You thought painting the patched wall was included. The contractor thought you were handling it. Neither of you wants to discover that with the room half finished. A useful contract settles those small, expensive misunderstandings while the work is still on paper. Put the quote and drawings beside it, then use this signing check to find the gaps.

The Ontario baseline

Ontario's current home renovation rights guide says contracts worth more than $50 must be written. It recommends at least three written estimates, a modest deposit, and a contract that includes identity, detailed work and materials, warranties, total cost, payment terms, dates, cleanup, and subcontracting details. If the estimate is included, the guide explains the 10 percent limit unless the parties agree to new work or a new price.

The one-page signing check

  • Correct legal business name, address, contacts, HST treatment, and homeowner names.
  • Drawings, specifications, quantities, product allowances, exclusions, and responsibility for existing-condition surprises.
  • Start assumptions, milestone schedule, access, working hours, protection, waste, cleanup, and substantial completion.
  • Deposit and progress draws tied to visible milestones, not dates alone.
  • Who prepares permits, pays fees, books inspections, answers deficiencies, and gives you final records.
  • Written change orders showing scope, price, tax, schedule impact, and approval before changed work proceeds.
  • Warranty, deficiency process, insurance, WSIB, suspension, termination, and dispute terms.

Attach the quote, finish schedule, drawings, and approved alternates to the signed agreement. Check their revision dates while they are open in front of you. We once caught a vanity drawing with drawers attached to a quote still allowing doors. Neither page looked unfinished; they simply described different cabinets. Correcting the attachment before signing was quicker than deciding later which page everyone remembered. Our quote-reading guide shows how to compare allowances and exclusions, while the change-order guide keeps mid-project decisions documented.

Before anyone signs

Verify the contractor, references, regulated trades, insurance, and WSIB status. Confirm the permit path. Read every linked document without the salesperson hovering. Ontario also describes a 10-day cooling-off period for qualifying agreements signed in the home, but clarify the applicable terms before signing. Sign when the scope is ready.

This is practical consumer information, not legal advice. For a large renovation, structural project, complex financing arrangement, or unusual risk allocation, have an Ontario construction lawyer review the agreement. Arrange that review before signing or authorising work.