Questions to Ask Kitchen Contractor Before You Sign
For homeowners collecting bids on a kitchen remodel. Twenty questions that pull lead times, allowances, permits, change orders and payment terms into the open before you sign anything.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How many kitchen remodels did you finish in the past year, and what price range do most of them fall in?
Why ask it
A contractor who does two kitchens a year among twenty decks is learning on your house. The price range also tells you fast whether your budget sits at the bottom, middle or top of their normal work.
Can I see photos of a kitchen you finished in the last six months with a layout close to mine?
Why ask it
Recent photos reflect the crew working for them today, not a portfolio built by a lead carpenter who left years ago. A similar layout shows they have solved your specific problem, such as an island, a peninsula or a galley.
May I call two homeowners whose kitchens you finished six to twelve months ago?
Why ask it
Clients from last week are still in the honeymoon phase. At six months the drawer fronts have sagged or they have not, and you learn whether the contractor answered the phone after the final check cleared.
Are you licensed for this work in my state, and can you email me a certificate of insurance and proof of workers compensation?
Why ask it
Ask for the certificate to come from their insurance agent, not as a photo from their phone, so you know the policy is current. Without workers comp, an injured framer in your kitchen can become a claim against your homeowners policy.
Will your own carpenters do the framing and cabinet installation, or do you subcontract that out?
Why ask it
Cabinet setting is the part of a kitchen where sloppy work shows forever in crooked reveals and doors that do not line up. Knowing whether it is in house tells you who to hold responsible and how much control they really have over quality.
Who is my day to day contact once demolition starts, and how quickly do they answer calls and texts?
Why ask it
Kitchens generate a decision a day, from outlet heights to trim details, and the person who sold you the job is often gone by week two. Pin down a name and a response expectation while you still have leverage.
Which permits does this job need, who pulls them, and are the fees inside your price?
Why ask it
Moving plumbing, adding circuits or removing a wall almost always requires permits, and unpermitted work resurfaces at resale or during an insurance claim. If a contractor suggests you pull the permit as the homeowner, they are shifting liability onto you.
Can you walk me through the schedule week by week, including what has to be finished before cabinets can be set?
Why ask it
A real answer sounds like demolition, rough plumbing and electrical, inspection, drywall, floors, then cabinets. A contractor who cannot sequence it out loud has not planned it, and the vague answer usually turns into a stalled site.
What are the current lead times on the cabinets and countertops, and will materials be on site before demolition starts?
Why ask it
Semi custom cabinets can run eight to twelve weeks, and tearing out a working kitchen before the boxes arrive is the single most common reason families eat takeout for four months. Their answer shows whether they schedule around the supply chain or around their own crew availability.
Which lines in this estimate are allowances rather than fixed prices, and exactly what did you assume for each one?
Why ask it
Allowances are where bids get artificially low: a 3,000 dollar countertop allowance looks great until your quartz quotes at 7,000. Ask for the specific product, brand and quantity behind every allowance so you can compare bids on the same footing.
Who orders and inspects the appliances, and who covers it if the range or refrigerator does not fit the opening?
Why ask it
Appliance dimensions drive cabinet dimensions, so a panel ready fridge ordered in the wrong depth means rebuilt cabinetry. This question forces someone to own the measurements in writing before boxes are built.
Does my plan move any plumbing, gas lines or the range hood duct, and what does that add in cost and days?
Why ask it
Relocating a sink to an island or venting a hood through a joist bay is where kitchen budgets quietly double. Getting the number now stops it from arriving later as an emergency change order.
Will my existing electrical panel and circuits carry the new appliances, and is any code required upgrade included in this bid?
Why ask it
Current code typically wants dedicated circuits for the range, dishwasher, disposal and microwave plus GFCI protection at counters, and an older panel may need replacing to accommodate them. Contractors often leave this out of the bid and then present it as unforeseen.
Who templates the countertops, and how many days pass between cabinet installation and stone installation?
Why ask it
Stone cannot be templated until cabinets are set and level, so this gap is the stretch where you have no sink and no usable counters. Ten days is normal, three weeks means you should plan differently.
How will you contain dust and protect the rest of the house, and where can we set up a temporary sink and cooking space?
Why ask it
Kitchen demolition puts fine dust into every room without zip walls, floor protection and negative air. A contractor who has a ready answer about a temporary setup has managed families living through the work, not just empty flips.
What is the payment schedule, and which completed milestone releases each payment?
Why ask it
Payments should follow finished work, such as after rough inspection or after cabinet set, rather than following the calendar. Tying money to milestones keeps you from ever being paid ahead of what has actually been built.
How do change orders work, and will I sign a written price before any extra work begins?
Why ask it
Verbal upgrades are the leading source of contractor disputes because both sides remember a different number. A firm yes here, ideally with a sample change order form, signals they run a real business.
When you open the walls and find rot, old wiring or a drain that is not vented, what is your process?
Why ask it
Hidden conditions in kitchens are the rule, not the exception, especially in homes older than forty years. You want a described process of stop, photograph, price and get approval, plus a sense of the contingency they recommend you hold, usually ten to twenty percent.
What does your labor warranty cover, for how long, and what have you gone back to fix on a kitchen this past year?
Why ask it
One year on labor is standard and two signals confidence, but the more revealing half is the second question. A contractor who freely describes a callback about a settling cabinet or a leaking disposal is honest about the work; one who claims nothing ever goes wrong is not.
Will you provide lien waivers from subcontractors and suppliers with each payment, and how do we close out the punch list before the final check?
Why ask it
If a contractor takes your money and never pays the cabinet supplier, that supplier can put a lien on your home, so waivers are your proof the chain got paid. Agreeing now to a written punch list and a retained final payment, often five to ten percent, is what actually gets the last details finished.
Hiring and Managing a Kitchen Contractor
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
How to Compare Bids Fairly
Hand every contractor the same spec sheet
Write down cabinet brand and door style, countertop material, flooring, appliance model numbers, sink, faucet and lighting count, then give that list to all three bidders. Otherwise you are comparing one contractor's laminate assumption against another's quartz, and the cheapest bid usually just has the thinnest assumptions.
Read the line items, not the bottom number
Look for demolition and disposal, permits, rough plumbing and electrical, drywall and paint, cabinet install labor, countertop template and install, tile and grout, and final cleaning. Anything absent from the bid will arrive later as a change order at full retail.
Verify insurance and license at the source
Call the number on the certificate of insurance to confirm the policy is active and look up the license on your state board site for open complaints. This takes fifteen minutes and it is the only check most homeowners skip.
Hold a contingency you do not mention
Set aside ten to twenty percent of the contract value for hidden conditions and your own mid project upgrades. Budget it privately so the number does not become a target.
Answers That Should Worry You
A large deposit or cash only terms
More than ten to twenty percent up front, or a discount for cash with no contract, usually means they need your money to finish someone else's job. Pay by check or card so you have a record and some dispute recourse.
We can skip the permit to save you time
The savings are theirs, not yours. You inherit the failed inspection, the insurance denial and the disclosure problem when you sell.
An estimate that is mostly allowances
When countertops, tile, cabinets and fixtures are all allowance lines, the price you were quoted is fiction. Ask them to price your actual selections before you sign.
We will start Monday
Good kitchen contractors are booked weeks or months out and will not begin demolition before cabinets have shipped. Immediate availability plus eagerness to demo is the pattern behind most abandoned job sites.
What the Contract Must Spell Out
- Scope of work room by room, including what is explicitly excluded
- Every material by brand, model, color and quantity, with allowances labeled as allowances
- Total price and a payment schedule tied to completed milestones, not dates
- A retained final payment of five to ten percent released after the punch list
- Start date, substantial completion date and what happens if the schedule slips
- Who pulls permits and schedules inspections, with fees included or excluded
- Written change order process requiring your signature before extra work
- Labor warranty length plus manufacturer warranty registration for appliances and cabinets
- Lien waivers from subcontractors and suppliers delivered with each payment
- Daily site rules: work hours, dust containment, bathroom use, and end of day cleanup
- Debris disposal and who supplies the dumpster
- Termination clause describing how either side exits and how work in place is valued