Ask for this first. Request a current Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance certificate and a WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) clearance certificate, both active for the duration of your project. Why it matters: if a worker is injured on your property and the contractor lacks WSIB coverage, you can face exposure for that worker’s costs. If the crew damages your home or a neighbour’s without CGL insurance, you have no protection. You are a family in a house, not a business, and you should not carry that risk.
| How to verify: have the insurance certificate sent directly from the contractor’s broker rather than accepting a photocopy, and check WSIB clearance yourself online. Both checks are free and take minutes. A contractor who stalls indefinitely or cannot produce either document is one to walk away from. |
A professional renovation estimate is a detailed written document covering scope, materials (with brands and grades where they matter), labour, explicit exclusions, timeline and payment schedule. It is not a number on the back of a business card or an email that says "full kitchen renovation including labour and materials, $28,000." Vague quotes are not informality. They are a mechanism. A low, unspecific number wins the job, then costs are added once demolition is underway and you cannot realistically walk away. That is how GTA homeowners end up paying 30%, 40% or 50% more than expected. Ask for a line-by-line breakdown, and ask what is explicitly excluded. A contractor with nothing to hide will welcome the question.
A professional payment schedule starts with a modest deposit (Ontario consumer guidance recommends no more than 10%), followed by progress payments tied to completed milestones and a final payment at handover. This protects both sides: the contractor has working capital, and you keep leverage until the work is done properly.
Cash-only requests are not about convenience. They are about leaving no trail. Large upfront payments followed by a disappearing contractor are one of the most common renovation fraud patterns in Ontario. Always pay in a way that creates a record.
In Ontario, many renovations require approvals: building permits, plumbing permits, HVAC mechanical permits, ESA electrical notifications and TSSA-regulated gas work, depending on scope. Removing a load-bearing wall without a permit and engineering is illegal, as is building a secondary suite without permits or doing electrical work without ESA oversight. A contractor who says permits are unnecessary when they clearly apply, or suggests skipping them to save time and money, is either uninformed or avoiding the inspections that would reveal the quality of their work. For you, unpermitted work can mean stop-work orders, fines under the Building Code Act, and disclosure problems, price reductions or failed sales at resale.
"I have another client who wants this slot." "This price is only good until Friday." "I need a signed contract today." High-pressure tactics exist for one reason: to stop you from verifying who you are dealing with. A contractor confident in their credentials, references and pricing does not need to rush you. They know that after you verify insurance, check references and compare estimates, you will still choose them. Take your time, get multiple estimates and verify every credential. A good contractor respects your due diligence.
Ask for references you can actually call and, ideally, completed projects you can see. Be cautious of contractors who offer only testimonials, review screenshots or website quotes that cannot be traced to a real person. When you call references, ask:
There is no good reason for an established business to have no verifiable track record.
In Ontario, hired electrical work must be done by a Licensed Electrical Contractor with an ESA notification, plumbing by a licensed plumber, and gas work by a TSSA-registered contractor. These are legal requirements, not suggestions. When a contractor says their "guy" handles electrical, or that the gas connection will be done by someone "very experienced," ask directly whether that person is licensed and whether the work will be permitted or notified. A vague answer is a no. Unlicensed electrical work is a serious fire risk and improper plumbing can cause major water damage, and you live with the consequences long after the contractor leaves. Ask to see the licence and the ESA notification number.
A professional contractor communicates consistently. You know your project manager, have a direct number and receive regular updates, and you hear about issues before work proceeds. A contractor who is hard to reach, stops responding mid-project, cannot say when the next trade is coming or repeatedly fails to show up is sending an operational signal. Watch response times during the estimate stage: if they take four days to return a call before they have your business, imagine how available they will be after.
Your renovation contract governs everything from signing to final payment. It should include:
A one-page agreement, a letter of intent or nothing in writing leaves you unprotected, and in renovation something unexpected almost always comes up. Never let construction begin without a signed, detailed contract in hand.
A contractor who has truly managed projects like yours can speak confidently about the details. Ask what beam is needed to remove the wall between your kitchen and living room, the minimum ceiling height for a legal basement apartment, whether your panel needs upgrading, or which waterproofing membrane they use in a shower. You do not need to know the answers. Listen to how they respond. A knowledgeable contractor answers directly and explains their reasoning. One who does not know deflects, offers vague reassurance or pivots to price. Technical confidence is not arrogance. It is evidence of experience.
A contractor who passes all ten checks, with verifiable insurance and WSIB, detailed written estimates, a professional payment schedule, proper permits, no pressure, real references, licensed trades, consistent communication, a thorough contract and real technical knowledge, is worth serious consideration. At Maple Leaf Quality Renos Inc., these standards are the baseline on every project:
Book a free, no-obligation consultation. We will answer every question directly and give you a detailed written estimate at no cost, without any pressure to decide before you are ready.
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