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Get three quotes that are actually comparable.

Describe the work and this builds a scope-of-work brief you can hand to every contractor you call — including the specifications, condition flags and contract terms most homeowners do not know to ask for.

Start here

Most bad renovations start with a vague quote.

Not a bad contractor — a vague quote. Tell me what you are having done and I will write the brief that keeps everyone honest, including you.

The work

What are you having done?

Pick everything you want quoted. Each one adds its own scope section.

Budget range

Why are you doing it?

The property

Property type

Roughly when was it built?This drives the condition flags — the things worth investigating before anyone starts demolition.

During the work

Renovation scope brief

Detached · 1980–1999 · $30,000 – $75,000Kitchen · Main bathroom

Project summary

Property: Detached
Approximate age: 1980–1999
Budget range: $30,000 – $75,000
Purpose: Selling within a year
Occupancy: Living there during the work
Areas in scope: Kitchen, Main bathroom

Give every contractor this same document. Quotes are only comparable when they are priced against identical scope — most of the spread between three quotes is scope, not margin.

Scope — Kitchen

Demolition and disposal, cabinetry, counters, backsplash, sink and faucet, appliance install, lighting, electrical and plumbing rough-in changes, flooring if it runs under the cabinets, paint, and final trim.

Cabinet construction: plywood box or particle board, and the door material and finish
Counter material and edge profile, and who templates and installs it
Whether the layout moves plumbing or gas — that is the line between a refresh and a renovation
Number of new circuits, and whether the panel can carry them
Appliance sizes and specs before cabinets are ordered, not after
Whether the quoted allowance for fixtures reflects what you actually plan to buy

Scope — Main bathroom

Demolition to studs where needed, waterproofing, tile, tub or shower base, vanity, toilet, fixtures, exhaust fan vented outside, lighting, and paint.

Waterproofing system by name, not just 'waterproofed'
Whether the exhaust fan vents to the exterior or into the attic — the second one is a defect
Tile size and layout, because labour cost changes with both
Whether the subfloor is being inspected once the old floor is out

Require this in every quote

Line-item pricing by area, not one lump sum
Every allowance stated in dollars, with what it buys — vague allowances are where budgets fail
Who pulls the permits and who pays for them
A start date and a substantial completion date, both written down
A payment schedule tied to completed milestones, never to the calendar
Confirmation that disposal, dump fees and daily cleanup are included
Warranty period on labour, stated separately from manufacturer warranties on materials
That all changes are priced in writing and signed before the work is done
Whether HST is included in the number or added to it

Condition flags for a 1980–1999 home

Raise these before demolition. Every one of them is cheaper to find on a quote than mid-project.

Poly-B supply plumbing was widely installed between about 1985 and 1997. Insurers increasingly refuse it or price it up, and it is a negotiating point at resale.
Original windows and patio doors from this era are usually at or past end of life.
First-generation high-efficiency furnaces are due.
Aluminum wiring is unlikely, but check the panel anyway.

These are things to have investigated, not diagnoses. Testing and assessment belong to qualified inspectors, electricians, plumbers and abatement contractors.

Ask every contractor

A current WSIB clearance certificate — you can verify it yourself online
Proof of liability insurance, and confirm the coverage amount
Three references from jobs of this size finished in the last year
Who will actually be on site daily, and who to call when something goes wrong
Whether the trades are employees or subcontractors, and who carries their insurance
How many jobs they will be running at the same time as yours

Walk away if you see this

A discount for paying cash
No written contract, or a contract that is really just a price
A deposit demand above roughly 10 to 15 percent before material is ordered
Pressure to sign today, or a price that expires this week
An offer to skip the permit to save you money
A quote materially below the others — it usually means scope was left out, and it will come back as a change order

Given your reason for doing this

You are preparing an asset for sale, not building your dream home. Weight the budget toward what a buyer sees in the first ninety seconds — paint, lighting, flooring, curb appeal — and toward removing objections an inspector will raise. Resist finishing work that will not show up in offers.

Living in it while it happens

Agree in writing which bathroom and which entrance stay usable, and for how long
Ask how dust will be contained and whether the furnace returns will be sealed
Set working hours before the first day rather than after the first complaint
Expect the timeline to be longer than the same job in an empty house

Generated from what you entered — a starting point for a conversation, not professional advice. Verify anything that carries money or a deadline with the appropriate licensed professional.

What the brief gives you

Four things a homeowner cannot easily write alone.

Quotes you can actually compare

Three contractors pricing three different scopes is not three quotes. Hand them the same document and the spread between them starts meaning something.

The specifications nobody thinks to ask for

Waterproofing system by name. Retrofit or full-frame windows. Plywood box or particle board. These are the lines where a quote quietly becomes a different job.

Condition flags for the era of your home

Poly-B, Kitec, aluminum wiring, knob-and-tube, asbestos in the floor tile. Every one of them is cheaper to find on a quote than halfway through demolition.

The terms that protect you

Allowances in dollars. Payment tied to milestones, not to the calendar. Changes priced in writing before the work happens. Permits assigned to somebody by name.

Why this comes from me

I wrote these documents from the other side of the table.

More than 25 years in residential and commercial construction, renovation, restoration and project management — pricing jobs, hiring trades and running sites — before I ever sold a house.

So the specifications in this brief are not scraped from a checklist. They are the lines I know quotes go sideways on, because I have been the person writing the quote and the person catching what was left out of somebody else’s.

And because I do not do the work myself, I have nothing to sell you. The most profitable advice I can give you is often to spend less.

Have me walk it before you sign anything.

A written plan with priorities, real cost ranges for this market, the skip list, and a view on what the work does to your value. Yours to keep whether or not you ever list with me.

I will read your quotes and tell you what is missing
Vetted trades at fair prices, or take the brief to your own
No cost, no obligation, and no follow-up campaign

Prefer to talk? Call or text 416-953-9545

Straight answers

Questions people ask about this.

Why does a scope document matter so much?

Because most of the difference between a $40,000 quote and a $65,000 quote is not profit — it is scope. One contractor priced levelling the subfloor and one did not. One included the permit and one assumed you would pull it. One quoted a $3,000 fixture allowance and one quoted $8,000. When all three price the same written scope, you are finally comparing the same thing, and the cheap quote either stays cheap or reveals what it left out.

Is this a substitute for hiring a designer or an engineer?

No. It is the document that makes those conversations shorter and cheaper. Anything structural still needs an engineer, anything with a permit still needs drawings, and anything involving asbestos still needs testing and a qualified abatement contractor. The brief tells you which of those you are about to need — before somebody is standing in your kitchen with a demolition bar.

The contractor said we do not need a permit. Is that fine?

Sometimes it is genuinely true — like-for-like window replacement, most flooring, paint. But 'we can skip the permit to save you money' is the single most expensive discount in renovation. Unpermitted structural or electrical work surfaces at resale, during a buyer's lawyer's search, and at insurance claim time. If the work needs a permit, the permit is part of the job.

Can you look at my quotes once I have them?

Yes, and it is worth doing. I spent more than 25 years in construction and renovation before I sold real estate, so I can usually tell you within a few minutes which quote is missing scope, which allowance is unrealistic, and which number is fair for the work described. There is no cost and I do not do the work myself, so I have nothing to sell you.