1. Are you insured, and are you covered by WSIB?
Ask for proof of liability insurance, and ask whether the business is registered with WSIB, Ontario's workplace insurance board. If someone gets hurt on your property, you don't want that to be your problem.
How to check WSIB coverage
Ask for a current WSIB clearance. It's a number WSIB issues to show that a business is registered and up to date with its premiums and reporting. A clearance is free for the business and valid for up to 90 days, so an old copy doesn't tell you much.
You don't have to collect a clearance when you hire someone for repairs or renovations at your own home, and some one-person operators aren't required to register at all. It's still a fair question, and any company with a crew should be able to answer it.
2. Will I get a written quote?
A verbal number isn't a quote. In Ontario, a home renovation or repair contract worth more than $50 has to be in writing, and a yard job deserves the same treatment. Ontario's guide says a contract should include:
- The contractor's name, address and contact information
- A full description of the work and the materials
- A clear description of any warranties
- The total cost, the terms of payment and the deposit
- The start and completion dates
- Who cleans up at the end
- Any sub-trades, and who pays them
3. What exactly is included?
Removal of the old lawn or beds, hauling it away, grading, new soil, the materials themselves and cleanup. The cheapest quote often leaves one of these out. Ask whether HST is included too, so you're comparing the same number.
4. How will you prepare the ground?
Prep is where the money goes and where lawns, patios and turf succeed or fail. Ask how they level and slope the ground, what base goes under turf or concrete, and what they do about Windsor's heavy clay.
5. Who actually does the work?
Their own crew, or subcontractors? Will the person who quoted the job be around while it's done?
6. Who calls for utility locates?
In Ontario, underground lines have to be located before anyone digs. Locates are free through Ontario One Call. Make sure someone has requested them before the excavator shows up.
7. When can you start, and how long will it take?
Get a realistic start date and a rough length for the job, so you can plan around it. Ask what happens if the weather pushes it back.
8. How does payment work?
Know the deposit, when the rest is due and what form of payment they take. Ontario's advice is to keep the down payment small and never pay the full amount before the work is done.
9. Can I see your work and your reviews?
Look at photos of recent jobs and read their Google reviews, especially reviews that mention the same kind of job you want. How they answer reviews says a lot too.
10. What's your warranty, and what does it cover?
Ask how long it lasts, what it covers and what would void it. Ask what happens if a low spot appears or part of the new lawn doesn't root. With new sod, ask what's expected of you as well, because a new lawn depends on watering after the crew leaves.
A good contractor will tell you plainly, and the warranty should be written into the contract.
How many quotes should you get?
Two or three is usually plenty, from companies that have actually seen the yard. A price given over the phone can't allow for what's under the ground.
How to compare quotes
Put them side by side and check they cover the same work. If one is far below the others, look for what's missing. It's usually the prep, the hauling or the cleanup.
Landscaping prices in Windsor →
Your rights in Ontario
If you sign a home renovation or repair contract worth $50 or more in your home, you have a 10-calendar-day cooling-off period to cancel for any reason, with no cancellation fee. If work started during those 10 days, you can still cancel, but you'll owe reasonable compensation for the work and materials so far.
If an estimate is part of the contract, the final price can't be more than 10% over it unless you've agreed to new work or a new price. New work should be approved and signed as a change to the contract.
Ontario's guide to your rights on home renovations →
Red flags
- No written quote
- Pressure to sign today
- No proof of insurance, or no straight answer on WSIB
- No warranty, or one they won't explain
- Asking for the full amount before the work is done
- A price given without seeing the yard
- No recent work they can show you
Our answers
We're owner-run, fully insured and WSIB covered, with a 15-person full-time crew, and we offer a one-year warranty. Every job starts with a free on-site estimate and a written quote the same day, and we clean up as we go. Call or text and ask us anything on this list.
Want to ask us these questions?
Free on-site estimate anywhere in Windsor-Essex, with a written quote the same day. One-year warranty, fully insured and WSIB covered. Call or text 519-567-4724.
