15 Questions to Ask a Kitchen Contractor Before Hiring

A kitchen renovation is one of the largest cheques most people write outside of a mortgage or a vehicle. It’s also one of the few major purchases where you commit before you can see what you’re buying — you’re paying for work that doesn’t exist yet, performed by people you’ve just met, inside your own home.

That’s an uncomfortable position, and the usual advice doesn’t help much. “Get three quotes” is fine as far as it goes, but three quotes only tell you what three companies charge. They don’t tell you which one will still be answering the phone in month three.

What actually reduces your risk is asking better questions at the start. The list below is built for BC homeowners specifically, because several of the most important protections when hiring a kitchen contractor here — WorkSafeBC registration, asbestos rules, lien holdbacks — are provincial, and they don’t appear in the American renovation advice that dominates search results. Choosing a renovation contractor is a due-diligence exercise, and this is the diligence.

How to use this list

Don’t fire all fifteen at once like an interrogation. Work through them across the estimate visit and the follow-up. A good contractor will answer most of these before you ask, and won’t be irritated by the rest — professionals field these constantly and have documents ready.

Treat it as a kitchen contractor checklist in three tiers: things to verify before anyone quotes, things to agree in writing before signing, and things to manage once work begins.

Tier one: verify before you go further

1. Are you licensed and registered to operate in BC, and do you carry a municipal business licence?

Ask for the legal business name and BC registration, plus the business licence for the city you’re in. In BC, renovation contractors generally aren’t required to hold a provincial builder licence the way new-home builders are — but a substantial renovation can cross into new-home warranty territory. If your project is large enough to gut and rebuild, ask directly whether it triggers that requirement. [VERIFY: current BC Housing threshold for substantial renovation]

2. Can I see your WorkSafeBC clearance letter?

This is the single question most homeowners skip, and the one with the sharpest teeth. If a contractor isn’t registered with WorkSafeBC and someone is injured on your property, you can be exposed to liability for that worker’s claim. A clearance letter is free to obtain and confirms the account is in good standing. Ask for a current one — not a copy from last year — and check it covers subtrades too.

3. What liability insurance do you carry, and may I see the certificate?

You want the certificate itself, showing the policy is active and naming the coverage amount. A contractor who says “we’re fully insured” but can’t produce paper within a day is telling you something. Ask whether the policy covers water damage, which is the most common way a kitchen job goes expensively wrong.

4. Who will actually be in my house?

Some companies do everything with employees. Most use subtrades for plumbing, electrical and gas. Neither is wrong, but you should know which, and confirm that trades requiring certification — electrical and gas in particular — are performed by ticketed tradespeople and permitted where required. Ask who is responsible if a subtrade damages something.

5. Will this project need permits, and who pulls them?

Swapping cabinets and countertops usually doesn’t require a permit. Moving plumbing, altering electrical, removing a wall, or changing the layout usually does. The contractor should pull permits, not you — if a contractor asks the homeowner to pull the permit, that shifts liability onto you and is a recognised warning sign. Confirm who books inspections. [VERIFY: City of Surrey permit thresholds for kitchen renovations]

Tier two: agree in writing before you sign

6. Is this a fixed-price contract or cost-plus?

Fixed price means one number for a defined scope; the contractor absorbs overruns and carries the risk, which is priced in. Cost-plus means you pay actual costs plus a percentage or fee, with more transparency and more exposure. Both are legitimate. What isn’t legitimate is a quote that’s vague about which one it is.

7. What exactly is included — and what is specifically excluded?

Ask for the exclusions in writing. Appliance installation, plumbing fixture supply, painting, flooring transitions, disposal and final clean are the items that most often turn out to be someone else’s job. A detailed scope that names exclusions is a sign of experience, not evasiveness.

8. What allowances are in this quote, and what happens if I go over?

An allowance is a placeholder dollar figure for something you haven’t chosen yet — tile, hardware, countertop. Quotes with generous-sounding totals and thin allowances look cheap and finish expensive. Ask what each allowance actually buys at today’s prices, and how overages are billed.

9. What’s the payment schedule, and what deposit is required?

Payments should track progress, not the calendar. A deposit is normal — materials get ordered and cabinets are often built to order — but a very large upfront demand before any work starts is worth questioning. Ask what the deposit specifically covers. This is also the point in hiring a kitchen contractor where you should ask about holdback: BC’s Builders Lien Act provides for a percentage of the contract to be held back for a set period after substantial completion, protecting you if a subtrade or supplier goes unpaid. A contractor who understands lien holdback and explains it plainly is a contractor who has run real projects. [VERIFY: current holdback percentage and holdback period under the BC Builders Lien Act]

10. How are change orders handled and priced?

Changes happen on nearly every kitchen. The question is whether they’re documented. You want written change orders with a price, signed before the work is done — not a verbal “sure, we can do that” that surfaces as a line item at the end. Ask to see a blank change-order form.

Tier three: manage once work begins

11. Was my home built before 1990 — will you have it assessed for asbestos?

Much of the housing stock across Surrey, Burnaby and Vancouver predates 1990, and asbestos was common in materials that show up in kitchen demolition: vinyl sheet flooring, floor tile adhesive, drywall joint compound, textured ceilings. WorkSafeBC requires that buildings of that vintage be assessed by a qualified person before demolition or renovation work disturbs materials. A contractor who shrugs this off is exposing their workers and your household. Ask how they handle a positive result and who pays for abatement. [VERIFY: current WorkSafeBC asbestos assessment and abatement licensing requirements]

12. What’s the realistic schedule, and what happens if it slips?

Ask for a start date, a substantial completion date, and the two or three things most likely to delay them — cabinet lead times and inspection scheduling are usually top of that list. A contractor who promises an aggressive timeline with no caveats is either inexperienced or telling you what you want to hear.

13. How will you protect the rest of my house, and how do I cook?

Kitchen renovations are uniquely disruptive because they remove the room you eat from. Ask about dust containment, floor protection on the path from the door, where materials will be stored, and whether they can set up a temporary sink or fridge location. Ask what the daily start and finish times are.

14. Who is my single point of contact, and how often will I hear from you?

You want one name. On a well-run project there’s a project manager who owns communication, and an agreed rhythm — a weekly update, or a standing check-in. Ask this at the kitchen contractor consultation stage, before you’re emotionally committed, and notice how quickly they respond to your own emails during the quoting period. That response speed rarely improves after the deposit clears.

15. What warranty do you provide on workmanship, and how do product warranties work?

Separate the two. The contractor warrants their labour; manufacturers warrant cabinets, appliances and countertops. Ask for the workmanship warranty period in writing, what it excludes, and the process for a deficiency after handover. Ask whether they walk the job with you and produce a written deficiency list at completion — a contractor who does this routinely is one who expects to come back and fix things, which is exactly what you want.

Reading the answers

The content of the answers matters less than the pattern behind them. When choosing a renovation contractor, watch for:

Encouraging signs: documents produced quickly and unprompted; a written scope with named exclusions; willingness to explain a higher price rather than defend it; references to permits and inspections as routine; comfort saying “that will cost more” during the quote rather than after.

Warning signs: pressure to sign at the first visit; cash-only discounts; a request that you pull the permit; a quote that’s a single number on one page; reluctance to provide the WorkSafeBC letter or insurance certificate; a price far below the others without a clear reason.

That last one deserves emphasis. A quote that comes in dramatically low is not usually a bargain — it’s usually a different scope, thinner allowances, or a plan to make it up in change orders. Compare quotes line by line before comparing totals.

FAQs

How many contractors should I get quotes from for a kitchen renovation?

Three is the common benchmark, and it works if you give all three the same written scope. Quotes built from different assumptions can’t be compared meaningfully, no matter how many you collect.

Do I need a permit for a kitchen renovation in BC?

It depends on the work. Replacing cabinets, counters and flooring in place generally doesn’t require one. Moving plumbing or electrical, removing or altering a wall, or changing the layout typically does. Your municipality’s building department is the authority — confirm before demolition, not after.

What should happen at a kitchen contractor consultation?

A proper consultation includes measuring the space, discussing how you actually use the kitchen, identifying constraints like plumbing stack locations and load-bearing walls, and an honest conversation about budget range. You should leave knowing what’s feasible, not just what’s beautiful.

Is it safe to pay a large deposit upfront?

A deposit is standard, since cabinetry and materials are ordered in advance. What matters is proportionality and documentation: the deposit should be tied to specific purchases, the payment schedule should follow progress, and everything should be in the written contract before money changes hands.

What is a holdback and why does it matter?

Under BC’s Builders Lien Act, a portion of the contract price is held back for a defined period after substantial completion. It exists so that if a subcontractor or supplier isn’t paid, they have recourse against the holdback rather than against your home. Ask your contractor to explain how they handle it.

Key Takeaways

• Verify WorkSafeBC registration and liability insurance before anything else — this is the protection homeowners most often skip.
• Get exclusions and allowances in writing; a vague quote is the root of most renovation disputes.
• Confirm who pulls permits. If the contractor asks you to, that’s a warning sign.
• In homes built before 1990, asbestos assessment before demolition is a requirement, not an upsell.
• Use this kitchen contractor checklist across two conversations rather than one — how a contractor communicates while quoting predicts how they’ll communicate on site.

Conclusion

None of these questions require you to know anything about construction. They’re about process, paperwork and communication — and a contractor’s willingness to answer them plainly tells you most of what a portfolio of finished photos cannot.

Total Renovations is a family-owned general contractor based in Surrey, BC, serving Surrey, Vancouver, White Rock, Burnaby and surrounding areas, with kitchen and bathroom renovations, basement finishing and home additions. To talk through a project, call (604) 649-5404 or visit totalrenos.net.