General Contractors near you

When you act as your own general contractor, you find and vet each trade, work out the order they need to come in, buy or approve materials, get the permits, book the inspections and deal with whatever falls between two trades, such as who patches the drywall after the electrician. You may save the contractor's margin, but you take on the risk of delays, mistakes and disputes, and you need to be reachable on weekdays to make decisions on the spot. In Quebec, the RBQ also issues owner-builder licences, so check with it whether your project calls for one before taking on that role.

A general contractor carries that risk differently. You have one point of contact and one contract, and when the tiler blames the plumber for a leak, it is the GC's job to sort it out. For projects where several trades depend on one another, or where walls, beams or other load-bearing parts change, most homeowners find the coordination is worth it.

Almost every renovation changes once it starts. You may decide to move an outlet, pick a better finish or add a pot light, or the crew may open a wall and find rot, undersized framing, old wiring or a drain with no vent. A change order is the written record of each of these changes: what will be done, how it affects the price and how it affects the schedule. Agree to it and sign it before the extra work begins, not when the final bill arrives.

Older homes carry specific risks. Health Canada notes that a home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint, and that sanding or heat-stripping it creates toxic dust and fumes. Before 1990, asbestos was mainly used to insulate buildings, and it can also turn up in plaster, floor and ceiling tiles, drywall and spackling compounds and caulking; Health Canada advises having a professional test suspect materials before renovating and hiring a qualified removal specialist if asbestos is found. A careful contractor plans for this before demolition and stops work if something suspicious turns up.

In Quebec, the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) licenses contractors, and anyone doing residential renovation work for you must hold an RBQ licence that includes the subclasses the job requires. The RBQ also recommends a written, detailed contract that shows, among other things, the contractor's RBQ licence number, Québec enterprise number (NEQ) and GST and QST numbers. You can check any licence in the RBQ's online register before signing.

Elsewhere in Canada, whether a general contractor needs a licence depends on the province and sometimes the city, but the trades they bring in are regulated everywhere, electrical and gas work in particular, which must be done by people with the right provincial qualifications. Building permits are issued by your municipality. The contractor usually applies, but the permit belongs to your property, so ask to see it, don't let work start before it is issued, and keep the permit and inspection records with your house papers.

A general contractor pays subcontractors and suppliers out of the money you pay them. If that money doesn't reach them, some provinces allow unpaid trades and suppliers to register a claim against the property itself, and holdbacks exist to protect owners from that risk. In Ontario, for example, the Construction Act requires each payer under a contract to retain a holdback of 10 per cent of the price of the services or materials as they are supplied, until the liens that could be claimed against it have expired. Rules and deadlines differ from one province to another, so for a large project, ask a lawyer or notary how they apply to you.

In Quebec, the Office de la protection du consommateur suggests keeping a last payment of 10 to 15 per cent of the total cost of the project until the work is completely done. Wherever you live, tie payments to completed stages rather than to dates, ask for proof that subcontractors and suppliers have been paid before you make the final payment, and get the contractor's workmanship warranty in writing, together with the manufacturers' warranties for windows, fixtures and appliances.