1. Are you licensed and insured, and can I see the certificate?
Anyone can say yes. Ask for the actual certificate of insurance, and if you live in a co-op or condo, ask them to have the building named as an additional insured. A contractor who has never done that paperwork before is telling you something about the jobs they usually run.
2. Is the estimate itemized?
A one-line price for 'bathroom renovation — $X' hides everything. You want line items for demo, disposal, plumbing, waterproofing, tile, fixtures, paint and clean-up. Itemization lets you adjust selections to hit your budget instead of guessing what to cut.
3. What is the prep, exactly?
In painting, flooring and drywall, prep is the job. Ask what gets scraped, sanded, washed, patched, primed, leveled or removed. If the answer is vague, the prep is likely thin, and the finish will show it inside two years.
4. How are change orders handled?
Older homes hide rot, failed plumbing and bad wiring. That is normal. What matters is whether you get a written price and your approval before the extra work happens, or whether it appears as a surprise at the end.
5. What is the payment schedule?
A reasonable deposit tied to materials, progress payments tied to milestones, and a final payment after your punch list is cleared. Be wary of anyone who wants most of the money before work starts.
6. Who is actually going to be in my house?
Ask whether the person quoting the job will be on site, who supervises, and whether any of it gets handed to a subcontractor you have not met. For plumbing and electrical, sub work is normal and appropriate — you just want to know it is licensed.
7. What happens if something goes wrong afterward?
Get the workmanship commitment in plain language: what is covered, for how long, and how you reach them. A local contractor who lives ten minutes away and expects to work in your neighborhood again has a strong reason to come back and fix it.
Questions about your own project?
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