Flooring Installation Contract Checklist: What the Contract Has to Say, Deposits, Change Orders, the 10% Holdback and Ontario Consumer Rules

Flooring & Tile

The Flooring Contract: Twelve Things It Has to Say, a Payment Schedule That Works, and the Ontario Rules That Apply Whether Anyone Wrote Them Down or Not

Most flooring jobs in Ontario are done on a one-page quote with a signature at the bottom, and most of them turn out fine, which is why people keep doing it. The ones that do not turn out fine are the ones where the quote said “install engineered hardwood, main floor, $9,900” and the argument is about everything the sentence does not say. A contract is not a sign of distrust. It is the two of you agreeing on the job before the job starts, when agreeing is cheap.

Written by a builder, not a lawyer. Ontario rules as of October 2026; for a big job or a dispute, pay a lawyer for an hour.

The twelve things

  1. Who the parties are. The contractor’s legal business name, address, phone, HST number. The name on the contract should match the name on the WSIB clearance and the insurance certificate. Why those two documents matter.
  2. The product, exactly. Manufacturer, product line, colour, size, thickness, wear layer or mil rating, grade. “Oak engineered” is not a product. The box label is.
  3. The quantity, with waste shown. 900 sq ft of floor, 990 sq ft of material. Who owns the leftover boxes (you do; you paid for them, and you will want them for repairs).
  4. The method. Nail, glue, float. Thinset and membrane for tile. Underlay type for a floating floor. This line decides whether the floor is right for the subfloor and the heat under it.
  5. Subfloor and moisture. What will be tested, how, and the numbers that pass: concrete under 75% RH by in-situ probe or under 3 lb MVER by calcium chloride; wood within 4 points of the flooring’s moisture content. What happens if it fails, and at what rate.
  6. Every prep and removal line, priced. Removal by material, disposal, screw-down, levelling by the square foot with an allowance, plywood overlay. “As required” is not a price.
  7. Trim and transitions. Baseboard removed and reinstalled, or new, or quarter-round. Number of transitions. Doors to be cut.
  8. Dates. Start date, number of working days, and what happens to the schedule if the material is late or the subfloor fails.
  9. The price, HST shown separately. And the words “fixed price for the scope above” rather than “estimate”.
  10. The payment schedule. Below.
  11. Changes in writing. One sentence: no change to scope or price without a signed change order. It saves more arguments than any other line.
  12. Warranty and cleanup. Workmanship warranty in years, what it covers, and that the house is left broom clean with the scraps gone and the leftover boxes stacked where you said.

A payment schedule that protects both of you

Take the $12,250 engineered hardwood job from the quote comparison page. Here is how I would pay it, and how I would want to be paid if I were the installer.

WhenHow muchAmountWhy
Signing10%$1,225Holds the date. Refundable in full if you cancel within the 10-day cooling-off period on a contract signed at home.
Material delivered to the house40%$4,900Roughly the cost of the material. You can count the boxes and read the labels before you pay.
Substantial completion40%$4,900Floor down, trim on, doors closing, you have walked it with the inspection list.
60 days after substantial completion10% holdback$1,225The Construction Act lien period. Released when no supplier or sub has registered a lien and the deficiency list is done.
Total100%$12,250

Some installers will push back on the holdback for a small job, and on a $3,000 LVP bedroom I understand why. On anything with a supplier he has to pay, keep it. If he is well run he has nothing to fear from it.

The Ontario rules that apply anyway

Consumer Protection Act. A home renovation agreement over $50 has to be in writing with the price, the description of the work, the dates and the contractor’s details. If the agreement was made in your home (a “direct agreement”, which is the salesman at your kitchen table), you get 10 days from the day you receive the written copy to cancel for any reason, in writing, and your deposit comes back. The Act also says a contractor cannot bill you more than 10% over the written estimate unless you agreed to the extra; that is why “fixed price” and signed change orders matter. The province’s guide to your rights when starting a renovation is the readable version and is in the sources below.

Construction Act. This is the lien law. Anyone who supplied labour or material to your property and was not paid can register a lien against your house within 60 days of the job being substantially done. You protect yourself by holding back 10% of what you owe until that period is over. The Act also has prompt-payment rules: once the contractor gives you a proper invoice you have 28 days to pay it or 14 days to give written notice of what you are disputing and why. Silence is not a dispute. Read the invoice when it arrives.

Change orders. Not a law, a habit, but the one that saves the most money. The subfloor turns out to need 200 sq ft of self-levelling at $3.00: that is a $600 change, written on a half sheet of paper, dated, signed by both of you before the bags are opened. The homeowner who says “sure, go ahead” on the phone and the installer who hears “sure” as “whatever it costs” are both honest people about to disagree.

When he hands you a one-page quote and a pen

Do not refuse to sign it; add to it. On the back or an attached sheet, write the twelve items above in plain words, number them, have both of you initial each one and sign the sheet, and staple it to the quote. It is now the contract. A contractor who will not initial “product: X, 990 sq ft, nail-down, moisture tested, trim included, 10% holdback, changes in writing” is telling you something before he has lifted a tool. I have never had a good one refuse.

Keep everything. The signed quote, the change orders, the box labels, the moisture readings, the photos of the subfloor before the first plank. Warranty claims are won and lost on paper, and the warranty page explains why the paper is usually missing.

Questions people ask

Does a flooring contract have to be in writing in Ontario?

Yes, over $50, under the Consumer Protection Act. It has to describe the work, the price, the dates and the contractor. A quote with a signature counts if it says enough; most do not, which is why you add to it.

What is the 10% holdback on a flooring job?

Under Ontario’s Construction Act, the owner keeps back 10% of the value of the work until the lien period, 60 days after substantial completion, has passed. It protects you if the installer did not pay his supplier. On a $12,250 job it is $1,225.

Can a flooring contractor charge more than the quote?

Not more than 10% above a written estimate without your agreement, under the Consumer Protection Act. With a fixed-price contract and a change-order clause, not at all without a signed change. That is the point of writing it down.

What if the installer wants 50% up front?

Offer 10% at signing and 40% when the material is delivered to your house, which gets him the same money a week later with something to show for it. If he cannot buy the material without your half, he has a cash-flow problem that may become yours.

Do I need a lawyer for a flooring contract?

For an ordinary house, no; the checklist above and the province’s own renovation guide are enough. For a whole-house job over $30,000 or a dispute that has already started, an hour with a construction lawyer is cheap compared to the floor.

Know what the contract should add up to

The flooring cost calculator gives you the line items the contract should contain, priced. If you already have a contract or a quote in front of you and are not sure what it leaves out, the $99 quote review is a second set of eyes before you sign.

Price my floorsReview my quotes, $99

Sources and further reading