Harvey T. Dupras

Barrister and Solicitor

home:


SIGNING A CONTRACT - 12 THINGS TO LOOK FOR {there are a lot more}

1. PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING
   there are standard form construction contracts such as CCDC - use them
   make sure that the information required by the Consumer Protection Act is in the documents - Click here to see the specific requirements

2. WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF PAYMENT
   Who decides when a payment is to be made
   Who decides if something is done right or wrong
   Is there a schedule of payments

3. THE DRAWINGS AND THE SPECIFICATIONS SHOULD FORM PART OF THE CONTRACT.

4. THE COMPLETION DATE AND THE SCHEDULE SHOULD BE PART OF THE CONTRACT.

5. THAT THE CONTRACTOR GETS ALL PERMITS

6. INSURANCE FOR THE PROJECT
   you must see proof of insurance and you should verify the policy with the broker,
   insist on at least 2 million dollars coverage
   your home insurance policy will almost never cover damages and fire during major construction

7. IF YOU ARE SPENDING OVER 100,000 GET BONDING AS PART OF THE CONTRACT
   Most homeowners have never heard of bonding
   It can be described as a guarantees by an insurance company.
   If the contractor does not complete the work the bonding company pays to have another contractor complete the project.
   This is a simplified description of the complicated insurance product with many terms and conditions.

8. WSIB CLEARANCE

9. CHANGES MUST BE IN WRITING
   and the contract should describe the process of handling changes for increases in costs or credits if work is deleted and how the change will effect the schedule

10. WARRANTIES
    there should be a standard one year warranty as the very minimum;
    roofing and specialty items should have their own longer warranty periods and these should be explicitly spelled out in the contracts and the specifications

11. PROJECT SUPERVISION
    Who is reviewing the project on a daily, weekly basis for quality control, most people do not have the time or the ability to do this

12. WHO DOES THE ACTUAL WORK
    every sub-trade hired by the contractor needs to be approved by you in advance; every worker who is not an bona fide employee of the contractor needs to be approved by you in advance.
    NO ONE GETS TO WORK ON THE BIGGEST INVESTMENT IN YOUR LIFE WITHOUT YOU KNOWING WHO THEY ARE - YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CONTRACT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO GET RID OF INCOMPETENT TRADES.

_{last updated: October 17, 2007}

_{copyright 2007 Harvey T. Dupras}