How to Choose a Kitchen Contractor in Ontario: The Questions That Sort Them, and the Answers That Should Worry You

The paperwork questions

1. Can I have a copy of your WSIB clearance certificate? Yes, here it is, or here is the number to check it at wsib.ca. In Ontario, a contractor with employees must have WSIB coverage, and without a clearance certificate you, the homeowner, can be on the hook if someone is hurt on your site. A sole proprietor with no employees can be exempt, and should say so plainly. Worrying: “We do not need that for residential,” or “I will get it to you later.”
2. Can I see your liability insurance certificate, and who is the insurer? Here it is; $2 million is standard; it names the company. Worrying: a certificate that names a different company, is expired, or is “with the office.”
3. Are you a registered business, and will the contract and the invoices be in that name with an HST number? Yes. Worrying: a cash price, or a contract in a personal name with no HST. The cash discount is 13% and it is also no warranty, no insurance and no recourse.
4. Who pulls the permit, and will your name be on it? We do, and yes, when the job needs one; here is when it does. Worrying: “You do not need a permit for a kitchen” said about a kitchen with a wall coming out. The permits page is the rule; a contractor who does not know it is telling you something.

The trades questions

1. Who is your electrician, and what is their ECRA/ESA licence number? A name and a number, and the ESA notification is on the quote. Worrying: “My guy does the electrical,” with no licence number. In Ontario the electrician must be a licensed electrical contractor and must file with ESA. A general contractor who does it himself is uninsured work in your walls.
2. Who does the plumbing, and are they licensed? A name, licensed, and here is what they are doing. Worrying: the same “my guy,” or the contractor doing drain work himself.
3. Do you have your own crew, or do you sub everything? Either is fine if the answer is specific: “Two of us do demo, framing, drywall and install; we sub electrical, plumbing, tile and counters, and here is who.” Worrying: vagueness about who will actually be in your house, or a contractor who has never met the subs because he finds them per job.
4. Who is on site every day, and who do I call? A name and a cell number, and that person is there most days. Worrying: a salesperson who will “hand you over to the project manager” you have not met.

The money questions

1. What deposit do you want, and what are the payment stages? 10 to 15% on signing to hold the slot and order materials, then stage payments tied to milestones (demo and rough-ins done; cabinets installed; counters in; completion), with 10% held to the end. Cabinet shops want 50% on order and that is normal for the cabinets; it should be visible as the cabinet deposit, not as the contractor’s. Worrying: 50% up front to the contractor for labour, or “half now, half at the end.”
2. How are changes priced? In writing, before the work, with a cost and a schedule effect, signed by both. Worrying: “We will sort it out at the end,” which is where the $8,000 of extras appears. The contract checklist has the change-order clause.
3. What is excluded from this price? A list, in the quote: usually appliances, the cabinet and counter supply if you are buying them, painting, anything found inside the walls. Worrying: “Everything is included,” which is never true, and means the exclusions will be decided later by the person who said it.
4. What is the warranty, in writing? One year on workmanship is normal; two is good; the manufacturer’s warranties on cabinets and counters pass through. Worrying: “Lifetime,” from a company that has existed for two years, or no answer.

The reference call

Ask for three references from kitchens finished in the last two years, and one from a kitchen finished more than three years ago. Call them. People will give a reference and then be surprisingly honest when asked specific questions. The ones that get real answers:

• How far over the quoted price did it finish, and why?
• How far past the quoted date did it finish?
• Was there a week when nobody showed up? What was the reason?
• Who was actually on site most days?
• Did anything need fixing after the final payment, and did they come back?
• Would you use them again, and what would you do differently?

Then, if you can, look at a finished kitchen. Open a drawer, look at the caulk line at the counter, look at where the crown meets the ceiling, look at the toe kick. The quality checklist works on an installed kitchen as well as a showroom.

The things that should end the conversation

When the cheapest one is the right one

Sometimes it is. A small outfit, two people, with their own licensed subs they have used for years, no showroom, no salesperson, and a quote that is lower than the design-build firm’s because there is no overhead in it, is often the best-value kitchen in town, and their references will tell you so. The questions above are how to tell that contractor from the one who is cheap because the trades are not licensed. Both are cheaper; only one is a bargain.

The order of the whole thing

Measure and price the kitchen yourself first (the renovation calculator), so you know what a fair number looks like. Get three quotes for the same written scope. Ask these questions of all three. Call the references. Read the contract against the checklist. Then sign with the one whose answers were specific. If the three quotes do not agree and you cannot tell why, that is the thing the quote review is for.