Free Remodeling Contract Template
Remodeling runs for months, inside a house somebody still lives in. Answer a few questions and the terms are agreed before the first wall comes down.
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What Is a Remodeling Contract?
A remodeling contract sets terms between a homeowner and the contractor renovating their property. It records the scope, the drawings, the price, the schedule, and how the household copes while the work happens.
Two things separate this from a single-trade job. The work runs for weeks or months, and it happens inside a home somebody still lives in.
Money behaves differently too. Much of a remodeling budget sits in allowances rather than fixed figures. Allowances are where estimates and final invoices part company.
Older properties add another layer. Nobody knows what sits behind the plaster until it comes off. The answer sometimes changes both the price and the method.
Write it before demolition rather than during. Once the kitchen is out, negotiating leverage has moved decisively to one side.
Scope, Drawings, and Selections
A remodeling contract needs to say what the finished rooms look like, not merely what work happens.
Drawings and Specifications
Attach the plans and a written specification, and confirm which version governs. Verbal descriptions of a finished kitchen never survive contact with reality.
What Falls Outside
List what the contractor does not do: appliance hookups, window treatments, landscaping repair, or final cleaning. Assumptions here surface at the end.
Selection Deadlines
Tile, fixtures, and finishes need choosing by dates, not eventually. Late selections stall a crew, so agree the deadlines and what a missed one costs.
Items You Buy Yourself
Where you purchase fixtures directly, say who receives, inspects, and stores them. Then confirm nobody warrants a fixture the contractor did not supply.
Demolition Extent
Define how far demolition goes and what stays. Partial demolition needs drawing, because everyone pictures it differently.
Structural Changes
Where walls move, confirm who engineers the change and who obtains approval. Load-bearing questions belong with a qualified professional rather than with an opinion on site.
Allowances, Price, and Change Orders
Allowances cause more remodeling disputes than any other mechanism. Handle them explicitly.
How Allowances Work
An allowance is a placeholder for something not yet chosen. State the amount, what it covers, and whether it includes installation or only the item.
When an Allowance Runs Over
Say how the difference gets billed and whether you approve it first. Ten allowances each drifting slightly rewrites a budget quietly.
Fixed Price or Cost Plus
Confirm which model applies. Cost-plus arrangements need a defined markup, open books, and a not-to-exceed figure to stay comfortable.
Deposit and Payment Stages
Tie payments to completed phases rather than to the calendar. Note that several states cap deposits on home improvement work, so confirm the position locally.
Pricing a Change
Agree the labor rates and markup that apply to extras before you need them. Rates negotiated mid-project rarely favour the homeowner.
Written Approval First
Require a signed change order with a price before extra work proceeds. Verbal agreements made in a dusty hallway get remembered differently.
Schedule, Phases, and Lead Times
Remodeling schedules slip. The contract should say how that gets handled rather than pretending otherwise.
Start and Finish Dates
Name both, plus the milestones between. A finish date with no intermediate markers tells you nothing until it is too late.
Phase Sequence
Set the order: demolition, rough-in, inspection, close-up, finishes. Homeowners track progress far better when they know what comes next.
Long-Lead Items
Cabinets, windows, and appliances arrive on their own timetable. Order early, and say who tracks delivery and reports a slip.
Delay and Extensions
Define which causes justify more time: weather, hidden conditions, or owner-requested changes. Then say which do not.
Crew Presence
Agree roughly how many working days a week the crew attends. Projects stall most often because people simply stop turning up.
Progress Meetings
Set a regular short meeting with a named contact on each side. Weekly beats a flurry of texts at cross purposes.
Living in the House During the Work
This section is unique to remodeling, and homeowners rate it highest afterwards.
Which Rooms Stay Usable
Agree what remains in service and when. Losing a kitchen for six weeks is survivable when planned and miserable when sprung.
Dust Containment
Require sealed barriers, floor protection, and air management. Fine dust travels through a whole house and settles for months.
Hours and Noise
Set daily start and finish times, and note quiet periods for anyone working or sleeping at home.
Security and Keys
Record who holds keys or codes, how the property gets locked each evening, and who returns everything at the end.
Pets and Children
Say how open work areas get closed off. Tools, gaps, and open stairwells need managing where a household continues around them.
Bathroom and Kitchen Downtime
Agree the outage period for each, and any temporary arrangement. This single term changes a household’s experience more than any other.
Parking and Deliveries
Confirm where vehicles and skips sit, and who tells the neighbours.
