12 Questions to Ask a Contractor Before You Sign

The most useful questions are not about price. They are about capacity, crew, exclusions and what happens when something goes wrong, because those four things decide how your project actually goes.

Below are the twelve I would ask, in the order I would ask them, with what a real answer sounds like and what should make you slow down.

I match Maine homeowners with three screened contractors and three comparable quotes, across general contracting statewide and the crews I use around Portland. Free, and no obligation to hire any of them.

Print this or keep it open on your phone. Ask the same twelve of every contractor you meet, take notes, and the comparison at the end almost makes itself.

1. Who is actually on my job?

The person selling you the job is frequently not the person building it, and that is normal in a healthy company. What is not normal is finding out in week three.

A good answer names people. A lead carpenter who will be there most days, a project manager you can reach, and a clear statement of how often the owner is on site.

A weak answer is a promise that the crew will take good care of you, with no names and no structure. Ask a second time and see if it gets more specific.

2. How many jobs are running right now?

This is the single best predictor of your finish date and almost nobody asks it.

A good answer is a number, with context. Two active sites and one crew is a company that will be on your job most days. Six active sites and one crew is a company that will visit your job.

A weak answer deflects into how busy they are, as though it were a credential. Being busy is a good sign about their reputation and a bad sign about your schedule, and you need to know which side of that you are on.

3. What will you subcontract, and to whom?

Nearly every general contractor subs out plumbing and electrical. Many sub out drywall, tile, flooring and painting too. None of that is a problem.

A good answer names the trades they use regularly and says how long they have worked together. Long standing relationships mean the subs show up, because the contractor is a repeat customer worth keeping.

A weak answer is "whoever is available." That is a company assembling a crew per job, and coordination problems are how schedules die.

Ask specifically who the plumber and electrician are, because those two hold real state licenses and you can verify them.

4. What is not included in this price?

Ask it exactly this way. The word "not" does more work here than any other question on the list.

A good answer is a list, delivered without hesitation, because they have written it down already. Permits, dumpster, temporary heat, painting, flooring, appliance installation, landscaping repair, and anything structural found after demolition are the usual suspects.

A weak answer is "everything's included." Nothing is everything, and a contractor who says so has either not priced it properly or is planning to tell you about the exclusions later, in the form of a change order.

Reading the exclusions on the written document is a separate skill and I go through it on how to read a contractor's estimate.

5. What could change this number after we start?

You are asking them to predict their own bad news, which is why the answer is so revealing.

A good answer is specific to your house. Rot under a bathroom floor, an undersized panel, a stack in the wrong place, a foundation that will need attention once the siding is off. Somebody naming those has done this in a house like yours.

A weak answer is "nothing, we've got it covered." On any renovation of an older Maine home that is not confidence, it is inexperience or a sales pitch, and both cost you the same.

6. What does the schedule actually look like?

Not "when can you start." Start dates are easy to promise and they are the wrong question.

A good answer covers the start, the sequence, the realistic finish, and the gaps. Every project has waiting: on materials, on inspections, on a sub. A builder who tells you where the dead weeks are is telling you the truth.

A weak answer is a single duration with no phases in it. "About eight weeks" is a hope. "Demolition the first week, rough-in the second and third, inspection, then finishes" is a plan.

Ask what happens if they start and then need to leave for another job, and get the answer in writing if you can.

7. How do change orders get priced?

Change orders are where budgets go to die, and the mechanics matter more than the concept.

A good answer describes a written document with a price and your signature on it, before the work happens. Ask whether their markup on a change is a percentage and what percentage.

A weak answer is "we'll settle up at the end." That is you signing a blank cheque and hoping the number is reasonable, and by the time you see it the work is already in your house.

Put the change order process in the contract. Maine's contract law requires it to be addressed, so it should already be there.

8. What is the payment schedule?

A good answer is a deposit inside the legal cap, then draws tied to work being completed. Foundation done, frame and roof done, rough-in inspections passed, final on punch list complete.

A weak answer is dates on a calendar rather than milestones, or a large lump up front. In Maine the initial deposit on a home construction contract is capped at one third of the price by state law, and a request past that is a fact worth knowing rather than an opinion to weigh. There is more on the rule on Maine's one third deposit law.

Ask what the final payment is and when it releases. You want a holdback at the end, and you want it big enough to still matter.

9. Can I get a certificate from your agent?

Note the wording. You are not asking whether they have insurance, because everybody says yes.

A good answer is "sure, I'll have my agent send it." That takes them one email and a builder who carries real coverage does it without friction.

A weak answer is a photograph of a certificate, a policy number read aloud, or a delay. You want general liability and workers' compensation, sent by the agent, naming your project address, with the dates readable.

Sole proprietors with no employees are frequently exempt from workers' compensation in Maine, which is legal. Ask directly, because it changes what happens if somebody is hurt on your property. The full picture is on contractor insurance in Maine.

10. Who pulls the permits?

A good answer is that they pull the building permit, and the licensed plumber and electrician pull theirs. That is how it normally works and it puts the responsibility where it belongs.

A weak answer is a suggestion that you pull the permit yourself to save money or time. That makes you the permit holder and moves the liability for the work onto you, and no reputable builder asks for it.

What your specific project needs is a question for your town's code office, and every town in Maine sets its own rules. Ask yours before you collect quotes, because it changes what the quotes should contain.

11. Three references from the last year?

Be specific about the timeframe. Anybody can produce a delighted customer from six years ago.

A good answer is three names on jobs like yours, offered without a fuss, ideally including one that had a problem.

A weak answer is one reference, or a list of names with no phone numbers, or a stall. When you call, ask what went wrong and how it got handled, and ask whether the final number matched the contract. Those two questions get you past the pleasantries faster than anything else.

12. What worries you about my project?

This is my favourite question and it is the one nobody expects.

A good answer is honest and slightly uncomfortable. The access is tight, the timeline is optimistic for that lead time, the budget is going to be difficult at that spec, the second floor bathroom is above a finished ceiling and that is a risk.

A weak answer is "nothing, it's straightforward." Your project is not straightforward. Somebody who says it is has either not looked at it properly or has decided that agreeing with you is the fastest route to a signature.

The answer to this question has told me more about contractors over the years than any other single thing.

What should you do with the answers?

Ask all twelve of all three contractors, and write the answers down while they are fresh.

You will find the comparison sorts itself. One will have named people, named subs, named risks and named exclusions. One will have been pleasant and vague. That gap is bigger than any price difference between them, and it is invisible if you only compare totals.

If two are close, go back with the answers that differed and ask each of them about the other's version. You will learn which one understood your project.

Frequently asked questions

Is it rude to ask all twelve of these? No, and a good contractor is relieved. These are the questions that prevent the arguments they hate having. The ones who bristle at being asked are telling you something useful for free.

When should I ask them? Most at the site visit, before anybody writes a quote. Save the payment schedule and change order questions for when you have the written proposal in front of you, so you can ask about specifics rather than in the abstract.

What if a contractor will not answer one of them? Ask once more, plainly. If it is still vague on the second attempt, that is the answer. The most common one to get evasion on is question 2, the number of active jobs.

Do I need to ask all three contractors the same questions? Yes. Same questions and same written scope, or you are comparing three different projects and three different conversations.

Which question matters most? Question 5, what could change the number. It is the one where experience shows up and the one that predicts your actual final cost better than the quoted total does.

Should I record the conversation? Notes are enough, and less awkward. What matters is that anything you both agreed to ends up in the written contract, because that document is what governs, not the conversation.

Where do you find contractors worth asking?

The twelve questions above work best when the three people answering them have already cleared a basic bar, which is the part I handle.

Tell me what you are building and where in Maine you are, and I will match you with three contractors who fit the trade and the town. You still ask all twelve. My job is making sure the answers are worth your time.

More on hiring: the full arc of hiring a Maine builder · reading the estimate they hand you