Blog · September 19, 2026

Construction contract checklist before you sign

A construction contract checklist before you sign is a pass over the paper you were handed: is this a bid or a contract, how is the price structured, what is due before work exists, how extras start, and what is silent — allowances, sitework, permits, holdback or retainage. I quote the file. I do not hire anyone for you.

Homeowners search “construction contract checklist” when a number is on the table and the PDF is long. I am a review copilot. I read the record you already have. I do not replace a construction lawyer, and I do not tell you who to hire. The list below is the same shape I use on an upload.

What is a construction contract review looking at?

A review is not a vibe about whether the builder “seems good.” It is a walk of the file against a fixed list: parties, permit, insurance, scope, allowances, price and draws, extra-work power, schedule, warranty, and — if you sent more than one bid — whether the numbers are even comparable. Each finding is a quote from the paper, a limit on what I cannot know, and a question you can send.

If you want that walk on your PDF, the first completed analysis is free. Another look is $9. You see the result before any signup wall.

Is this file a bid, an estimate, or a contract?

A lot of residential jobs start with a document headed Estimate, Proposal, or Bid. A price may have an expiry, and later documents may change it. I look at the header, expiry, signature terms, and attachments. The title alone does not establish which terms the parties agreed to; ask which version governs before relying on a deposit line.

If the later “formal contract” is allowed to rewrite price, allowances, and extras, the bid number was a conversation, not a baseline. Ask: is this the document I would actually sign, or a proposal that can still change?

How is the price structured?

An estimated total with no pricing structure is often cost-plus with no cap. Stipulated sum / fixed price, cost-plus with a guaranteed maximum, cost-plus with no cap, time and materials, and an allowance-heavy hybrid are not the same product. I look for which one is stated, and whether “budget,” “allowance,” and “not to exceed” are mixed as if they meant one thing.

• Fixed price: what is still an allowance, and what is excluded.
• Cost-plus: is there a guaranteed maximum, and what sits inside it.
• Cost-plus with no GMP: that is an open cheque. Ask what happens if costs go over.
• Open books: can you see every invoice that a fee is marked up on.

Parties, permit, and insurance

I look for legal names of owner and contractor, not only a trade name. The entity on a lien or a warranty is the one that matters later. Who pulls the building permit: owner-pulled “to save cost” is a common pattern I flag; I do not accuse anyone of being unlicensed. GL and builders risk: named, with limits, and you as certificate holder. “Fully insured” with no certificate and no limits is empty.

I do not look up a license on a state or provincial site. Presence on the PDF is not verification. The question is: what is the legal entity, who is on the permit, and will they send a certificate before the first payment.

Scope, sitework, and what owners assume is included

“Build per plans” with no plan date is how extras are born. I look for a scope a stranger could understand, or a dated exhibit. Sitework — excavation, grading, haul-away, utilities, driveway, septic or sewer, well — is what the lowest number often omits. Landscaping, walks, permit fees, appliances, window treatments, temporary power: owners hear a number and think finished house. Ask, for each item, whether it is in the price, an allowance, or excluded.

Allowances

Each allowance needs a description, an amount, and whether it is material-only or supplied and installed. A material-only plumbing allowance blows up at selections. Overage billing may include markup. Ask: if I pick a fixture above the allowance, do I pay the difference at cost, or cost plus markup.

If you sent two or three bids, unequal allowance totals are not comparable. I show raw total and allowance-adjusted total. I never pick a winner.

Deposits, draws, holdback, and retainage

Money far ahead of work is the finding owners feel first. I record the deposit as a percent. If it is above about 10%, I mark it unclear; 20–30% or more before permit or mobilization is missing protection — still not an accusation. Ask why this much is due before that work exists on site, and whether it is for non-returnable materials or just a start fee.

Draws tied only to the calendar pay for time. Draws tied to a visible milestone — something you can walk — are a different shape. Retainage (US) and holdback (Canada) are the unpaid tail. I record amount, start, and release. I never assert a named statute. If a Canadian file is silent or waives holdback, that is a lawyer question, not a Nico verdict. More on that pairing: retainage versus holdback.

Who can start extra work?

“Changes as needed” with no written order is a blank. I look for extras in writing, signed by the owner, before extra work starts, and who may issue a change — owner, architect, or contractor as deemed necessary. Verbal site approvals are how running totals disappear. The change-order checker is the later tool, when an invoice shows up after the siding is on.

Schedule and warranty

ASAP is not a schedule. I look for start, substantial completion, and final. “Time is not of the essence,” “best efforts,” and “approximately X months, weather permitting” with no date leave carrying costs on you. Warranty: length, coverage, and whether it starts at substantial or final. A municipal inspector is not your representative. Ask whether you can hire your own inspector at framing, pre-drywall, and final, and whether they will meet that person on site.

What I cannot tell you

• Whether the price matches local market. I have no comps in this product, and I will not say a number is cheap or dear.
• Whether a license number is current. Presence is not a lookup.
• Whether a clause would be rewritten in court. If a paragraph limits what you can recover, that is a construction-lawyer read.
• Who to hire. Lowest number is not a recommendation.

A worked pass on a typical residential PDF

You get a six-page proposal. Page one is a kitchen total. Page two is allowances. Page five is “changes as needed.” There is no plan date. The deposit is 25% “to order materials.” I would still start at the header: is this a bid or a contract. Then price structure. Then whether the 25% is labeled for cabinets that cannot go back, or is a start fee. Then extras. Then holdback or retainage. Then whether sitework and permits are in, allowance, or excluded. That order is the checklist. It is not a score.

If a second PDF arrives from another builder, I do not average the totals. I show supported allowance and exclusion passages side by side and ask about trades missing from a readable bid. I do not turn different allowances into a made-up adjusted price or tell you whom to hire. Send the same scope questions to both builders while the bids are current.

How to run this checklist on your file

1. Upload the PDF you were actually handed — bid, estimate, or contract. Up to five bids if you are comparing.
2. Read each finding: quote, what I cannot tell, one question.
3. Send the questions. Keep the answers with the paper.
4. If an extra shows up later, use the change-order checker against this baseline.

Cedar Ridge on the homepage is a fictional interiors estimate. Do not treat those dollar figures as a real job. Your file is the record.