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What Questions You Should Ask When Hiring a Window Contractor

11
11 Mar 2016
by Angelo Cairo

Hiring a contractor to complete any work in your home can be a cumbersome decision to make, as it is not only a costly decision, but a decision you want to be confident in, since you will be inviting the individual(s) into your home to alter and perform some potentially drastic physical changes to parts of your home.

We’ve compiled a list of questions, which we believe are great questions to help you figure out if the contractor you’re speaking with is right one for the job. It’s a long list of questions, so you won’t need to ask every question during your interview, we recommend picking anywhere from 3-5 questions to help you better gauge what the company is like, their policies and different types of services offered.

It would also be a good idea to review all the questions for what answers you expect to hear from the contractor you wish to hire.

  1. Is there a fee charged for receiving a quote?
  2. What type of experience do you have installing windows (i.e. number of years of experience, different types of windows installed for residential or commercial buildings)
  3. Are the contractors full-time staff or subcontractors?
  4. Is there a designated foreman or project manager on site during the installation process?
  5. What type of window or brand would you recommend and why?
  6. Is there any warranty on the work? (As well as the windows itself.) Who can I contact if there are any issue post-installation?
  7. What are your payment terms?
  8. How long is the process from ordering to installation?
  9. How do you finish the interior of the windows after installation?
  10. How long would the window installation project take you? (Include the number of windows you wish to have replaced.)
  11. Do you have any recent projects where I can see how the windows look from the street?
  12. Do you have any customer referrals?

 

Hope these questions help you choose the right contractor for your windows. Most of these questions can also be applied to any type of contractor you wish to bring into your with a little tweaking on the questions. If you have any questions specific to the services or types of windows we offer, please leave a comment below and we’ll chat soon!

About the Author
In 1979, Ross Cairo started a small glass supply company, servicing the commercial industry. He quickly saw a need for a more diverse offering of products and eventually became a distributor of several lines of doors and windows to his customers. But the little company that grew was never just a supplier – they even maintained a high level of service by providing a full range of support from consultation to installation.
  1. Simon Brooks March 18, 2016 at 3:01 am Reply
    Wow, this is a great list of questions to ask any contractor you're looking to hire and I see how they'd be especially important for windows. Knowing whether or not they provide warranties for the windows is important as you'll need to know if they can be replaced if something goes wrong. I also like that you encourage people to ask for customer referrals as they can give you a great idea of the projects the company has done in the past and how they interacted with their past clientele.
    • Angelo Cairo May 12, 2016 at 7:08 pm Reply
      Thanks for the feedback, Simon! Glad you enjoyed the post!
  2. Bob Lowe April 15, 2016 at 7:12 pm Reply
    Thank you for the post. These are some great questions. I think a great question to ask is how are they going to finish the inside of the windows after the install them. Are they going to hire another company to finish the molding and other window treatments? I also like the question about the warranty. If they hire another company to finish the window treatment, what is that warranty like.
    • Angelo Cairo May 12, 2016 at 7:09 pm Reply
      Great point about the finishing of the windows and addressing the mould issue!
  3. Bob Lowe June 24, 2016 at 8:29 pm Reply
    Thanks for the post. This is really helpful. I think it is important to know what kind of windows the contractor recommends and why. I think that can really help you when doing research on windows. I want to be sure that I am going to get the windows that will be best for me and my house.
    • Angelo Cairo July 28, 2016 at 5:38 pm Reply
      Thanks Bob! Happy to hear you found this helpful!
  4. Ellen Hughes June 28, 2018 at 2:06 am Reply
    I like that you suggested checking the number of years that a window contractor has been in service to see how experienced they are. This is a nice tip for me because I'm looking to install new windows in my house. My goal is to transform the look of my house into an impressive one with the newly installed windows, so I only want to hire a window contractor that's been in business for a long time.
  5. Ellen Hughes August 3, 2018 at 6:01 am Reply
    I like that you suggested checking if the window contractor that you're interested in has customer referral and has experience in installing windows. My parents are interested in window inserts, so they are looking to hire a window contractor. They want to make sure that their windows will look new and impressive, so they only want to hire a window contractor that has a good track record of providing window services to satisfied clients. Thanks!
  6. Ellen Hughes September 19, 2018 at 6:16 am Reply
    I found it helpful when you said that you must check the number of years that the window contractor that you're interested in has been in business to ensure that they are experienced enough in installing windows. My husband and I think that it's time for our outdated windows to be replaced with new ones. We'd like to ensure that our new windows are going to be installed efficiently so we can be sure that they are going to work optimally for a long time. We'll make sure to find a window installation contractor that's an expert.
  7. Sharon Wilson-Smith October 19, 2018 at 6:07 am Reply
    It was nice that you suggested checking the experience of the window contractor that you're interested in when it comes to installing residential windows. My husband and I are interested in replacing our old windows. We'd like to make sure that we will be able to hire a window contractor that's well versed in installing new windows because we wanted the job to be done right the first time. Thanks!
  8. Ava Murphy November 6, 2018 at 2:33 am Reply
    You got me when you said that you can ask the window contractor that you're interested in how experienced they are in installing different types of windows. We're planning to install vinyl windows to replace our damaged windows. We'd like to have an assurance that our vinyl windows are going to be installed right the first time because we'd like them to work efficiently for years to come. Thanks for sharing this.

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