A general contractor sells coordination. They are not necessarily the person swinging a hammer; they are the person who sequences the trades, holds the schedule, pulls the permits, and takes responsibility when the tiler arrives before the plumber has finished. On a project involving four or more trades, that coordination is worth real money - usually 10 to 20 percent of the project value.
The honest question to ask yourself is whether you need one. For a single-trade job, you do not. For a kitchen involving demolition, plumbing, electrical, drywall, tile, cabinetry and painting, self-managing means being available on weekday mornings for three months and absorbing the cost of every scheduling mistake yourself. Most people who try it once do not try it twice.
What general contractors do
- Scheduling and sequencing multiple trades
- Permit applications and inspection coordination
- Sourcing and purchasing materials
- Site supervision and quality control
- Budget management and change order administration
- Single point of warranty responsibility after completion
Does a general contractor need a licence in Ontario?
No provincial licence exists for general contracting on existing homes. New home construction is different - those builders must be HCRA licensed.
Written contract with defined scope and payment schedule
The core protection. Should specify the fee structure explicitly - fixed price, cost plus a percentage, or cost plus a fixed fee - and what the fee is calculated on.
General liability insurance, and confirmation it covers your project type
Two million minimum. Ask specifically whether structural work is excluded, because some policies exclude it.
WSIB clearance for the GC and every subcontractor
The GC should be collecting clearance certificates from their subs. Ask whether they do; a good one will say yes without hesitating.
Permits pulled in the contractor's name
If the permit is in your name you become the constructor under Ontario's occupational health and safety framework, with the obligations that carries. Do not agree to this casually.
Verify with: Your municipal building department.
HCRA licence for new home construction
Building a new home rather than renovating means the builder must be licensed by the Home Construction Regulatory Authority and the home enrolled with Tarion.
Verify with: The HCRA publishes the Ontario Builder Directory.
Open the official lookupWhat it costs in Ontario
GC compensation comes in three shapes and they behave very differently when things change. Fixed price puts the risk on the contractor and is the simplest for you. Cost plus a percentage rewards the contractor for spending more, which is worth being aware of. Cost plus a fixed fee removes that incentive and is often the fairest structure on projects where the scope genuinely cannot be pinned down in advance.
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| GC fee as a percentage of project costLower on large projects, higher on small or complex ones. | 10% – 20% |
| Cost plus a fixed management feeCommon on renovations where the scope is uncertain at the outset. | $5,000 – $30,000 |
| Project management only, no trades suppliedYou hold the trade contracts; the GC coordinates them. | 6% – 12% |
| Design-build, including drawingsBundles design and construction under one contract and one point of accountability. | 15% – 25% |
These are planning estimates for Ontario, not quotes, and they move with material prices and demand. Use them to sanity-check a quote, not to argue one down.
Questions to ask before you hire
- 1Is this fixed price, cost plus percentage, or cost plus fixed fee - and what is the fee calculated on?
- 2Will you pull the permits in your company name?
- 3Which trades are your own crews and which are subcontracted?
- 4Do you collect WSIB clearance certificates from your subcontractors?
- 5How many active projects will you be running while mine is open, and who is my day-to-day contact?
- 6What is your change order process, and will nothing proceed without my written approval?
- 7What happens to my deposit and my project if you become insolvent mid-job?
- 8Can I see a project of similar size and speak to that homeowner?
Warning signs
- Reluctance to explain the fee structure plainly.
- Cost plus percentage with no cap and no budget.
- A GC who wants the permit in your name.
- No named site supervisor.
- A payment schedule front-loaded well ahead of the work completed. Payments should trail progress, not lead it.
- No written change order process on a project with real complexity.
How to read reviews for this trade
For general contractors, the review signal you want is about communication and schedule, because that is what you are actually buying. Read for phrases about being kept informed, about delays being flagged early rather than discovered, and about the final ten percent of the job - the punch list is where GCs most often lose interest and where reviews get honest.