20 Questions to Ask Any Contractor
Before Hiring

Most homeowners interview a contractor by asking what their kitchen will cost. That is the wrong question to lead with. The cost is a function of the contractor. Find the right contractor and the cost converges on what the project actually requires. Find the wrong one and the cost is whatever they decide it should be six months in.

Here are the 20 questions we wish every Ottawa homeowner asked before signing anything. Ask them in this order. The first 10 separate licensed real businesses from people working out of a truck. The last 10 separate good builders from average ones.

The 10 questions that filter out the worst contractors

1. Are you registered with WSIB and can you provide a current Clearance Certificate? Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. If a worker gets hurt on your property and the contractor is not WSIB-registered, your homeowner insurance can come after you. Real contractors carry it. Ask for the current certificate, dated within 90 days
2. What is your business liability insurance limit and can you add me as additional insured? Minimum 2 million for residential renovations. They should be able to email you a Certificate of Insurance with your name and address listed in 24 hours
3. Do you have a BCIN-certified designer for permit drawings? Building Code Identification Number. Required to submit permit drawings in Ontario for most renovations. If they say "we have a guy" or "we use a draftsperson" press for the BCIN number
4. Will you pull the permits in your name? The right answer is yes for any work that requires a permit. Permits pulled in your name make you the responsible party if something is wrong. Permits in their name keep them on the hook
5. Do you have an in-house crew or do you sub everything out? Both can work. The honest answer matters. A contractor who claims an in-house crew but actually subs out 90 percent of the work is lying to you on day one
6. How many active projects do you run at once? A solo contractor running 6 simultaneous projects is overcommitted. A 12-person company running 6 projects is normal. Match the load to the size of the operation
7. Can I see three projects you completed in the last 12 months and contact those clients? Recent and verifiable. "I did a kitchen 8 years ago for my cousin" is not a reference
8. How long have you been operating under this business name? Watch for contractors who change their business name every 18 to 24 months. They are running away from negative reviews and CCB complaints
9. What is your written warranty period and what does it cover? Minimum 1 year on labour and workmanship in writing. Anything verbal is worthless
10. What is the deposit and the draw schedule? 10 to 15 percent deposit. Milestone payments tied to verifiable completion. Anything more aggressive is a red flag

The 10 questions that separate good contractors from average

11. Is your quote fixed-price or cost-plus, and what triggers a change order? Fixed-price means you know what you are paying. Cost-plus means open-ended billing with a markup. For most kitchens and bathrooms, fixed-price is what you want. Ask what specifically counts as a change order versus what is included
12. What allowances are included for finishes I have not picked yet? Allowances are budget placeholders for items you will choose later (tile, plumbing fixtures, lighting). They should be specific amounts, listed in the contract, and realistic for the look you described. A token allowance for "all bathroom plumbing fixtures" on a high-end bathroom is fiction
13. Who manages my project day-to-day and how often will I hear from them? Should be a named person, not "the office." Should be weekly minimum on active projects, daily during critical phases
14. What is the projected start date and how firm is it? A real contractor should be booking 6 to 14 weeks out for substantial projects. "We can start Monday" on a major project means they are slow, which means they are losing work to better contractors. Slow availability is a red flag
15. What is the projected duration and what could extend it? A kitchen reno is typically 8 to 14 weeks. A bathroom is 5 to 8 weeks. A full home is 6 to 14 months. Ask what specifically could push the timeline (custom cabinet lead times, structural surprises, weather for exterior work)
16. How do you handle dust, debris, and protection of unaffected rooms? Plastic sheeting, zip walls, negative-pressure fans, daily cleanup, dumpster on site. The answer should be specific. "We're clean" is not an answer
17. What happens if you find structural or hidden surprises mid-project? The right answer involves stopping work, documenting the issue, providing a written change order with photos and pricing, and getting your sign-off before proceeding. The wrong answer is "we'll work it out at the end"
18. Can I see the contract template before we agree on a number? Read the contract before you commit. Pay attention to scope of work language, change order process, deficiency resolution, and warranty terms. If they refuse to share a contract template, walk away
19. What did you learn from your worst project in the last 5 years? Every contractor with 10+ years of experience has had a project go sideways. The good ones can talk about it. The bad ones claim everything has been perfect. Reality has texture. A claim of perfection is the texture of fiction
20. Why are you the right contractor for this specific project? Generic answers ("we do quality work, we treat customers right") are filler. Specific answers ("we built three coach houses on similar lots in Kanata last year, here are the floor plans") show competence. The specificity is the signal

The questions you ask before signing protect you more than any contract clause. Bad answers are easier to walk away from than bad contracts are to enforce.

What good answers sound like

Question 11 (fixed-price vs cost-plus). A bad answer: "We do time-and-materials. It's just easier."

A good answer: "We quote fixed-price for kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and additions because the scope is well-defined. We use cost-plus only on whole-home renovations or heritage restorations where we genuinely cannot pre-price every item. On your kitchen we will give you a fixed number with a 10-page line-item breakdown and a list of every allowance with its dollar value."

The difference is not just length. It is specificity, structure, and confidence in the process.

What our answers look like

For full transparency, here is how we would answer all 20 for a typical Ottawa kitchen renovation:

1. WSIB current. Clearance Certificate emailed in 24 hours
2. 2 million liability. Certificate of Insurance with additional insured naming, emailed same day
3. BCIN-certified designer in-house. BCIN number on the drawings
4. We pull permits in our name
5. In-house carpenters, project managers, designers, and cabinet shop. Plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and tile are subbed to long-standing partners (8+ years average)
6. Active projects vary by season. Winter typically 10 to 14, summer typically 14 to 20
7. Three recent kitchens with client contact details, your choice of neighborhood
8. Operating since 2005. Same business name, same ownership
9. 1 year warranty on labour and workmanship in writing. Manufacturer warranties pass through
10. 10 to 15 percent deposit depending on project scope. Milestone draws tied to verifiable completion. 8 percent holdback released after deficiency list resolution
11. Fixed-price. Change orders only for client-requested scope changes or documented hidden conditions
12. Allowances listed as line items with specific dollar amounts. We will tell you up front if your allowance is realistic for the look you described
13. Named project manager, weekly site meeting, daily check-ins during critical phases, photo updates twice a week
14. Currently booking 8 to 12 weeks out for kitchen and bathroom projects, 4 to 6 months for additions
15. Kitchen typically 8 to 14 weeks. Could extend with custom cabinet lead times or structural finds
16. Plastic-sheet zip walls, daily cleanup, dumpster on site, negative-pressure fan during dusty phases
17. Stop work, written change order with photos and pricing, your sign-off before proceeding
18. Standard contract template available before we even quote. Three pages plus scope appendix
19. Honest answer: about a worst project, what we learned, what we do differently now
20. Specific answer about your project, our team's recent comparable work, and why we are a fit (or honestly, why we might not be)

The wrap

Twenty questions feels like a lot. It takes 25 minutes to ask and 25 minutes to grade the answers. That hour will save you the worst version of a six-month renovation gone wrong, which routinely costs 30 to 60 percent of the original project value to recover from.

If you want to put us through these 20 questions, call 613-862-4555 or book a free in-home consultation. We will hand you the documents before you ask and answer everything else in person.