Window and Door Quote Review: A Builder Reads Your Window Quotes Against Your Openings Before You Sign

Windows & DoorsIndependent Review

A Builder Reads Your Window and Door Quotes Before You Sign Them

Up to three quotes and your photos, on one grid, with a plain answer. No window company behind it, no commission on what you buy.

Three window quotes, $8,000 apart, each one page, each for “replacement windows.” One is inserts and one is full-frame and neither says so. One has no series name. One wants to replace eleven windows that are fogged and otherwise fine. This is the second opinion: a builder who buys a window package for every house he builds reads the quotes the way the window company’s estimator reads them, and tells you which one is the job you want.

Reviews are done by a Tarion-registered Ontario builder with 300-plus houses behind him, every one of them with windows he had to buy. Turnaround three business days.

What you get

Window and Door Quote Review
$99

Up to three quotes, plus your photos. HST added at checkout.

  • Every quote put on the same sixteen-line grid, side by side
  • Retrofit or full-frame, named, for each one, and what that does to the comparison
  • What each one leaves out, in dollars: foam, flashing, disposal, finishing, rot repair, the second warranty
  • The price per opening checked against Ontario October 2026 rates for the type and size
  • The frame and glass read for what they are: series, frame depth, coating, certified U-factor and ER
  • From your photos: which windows need replacing, which need a glazier, and which need nothing
  • A plain answer: sign this one, go back to that one with these questions, or walk
Order the window quote review
Window Schedule Takeoff
$249

One house, up to 40 openings. HST added at checkout.

  • A checked schedule: ID, room, type, nominal size, handing, glass, notes, quantity, for every window and door on the plans
  • The plan, the elevations and the schedule reconciled; every disagreement listed
  • Egress checked for every bedroom; tempered glass flagged where the code wants it; ventilation checked by room
  • Glass specified by orientation: triple north and east, high-gain south, low-gain west, or as you prefer
  • Rough openings for the manufacturer you name (or two), from their own sheets; ICF buck sizes if the house is ICF
  • Header notes for every opening over 6 ft, so the structural drawings get checked before the order
  • A budget by grade, builder-grade through fibreglass, at October 2026 Ontario rates, and a one-page quote request to send to three makers
Order the window schedule takeoff

Just have quotes to compare? Read what the review covers.

If your house is in Simcoe County, Muskoka or the Georgian Bay area and the job ends up going to an installer we introduce, the review fee comes off the introduction. Whole-house packages for a new build go through the schedule takeoff instead; quotes with more than three companies or more than 30 openings are quoted separately, email first.

How it works

  1. Order. Pay by card on the Stripe page. HST is added at checkout; you get an emailed receipt and a page telling you exactly what to send.
  2. Send the paper and the pictures. Reply to the receipt email with the quotes as PDFs or clear phone photos, a photo of each side of the house from outside, a photo of the worst window from inside and one of any fogged or stained one, and the schedule if you ran the calculator.
  3. Get the answer. Within three business days: the grid with all quotes on it, what each one is missing and what that costs, the per-opening check, the spec read, what the photos say about which windows actually need replacing, and the recommendation with the questions to send back.
  4. Use it. Send the questions, get the revised quotes, sign the right one. Most people get the cheap quote revised up or the dear one explained, and a few take six windows off the job.

What it is not

It is not a site inspection. Nobody measures your openings for $99; the quotes and your photos are what gets read. If the photos show something that needs a person on a ladder (a sill that looks rotten through the siding, a header that is sagging), it says so and says who to call. It is not a binding price, a design, or a recommendation of a specific company. It is a builder’s reading of three pieces of paper and six photographs, which is what most people are missing.

What gets found, most weeks

  • One quote is retrofit, one is full-frame, and the $8,000 gap is that.
  • “Premium vinyl” with no series name, at $300 a window more than the named one.
  • Fogged windows on the list that are a sealed-unit swap, not a window.
  • “Disposal extra”, “finishing extra”, or no mention of foam or flashing on the cheapest quote.
  • Triple glazing on a quote being compared to double on the others.
  • A “lifetime” warranty with no installation warranty beside it.
  • A deposit of 50% and a price that expires on Friday.

Before you order, the free version

The quote comparison page is the sixteen lines and the grid, free, and it settles a lot of comparisons on its own. The repair vs. replacement page is the window-by-window test. The calculator gives you the number a fair quote lands near. If the grid is filled and the quotes still do not agree, or the salesman’s story and the windows do not match, that is when $99 is cheap.

Questions people ask

What do I send?

The quotes (PDF or clear photos of every page), a photo of each side of the house, a photo of the worst window from inside, and the calculator schedule if you ran it. Reply to the receipt email with them attached.

How long does it take?

Three business days from when the paper arrives.

Will you tell me which company to use?

Which quote is the better job and what to ask the others, yes. Whether the company is good is the reference call on the quote page, which you make.

What if I only have one quote?

Send it. One quote on the grid still shows what it leaves out and whether the price per opening is fair. The review will usually tell you to get two more and what scope to give them.

Does it cover doors?

Yes. Entry doors, patio doors and door walls, on their own or with the windows.

Is HST charged?

Yes, 13% at checkout, with an invoice emailed to you. The card statement reads WINDOW REVIEW.

Three pieces of paper, one answer

Less than the cost of one window. Usually worth several.

Order the review, $99Run the calculator first