About one in twelve calls our office takes is from a homeowner whose project is in trouble. The contractor has stopped showing up. The kitchen has been demolished and nothing has been built. The deposit was 60% and the work completed is 25%.
The warning signs were always visible weeks before the project actually went sideways. Here are 10 concrete signs from 20 years of rescue calls in Ottawa, with the action to take when you see each one.
1. The site is empty for more than 4 working days
What it looks likehat it looks likehat it looks likehat it looks likehat it looks likehat it looks likehat it looks likehat it looks likehat it looks like: nobody on site Monday through Friday with no advance notice. Tools left out, materials sitting in the driveway, the project paused.
Why it matters6">Why it matters6">Why it matters6">Why it matters6">Why it matters6">Why it matters6">Why it matters6">Why it matters6">Why it matters: contractors sequence their crews. A 4-day gap means either an unscheduled material lead-time problem (which the contractor should have flagged) or the contractor has redirected the crew to another job.
What to dob1d58">What to dob1d58">What to dob1d58">What to dob1d58">What to dob1d58">What to dob1d58">What to dob1d58">What to dob1d58">What to do: ask in writing for a daily-by-day schedule of who is doing what for the next 10 working days. A real contractor produces this in 24 hours. A contractor in trouble cannot.
2. Materials are arriving in pieces instead of in scheduled deliveries
What it looks like: the cabinets show up on Monday but the hardware shows up the following Friday. Plywood arrives but the trim does not. Each delivery is a small order from a different supplier.
Why it matters: healthy contractors place full orders with their suppliers and accept staged deliveries on schedule. Cash-flow problems show up as small orders placed one at a time as money comes in.
What to do: ask to see the supplier purchase orders. If your contractor cannot produce signed POs for major materials, the project is being funded out of your deposits, which means the next deposit fronts work on another project.
3. The contractor asks for the next deposit before milestone work is complete
What it looks like: the deposit schedule says "30% on rough-in inspection." Rough-in is half done. The contractor calls and says they need the 30% now to "keep things moving."
Why it matters: a fixed-price contract has milestone payments tied to specific deliverables. Asking for money out of sequence almost always means the contractor's other projects are draining cash and yours is being raided to fill the gap.
What to do: do not pay. Cite the contract milestone. Offer to pay the moment the milestone is hit. If the contractor pushes back hard, that is your answer about the project's actual financial state.
4. Subcontractors are asking you about payment
What it looks like: the electrician quietly asks if you have paid the general contractor for last week. The plumber says he is owed several weeks of payment for work already completed.
Why it matters: subcontractors who get paid late do not just complain to the GC. They complain to the homeowner because they know the homeowner can apply pressure. By the time you hear from a sub directly, the GC is already 30 to 60 days late paying that sub.
What to do: stop paying the GC and pay the subs directly through a legal mechanism. A construction lawyer can draft a "joint cheque" arrangement. The subs file lien on the property if they are not paid, and that lien follows the property at sale, so this is your problem regardless of whose fault it is.
5. Permit work has not been inspected at the right milestone
What it looks like: the framing is done, the drywall is going up, and the framing inspection has not happened. Or the rough-in is closed up before the plumbing and electrical inspections.
Why it matters: City of Ottawa inspections happen at specific milestones. Closing up before inspection means everything has to be reopened to inspect. The contractor who skips inspection scheduling is either incompetent or planning to skip the inspection entirely, which makes the work illegal.
What to do: log into MyServiceOttawa with your permit number and check the inspection history. If the milestones are missed, contact the City directly and ask for a stop-work order until inspections are caught up.
6. Drawings or specs are being changed verbally without documentation
What it looks like: the contractor says "we made a small change to the kitchen layout, the cabinets will work better this way." No drawing revision. No change order. No price change.
Why it matters: verbal changes are deniable. The contractor can later say the change was on you, charge for it, or back out of it. Every change should be a written change order with a price (even if zero) and signatures from both sides.
What to do: refuse verbal changes. Send the contractor an email summarizing the conversation and asking them to confirm in writing. If they balk at writing it down, the change is not happening.
7. The contract was light on detail to start with
What it looks like: the original contract is 2 to 4 pages, has vague descriptions ("kitchen cabinets" with no brand or model), large allowances, and no milestone payment structure.
Why it matters: a thin contract is a contract designed to absorb future disputes in the contractor's favour. A single "kitchen renovation, including all labour and materials" line with one lump-sum figure is unenforceable when a dispute arises about what was included.
What to do: do not sign the thin contract. A real fixed-price contract runs 8 to 16 pages, names every brand and model, lists every line item, and has a milestone-based payment schedule. If the contract you have is already signed, get a construction lawyer to advise on remediation. A modest legal-review fee early on is small next to the cost of unwinding a failed renovation later.
The "stop work and call a lawyer" threshold
Most homeowners wait too long to call a construction lawyer because they think it will signal hostility and break the relationship with the contractor. By the time they call, the project is already lost and the lawyer is collecting damages, not preventing them. The right time to call is the moment any three of the warning signs in this article are present simultaneously. An initial consultation costs little. Unsupervised escalation, by contrast, can run into major remediation, plus the time delay of finishing the project with a different contractor. Better to call early. For more on how legitimate contractors structure deposits and milestones, see our project estimating page.
8. The communication has gone from daily to weekly to silent
What it looks like: in the first 2 weeks the contractor texted twice a day with updates and questions. By week 6 you have not heard from them in 4 days. By week 10 you are calling them and getting voicemail.
Why it matters: communication frequency is a leading indicator of project health. A contractor who is on top of your project will text and email frequently because there are always small decisions and small updates. Silence usually means the contractor is avoiding a difficult conversation about something that has gone wrong.
What to do: book a project meeting in person, on site, with the principal of the company present. Not the project manager, the owner. If the owner refuses to attend, the project is officially in trouble.
9. The quality of work is dropping over time
What it looks like: the framing was tight and clean. The drywall finishing is rougher. The trim work shows nail pops, gaps, and miscuts. The painters are leaving paint on the floor.
Why it matters: contractors lose their best people first when cash flow tightens. The lead carpenter goes to another GC who is paying on time, and the contractor replaces them with a less experienced labourer. The visible quality drops over the course of the project.
What to do: photograph the quality issues, list them in writing, and require remediation before the next milestone payment. The contract gives you that bargaining position. Use it before the project is finished and the position disappears.
10. Your gut is telling you something is wrong
This sounds soft, but it is the most reliable warning sign in 20 years of rescues. Homeowners who called us knew something was off 4 to 8 weeks before the project actually broke down. They could not articulate it at the time but they felt it.
If something feels wrong, document what you are seeing in writing and send it to the contractor with specific questions. A real contractor responds in 24 hours with detailed answers. A contractor in trouble dodges, deflects, or blames the homeowner.
The warning signs of a renovation going sideways are visible to anyone watching for them. The trick is not waiting until the warning signs are at the level of "the contractor stopped answering the phone."
The single best preventative measure
The single best way to avoid all 10 warnings is hiring a contractor whose business model does not depend on raiding the next deposit to fund the previous job. The questions to ask before signing:
- Are subcontractors employees, or contracted per project? Employees are paid weekly regardless of project cash flow.
- Does the company have a line of credit?
- What is the deposit schedule? More than 30% upfront is a warning. Healthy contractors take 10 to 20% deposit, 30% at rough-in, 30% at finishes, 10% holdback.
- Can I see three reference projects from the past 18 months that I can call?
- What is the warranty? A 1-year DTR-style warranty backed by structural and manufacturer warranties is the industry standard.
- Is the company licensed, insured, and WSIB-covered? Get the certificate copies.
If you are already in the situation
If you are reading this article because the project is already showing warnings, the order of operations is:
- Stop the next payment
- Document everything in writing (photos, dates, conversations)
- Call a construction lawyer for a 1-hour consultation
- Identify a backup contractor who can take over if needed
- Make a written demand to the existing contractor for a remediation plan with dates
- If the remediation plan is not produced within 7 days, terminate the contract per the lawyer's guidance
If you are watching warning signs accumulate and need a second opinion, our office takes calls at no charge for an initial conversation. Reach us at 613-862-4555.