Step-by-step estimating, worked budgets, contingency, comparing quotes, contracts, deposits, holdbacks and contractor checks.
This section turns a rough idea into a budget you can defend and a contract you can rely on. The estimating method walks through scope, quantities, unit ranges, one-time costs, contingency and tax, and the worked examples apply it to a basement secondary suite and a whole-home refurbishment, with the arithmetic shown.
Once you have a budget, the next guides help you ask for and compare quotes on the same scope, read the contract before you sign it, set a sensible deposit and payment schedule, keep the statutory holdback where your province's lien act requires it, and check licensing, insurance and workers' compensation status.
The calculators do the arithmetic: the renovation cost estimator for a low-to-high range, the sales tax calculator, the contingency calculator, the holdback and payment calculator and the quote comparison checklist. All examples are illustrative; contracts and deadlines differ by province, so check the official sources listed in each guide.
Estimates, quotes and contracts
How to get comparable renovation quotes, normalise scope and allowances, spot exclusions and low-ball pricing, and choose the best-fit contractor without relying on reviews.
Estimates, quotes and contracts
Which provinces license renovation contractors, Quebec's RBQ, Alberta's prepaid contracting licence, trade licences, liability insurance and workers' compensation clearance letters.
Estimates, quotes and contracts
How big a renovation deposit should be, how to tie payments to stages, the 10% holdback under Ontario, BC and Alberta lien acts, Quebec legal hypothecs, and worked payment examples.
Estimates, quotes and contracts
A seven-step method to estimate a Canadian renovation before you call contractors, from scope and measurements to unit ranges, one-time costs, contingency and GST/HST.
Estimates, quotes and contracts
How to choose a renovation contingency percentage for Canadian homes, what it should and should not cover, allowances versus contingency, worked examples and rules for spending it.
Estimates, quotes and contracts
The clauses a Canadian renovation contract needs, Ontario Consumer Protection Act rules on written agreements and estimates, door-to-door cooling-off periods by province and Quebec specifics.
Estimates, quotes and contracts
An illustrative step-by-step budget for turning a basement into a legal secondary suite in Canada, with code items, permits, contingency, HST and the multigenerational credit.
Estimates, quotes and contracts
An illustrative room-by-room budget for refurbishing a 1,800 sq ft older house in Canada, with systems upgrades, moving-out costs, contingency, GST and how to phase it.
