Two window quotes for the same house can be thousands of dollars apart and still not be quoting the same thing. Before you compare totals, line both quotes up against your window schedule and check six things: the sizes, the glass package on every line, the tempered units, the options like screens and grids, what is included in the delivered price and what happens when something goes wrong. The cheaper quote is only cheaper if it passes all six.
Start with your schedule, not the total
Put your window schedule next to each quote and go opening by opening. Every opening on the plans should appear once, with the same size and the same operation type. Quotes drift from schedules in small ways: a casement quoted as a picture window, two openings merged into one mulled unit, a size rounded to the nearest stock number. Each change moves the price and each one is a problem you find on site if you miss it now.
If a supplier quoted stock sizes against a custom schedule, ask whether the rough openings are being adjusted or the windows are. One of those is a framing change.
The glass package, line by line
In Washington this is the line that decides whether the house passes its energy inspection. The code wants a U-factor of 0.30 or lower for the whole window and the rating has to come from an NFRC certified unit, not a center-of-glass number from a brochure. A good quote names the glass package and its U-factor on each line or at least for each window type.
Watch for a quote that lists a range ("U-factor 0.27 to 0.35") without saying which option you are getting. The low end of the range is often a more expensive glass package than the one priced. If one quote names 0.30-compliant glass and the other does not, the cheaper quote has probably left out the glass that passes. The energy code article explains what the inspector checks and how to read an NFRC label covers the sticker itself.
Tempered units
Some openings need tempered glass by code: in and next to doors, beside tubs and showers, near stairs and large panes close to the floor. Count the tempered units on each quote and compare them with your plans. A quote that shows fewer tempered units than the plans call for is cheaper for a reason you will pay for later, either at inspection or when the glass gets replaced.
Options that move the price
Most of the gap between two honest quotes is in the options. Check each one on both quotes:
- Frame color, inside and out. White is the baseline almost everywhere and a dark exterior usually costs more.
- Grids and whether they sit between the glass or on the surface.
- Screens. Some quotes include them on every operable window, some price them separately and some leave them off.
- Hardware, such as the lock type and casement operators.
- Frame type: a nail fin for new construction or a block frame meant for replacement.
None of these are hard to compare once they are written down. The trouble starts when one quote lists them and the other is silent.
What the price includes
A window price can mean the unit at the warehouse or the unit on your job site with freight, fuel and handling included. Ask each supplier for the delivered price to your address and what is excluded. Common exclusions are freight, delivery to an upper floor, installation and trim. On a factory-direct order, also ask who handles import and customs. If that falls to you, it is a cost the quote does not show.
Lead time and what happens when something goes wrong
A quote is also a schedule. Note the lead time each supplier commits to and when the clock starts, whether at the quote, the deposit or the final sign-off on sizes. Ours is eleven to twelve weeks from a locked order to the job site and builders who order around framing start rarely feel it.
Then ask the question nobody puts on a quote: when a unit arrives cracked or the wrong size, who fixes it, how fast and who pays? Get the answer in writing. A low price with a vague answer here can cost you more than the savings when a crew is waiting on one window.
Putting the two quotes side by side
Once both quotes cover the same openings, the same glass, the same tempered units and the same options, delivered to the same address, the totals finally mean something. That is usually when a big gap shrinks or when it turns out to be real. If it is real, the cause is usually how many businesses sit between the factory and you. Factory-direct vs distributor windows breaks down where that difference comes from.
Getting a quote from Puro
Our quotes go line by line against your schedule: every opening, its size, its product line and the certified glass package that meets Washington's 0.30 U-factor, with a delivered price to your job site. There is no minimum order. If a unit arrives damaged or the wrong size, we fix or replace it at our cost.
Send us your window schedule and compare our quote with the one you already have.