Construction Contract Substitution Clauses in Ontario

Record: manufacturer, brand, model, series, grade, colour, dimensions and contract-document reference.

Avoid: “builder standard,” “or similar” or “subject to availability” without an objective baseline.

Possible reasons: discontinuation, verified unavailability, excessive lead time, code conflict, design conflict or authority rejection.

Exclude: ordinary contractor convenience, a cheaper purchasing opportunity, estimating error or late ordering.

Require: notice before the replacement is ordered or installed whenever practical.

Include: reason, replacement, comparison, price effect, schedule effect and response date.

State: whether written approval is mandatory and whether silence can ever count as approval.

Protect: selected finishes, visible products and major systems from unilateral replacement.

Compare: performance, intended use, durability, maintenance, warranty, operating cost, appearance, dimensions, certification and value.

Do not rely only on: contractor opinion or retail price.

Require: samples, colour chips, photographs, showroom review or mockups.

Address: texture, sheen, dimensions, pattern, grain and adjacent finishes.

Confirm: loads, openings, electrical demand, controls, piping, clearances, flashing and installation details.

Assign: redesign, permit revisions and trade coordination caused by the change.

Require: certification, listings, evaluation reports, professional review and authority acceptance.

State: the replacement cannot reduce code compliance or promised performance.

Compare: warranty term, exclusions, transferability, labour coverage, registration and local service.

Protect: system warranties from incompatible products or installers.

Disclose: the contract value assigned to the original and actual net cost of the proposed replacement.

Separate: material, installation, freight, redesign, restocking, markup and taxes.

Require: a defined credit when the accepted replacement reduces contractor cost or scope.

State: how overhead, profit, allowance reconciliation and tax are treated.

Require: owner approval of the net upgrade, markup and schedule effect before purchase.

Do not assume: the owner automatically pays more because the original product is unavailable.

Show: original lead time, proposed lead time, decision deadline and effect on other work.

Clarify: who bears acceleration, storage, remobilization and delay costs.

Exclude or control: replacements made necessary because the contractor missed an agreed order date or ignored known lead times.

Address owner delay separately: late selections, approvals or deposits can have different consequences.

Record: original item, replacement, reason, comparison, price, credit, schedule and revised documents.

Attach: product data, samples, approvals and revised drawings.

Define: removal and replacement, price credit, warranty extension, correction of affected work or another agreed remedy.

Preserve: statutory warranty and consumer rights that cannot validly be waived.