What Should Be on a Screen Enclosure Quote (And 5 Red Flags)
J-Rod and Sons Screen Rooms — family-owned screen room builders in Greater Jacksonville. 15 years in the trade, 300+ enclosures, and a 10-year workmanship warranty on every build.
The short version
A real screen enclosure quote names the frame gauge, the exact mesh, who pulls the permit, what the warranty covers and excludes, and a payment schedule tied to progress. If a quote is one number on one line, you can't compare it to anything — and you won't find out what was left out until the job is underway. The cheapest bid is usually cheapest because something on this list is missing from it.
Most homeowners get two or three quotes for an enclosure and have no way to tell which one is actually the better deal. The numbers are different, the paperwork looks different, and nobody explains what's underneath. Here's what to look for — including on ours.
What should actually be on it
A quote you can hold someone to should specify, in writing:
- The scope in plain terms. Dimensions, how many walls, how many doors, where they go. “Screen enclosure” is not a scope.
- Frame material and gauge. Aluminum gauge and post spacing are where cost gets quietly cut. Two quotes with the same footprint and different gauge are not the same product.
- The exact mesh. Standard fiberglass, tighter no-see-um mesh, or pet-resistant — they cost differently and perform differently.
- Who pulls the permit, and whose license is on it. Covered in detail in our permit guide.
- Warranty terms — including exclusions. Length is the easy part. Ask what it doesn't cover.
- Payment schedule tied to progress, not to the calendar.
- A timeline, with the permit wait called out separately so you know what's the county and what's the contractor.
Five red flags
1. One number, no breakdown
If the whole job is a single figure with no itemization, there's nothing to compare and nothing to hold anyone to. Ask for it broken out. A contractor who won't is telling you something.
2. “You don't need a permit for this”
For a new enclosure or a rebuild in Duval or Clay County, you do. This one line should end the conversation — it means either they don't know, or they do and they're hoping you don't.
3. A large deposit before anything is ordered
Some money up front is normal — material gets ordered and it isn't free. A large share of the total before a permit is pulled or a single post is set is worth questioning. Ask what specifically the deposit buys and when material is ordered.
4. No license you can check
You can verify a Florida contractor's license yourself through the Florida DBPR license lookup. It takes a minute. If someone won't give you a name and number to check, that's your answer.
5. Pressure to sign today
A discount that evaporates if you don't sign on the spot is a sales tactic, not a price. Real quotes hold for a reasonable window — material prices move, but not by dinner time.
How to compare two bids that look different
When one quote is meaningfully cheaper, the difference is almost always in one of four places. Ask about each directly:
- Frame gauge and post spacing — thinner metal, posts further apart
- Mesh — the cheapest standard fiberglass instead of what you asked for
- The permit — not included, or not being pulled at all
- Anchoring — the part nobody inspects and the most common failure point
Get both contractors to answer those four and the bids usually stop looking so far apart. Sometimes the cheaper one is genuinely just leaner. Often it isn't.
Why the cheapest bid is cheapest
We're not the cheapest quote you'll get, and we say so on the phone. It would be easy to be: thin the frame, widen the spacing, skip the permit, use the lightest mesh on the shelf. Every one of those saves you money today and costs you the structure later.
That's not an argument for paying the most, either. It's an argument for knowing why one number is lower than another before you choose. If the cheaper contractor answers all four questions above cleanly, hire them — it doesn't have to be us.
What we won't do is win a job by leaving something off the quote and finding it later. Same reason we'll tell you when a rescreen beats a rebuild — the smaller honest job is better business than the bigger dishonest one.
Want a quote that spells all this out? Call (904) 862-8688 or see how we work.
FAQ
How many quotes should I get for a screen enclosure?
Two or three is plenty. More than that and you're mostly collecting numbers without more information — better to ask each of the three harder questions than to add a fourth bid.
Should a screen enclosure quote be free?
For a straightforward residential job, yes — ours are. Someone charging to estimate a standard enclosure is unusual.
How long should a quote stay valid?
Long enough for you to think about it and compare. Material costs do move, so a quote won't hold forever — but a price that expires the same day is a tactic.
What questions should I ask before signing?
Who pulls the permit and whose license is on it, what gauge frame and which mesh, what the warranty excludes, and what the deposit specifically pays for. Four questions, and they sort contractors fast.
Is a verbal quote worth anything?
Not when something goes wrong. Get the scope, the materials, the permit responsibility, and the payment schedule in writing — for your protection and theirs.
Walk the job with the owner.
Tell us what you're thinking. We'll come look, point out what we'd do differently, and only quote what we're confident we can deliver.