: ask who patches stucco, drywall and paint around each opening, and whether interior trim is new or reused.
  4. Doors: for sliding glass and entry doors, ask about the threshold, locks and hardware, and whether the whole frame comes out.
  5. Removal: ask who hauls away old glass, frames and any shutter panels or tracks you no longer want.

Should I ask whether a quotation has a charge?

Ask each window and door company whether final measuring or any engineering review is included in its written bid or billed apart from installation. Keep each answer in the written scope, separate from the order for units made to your sizes.

Ask too whether the units are built to order after final measurements, what the payment schedule says if a unit arrives in the wrong size, and who handles a remeasure.

What should my request include?

Describe your window and door request with photographs of every opening from inside and outside, close views of frame edges, sills, thresholds and any shutter tracks, plus a written scope with your numbered schedule, product type, frame and glass preferences, removal, disposal and finish repair.

Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, read 15 October 2026.

What should I do when written bids arrive?

Compare written window and door bids against your opening schedule first: match each numbered opening's product type, size, approval number and finish repair, then ask whether a permit applies, who would apply for it and whose name it would carry. A bid that leaves flashing, stucco repair or disposal blank is incomplete, so ask before choosing.

DBPR's Construction Industry page, read 15 October 2026, lists a category heading "Window and Door Installation" among its specialty contractor entries. DBPR's code table lists the code SCC as "Certified Specialty Contractor", a name that does not say which specialty a record covers. You can ask each bidder which DBPR category covers your job; looking up its public DBPR record yourself is optional.

Source: DBPR Construction Industry categories, read 15 October 2026.
Source: DBPR, Understanding DBPR Codes, read 15 October 2026.

Treat the approval numbers as your deciding line. When two bids name different products for one opening, set both numbers side by side and ask each company, in writing, why its unit suits that opening and what its installation instructions call for.

Next: How InstaBids works, Florida hiring checklist.

InstaBids is in an early pilot in Broward and Palm Beach counties. InstaBids is new in your area, so finding contractors can take longer, and a request may get no bids.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, read 15 October 2026.
Source: Pilot FAQ, read 15 October 2026.

Sources for the facts on this page

Sources checked: 15 October 2026.

Parent: InstaBids home.