10 questions to ask a Florida commercial glazier before signing a contract

What's your FL CGC license number and current standing?

Verify at MyFloridaLicense.com. License must be active and the company name must match. ACG holds FL CGC #1531993, active and current. A glazier who hesitates or can't produce the number on the spot is not commercial-grade in Florida.

Show me three NOAs you carried on recent HVHZ projects.

If you're in Miami-Dade or Broward, the glazier must produce three Miami-Dade NOA numbers from projects completed in the last 24 months. Verify each at miamidade.gov/permits/online-services.asp. A glazier who can't produce three has not done meaningful HVHZ work recently.

What's your bonding capacity?

On contracts over $250K, ask for current bonding letter from their surety. Most Florida commercial glaziers carry $3M-10M bonding. ACG carries $6M aggregate. A glazier without bonding capacity is undercapitalized for commercial work.

Who are your three most recent GC references?

Ask for GCs from completed projects in the last 12 months. Call them. The question to ask: 'Would you hire this glazier again? Why or why not?' GCs who hesitate on the 'would you hire again' question are flagging something.

What's your average bid response time and submittal turnaround?

48 hours on bid is fast. 7 business days is Florida average. Submittal turnaround should be 10-15 business days from contract award. A glazier who can't quote turnaround numbers has not measured their own operation — they will be slower.

Show me a sample shop drawing set from a similar project.

Quality of shop drawings predicts quality of installation. Look for: clear elevations, detailed sections, hardware schedule, glass type call-outs, sealant joint sections, anchor details. Sloppy shop drawings mean sloppy field installation.

What's your warranty term and what specifically does it cover?

Get warranty terms by layer (installer labor, glass manufacturer, aluminum manufacturer, sealant). In writing. Vague warranty language is the single biggest source of post-project dispute.

What's your safety record?

Ask for current OSHA EMR (Experience Modification Rate). Industry average is 1.0 — lower is better. ACG documents zero OSHA recordable incidents since 2021 and runs every project on a written safety-checklist protocol borrowed from aviation preflight. A glazier without current EMR documentation hasn't built a safety culture.

Who specifically will run my project from your team?

Get the project manager and field superintendent names. Verify they're on staff, not contract. Ask how many active projects they're each running concurrently. PM running 10+ active commercial projects is overloaded — quality drops.

Can you commit to the schedule in writing with material lead times itemized?

Schedule commitments without itemized material lead times are guesses. Make the glazier identify the longest lead-time item (typically custom aluminum extrusions or specialty glass packages) and commit to ordering on signed contract, not on permit issuance. This saves 2-3 weeks on every commercial project.