Is this contractor payment plan normal?

This seems strange, particularly with no materials included. How big of a renovation? Smaller renos more likely to see 1/3 in 3 equal payments. Larger renos, more like 10% and then progress payments to 90%, final holdback upon full completion.

Very weird plan.

Absolutely not. I've worked with 4 different contractors over the past 35 years. All required 1/3 down when the work was approved, 1/3 down half way through, and 1/3 AFTER the work was finished completely. I've sometimes given a part of the 1/3 if we knew there would be some follow up work within the month after the bulk of the workers left.

Labor 10-15% upon signing so that they know that you will not leave them hanging and go with someone else. Materials check 1/3 beginning of the construction. Labor 10-15% the first week of their start. You can spread out in between payments so that your contractor does not have to fund your construction. Last 20% or so after full completion. Some may hold 5% for one month after completion.

Agree with all responses so far; not normal at all. I would dismiss a contractor's bid that proposed such payment terms based on that overreach alone.

My typical payment schedule is this:

30% deposit
30% at 30% complete
30% at 60% complete
10% upon 100% complete

Some would ask why should we pay 90% at 60% complete? The reason is that each payment is like another deposit to get you to the next step. If your project is mostly millwork then 50% down isn't out of the ordinary but if it is not then that is too much down

Don't hire them , bad setup

Thanks, all. That's what I thought. I finally decided to stop messing around and just go to a kitchen renovation place. All my years of reading Streeteasy discussions had me thinking that I could just hire a contractor and buy my own materials. But I realize that I don't know what I'm doing, so I'm just going to go with a full service company who will help me with plans, prepare what I need for the co-op approval, supply everything (except the appliances and some custom tiles) and install everything. I think any extra I spend will ultimately be saved in stomach lining!

Juxie100,

I am not trying to confuse you but some of the "kitchen renovation" places can be very costly as they have a pretty big overhead. You might also want to try a custom millshop. If you are using a contractor they should be dealing with at least one if not more. The millshop should be able to design and provide you with shop drawings.

Thanks, Primer. But if I go with a custom millshop, then I am back where I started, trying to find another contractor, with a good millshop relationship, a source for my countertop and floor, someone who will be responsible for making sure everything is spec'd right, and won't pass the blame if it's not. I've already lost four months with contractors who didn't answer my initial contact, or came, saw, said they were interested, and then put me off for a month without even an estimate, didn't return e-mails or phone calls, made appointments and then cancelled half hour after they were supposed to show up, etc. (No offense, but this has got to be the flakiest profession I've ever dealt with, and I used to work with musicians!) Yes, it's a small kitchen, but it needs everything and I've got a very healthy budget. The kitchen place I chose is not full of fancy mock kitchens ( I looked at those.) but a small place, crammed full of samples, that's been there for 20 years. I'm happy to cover some of their overhead. We all have to make a living.

As I told you, I had a contractor build the cabinet frames and he didn't waste an inch. He even built floor cabinets around pillars by the kitchen entrance, custom fitting one to hold my Kitchen Aid mixer putting it on a pull out drawer than could hold its accessories. On the other end of the kitchen with another pillar set off 5 feet from the rear door exiting to the public hallway, he fit in a 5" deep pantry from the ceiling to the floor. He did the electrical work, moved the vent system, had the Silestone counters fabricated and installed, installed the glass subway and stainless steel tiles, installed the oak flooring, custom made under the counter led lighting strips( they looked like they were imbedded in the underside of the cabinets and the transformer was hidden), installed the over head lights, made a custom pull out broom closet and pantry, and installed all the appliances. He provided a licensed plumber and electrician along with flooring and counter specialists. He did the carpentry work with his crew in his workshop. I decided I wanted more shelving for the cabinets and he brought them the next day because he had the materials in his workshop. I doubt that you can get that kind of service from a Kitchen Design store.

Thanks, jelj13. Your guy sounds great, as does your kitchen, but I don't have your CAD skills to provide a design. And it made me nervous that your guy has zero internet presence under either Matchless or Jukoff, except your entries on Streeteasy. Yelp says he's out of business. So I'm going with someone who has a brick and mortar presence, open six days a week and just a few blocks away. It may not be the most cost effective, but I have confidence that someone who has been doing this 20 years with almost no internet complaints can't be that bad. I'll report in when it's done.