How to Pick a Good Glass Company in Portland

Start with the license lookup

The CCB runs a public search at ccb.state.or.us. Type in a company name or license number and you'll see whether the license is active, what category of work it covers, the bond and insurance on file, and any complaint or disciplinary history. A company can write anything it wants on its own website. The state record is the version it can't edit.

If you can't find the number on a company's website or trucks, ask for it directly. A licensed contractor hands it over without hesitation, since carrying that number is the point of being licensed. An outfit that dodges the question may be quoting low precisely because it's skipping the bond and insurance the license requires, and if that job goes wrong, there's nothing behind it to make you whole.

Where the bond and insurance come in

Behind every active CCB license sits a surety bond and a liability insurance policy, and they exist for two different bad days. The bond is there if the work itself goes wrong and the company won't make it right; the CCB has a complaint process that can reach that bond on your behalf. The insurance is there if something gets damaged while the work happens, and glass work means heavy, sharp panels moving through finished rooms, past siding, over floors.

On a bigger job, ask for a certificate of insurance. Sending one takes a company a few minutes, and it shows the policy is current rather than just claimed.

Read the reviews like a neighbor would

The star count is the least useful part of a review profile. The text is where the information lives. Look for jobs that resemble yours: if you need a cracked picture window replaced, a review describing exactly that tells you plenty, while a review about a mirror install tells you very little. Check the dates too, since a company can change crews or change hands, and the most recent stretch of reviews describes the company you'd be hiring now.

Pay attention to how a company answers criticism. A calm, specific reply to an unhappy customer tells you how your own disagreement would go if you ever had one. And treat testimonials that appear only on a company's own site, with no matching public profile anywhere, as unverifiable.

What the estimate visit tells you

Before any glass is ordered, you get an audition. Notice how long your call took to get returned and whether they showed up when they said they would. The number should arrive in writing. Ask what moves the price for your specific job, and listen for an answer in plain words about the glass itself and how hard your window is to reach. Ask who does the installing, the company's own crew or a sub, and who you'd call if something needs attention afterward. Ask what the warranty covers and for how long, and get that in writing as well, since the labor and the glass are usually warranted separately and for different lengths of time.

Gathering more than one written estimate is reasonable on a bigger job. When you compare them, compare what each one includes and not just the number at the bottom, because two quotes are rarely describing the same job once you read them closely.

When you start making calls

The lookup comes first. After that you're choosing among companies that all cleared the same bar, and the reviews and the estimate visit will sort the rest better than any ad can. If you'd like a written number for whatever sent you searching, we're glad to be one of the calls you make.