contractor red flags - Homer Shack Hub

Last updated: May 9, 2026

I Read People for a Living. Now I Have to Hire Them.

I sold cars for over twenty years on Vancouver Island. Fifteen of those years were at Duncan Honda. The job — when you boil it down — was reading people across a desk in under five minutes. Who was a real buyer. Who was just shopping a number to take to another lot. Who needed a Civic and who needed a Ridgeline. Who was telling the truth and who was telling me what they thought I wanted to hear.

After a while, you stop thinking about it. You just know.

Then MS forced me to retire, and the table flipped. All the things I used to do for myself — the deck, the back fence, the furnace, the roof, the addition I tried to build for my mom — I now have to hire somebody to do. And every contractor who walks up my driveway is sitting in the same chair my customers used to sit in across from me.

Twenty years on the lot taught me one skill that's worth gold to a homeowner: how to tell, in the first ten minutes, whether the person quoting your job is honest, capable, and going to finish what they started. This post is everything I learned about that — applied to hiring tradespeople in BC.

This isn't going to be a generic "get three quotes" article. You can find that everywhere. This is the actual playbook from somebody who reads people for a living and is now on the homeowner's side of the table.

Step 1: Do Your Homework Before You Open the Door

Here's the rule I live by: before any tradesperson sets foot in my house, I already know what the problem is and roughly how it should be fixed.

Not because I can do the work — MS has made sure I can't. But because I've spent twenty minutes on Google, fifteen minutes on YouTube, and ten minutes reading what BC homeowners on forums say about the exact issue. By the time the contractor shows up, I'm not an expert — but I'm competent enough to follow the conversation. That's all you need.

Why this matters: if a guy comes at me with a bunch of mumbo-jumbo and big fancy words, and he's not telling me what I already know, he's just a bullshitter. You can show him the door.

The key is doing just enough research to spot the malarky. Not a Master's degree in HVAC. Just enough that when he says "the heat exchanger needs a tertiary recalibration," you can ask "why? My research said the most common issue here is X." If he can answer that simply and directly — he probably knows his trade. If he gets defensive, evasive, or starts using even bigger words — show him the door.

This one habit alone has saved me thousands of dollars over the years.

Step 2: Listen for the Big Words

Real tradespeople, in my experience, talk simply. They say "your flashing's gone, water's getting behind the siding, here's what it costs." They don't dress it up. They don't need to.

The ones who dress it up are usually doing one of two things:

Hiding that they don't actually know what they're doing. Big words can fill a silence where confidence should go.

Pricing-up the job in your head. A "specialty hydronic transfer assembly" sounds more expensive than "a thermostat." Sometimes it's the same part.

The longer my career on the car lot ran, the more I realized: the salesman pulling out the biggest words was usually the one with the weakest case. The trades work the same way. The good ones explain. The bad ones perform.

Step 3: Confront the Game — Politely, Directly

This one comes straight from the lot.

When somebody walked into Wheaton Pontiac or Duncan Honda and started shopping me a number — pretending they hadn't been to four other dealerships first — I'd just say it: "Look, I know you must've been to Nanaimo Honda and seen the exact same one as this. What number do I have to beat to get this done?"

Nine times out of ten, they'd serve up the number. If I could beat it, I'd beat it. If I couldn't, we'd shake hands and they'd go buy from the other guy. Everybody saved themselves an hour of dancing.

You can use the exact same play on tradespeople. You don't have to pretend it's the only quote you're getting. When you've got a couple of numbers in hand, lead with it: "I've had two other quotes on this job. They're in the $8,000 to $10,000 range. Where do you fit in, and what do I get for the difference?"

If they get cagey or insulted — that tells you who they are. The good ones will either confirm the range and explain their value, or admit they can't compete and bow out gracefully. Either way, you've saved yourself two weeks of "we'll get back to you on Tuesday."

Step 4: Get a Real Contract — Not a Handshake

I'm a salesman by trade, so I'll tell you what I know about handshakes: a handshake is good. A contract is better. A contract from somebody you'd shake hands with anyway is best.

A handshake from a proven performer with impeccable references will get a job done — most of the time. But "most of the time" isn't the standard you want when you're spending $20,000 on a roof. Nothing beats a written contract because a contract is binding and can't be messed with. Once it's signed, you both know what you're getting and what you're paying.

What a real contract should include (the BBB recommends most of these):

Full contact information — legal business name, address, phone, email

Start and completion dates — specific, not "in the spring"

Detailed description of the work — exact scope, materials, brand names where it matters

Payment schedule (we're getting to this)

Warranty information — what's covered, for how long

Who pulls the permit — and who pays for it

Who handles cleanup — yes, write this in. I'll explain why later.

All verbal promises in writing — if it isn't written, it doesn't exist

If a contractor pushes back on a written contract — that's your answer. Walk away.

Step 5: The 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 Payment Rule

Here's the line that's saved more BC homeowners from getting burned than any other piece of advice I give:

Never pay all the money up front. Ever.

If a tradesperson wants 100% before they start — that's a no-go. Tell him no. He's either broke, scamming, or both.

The structure that actually works — that I've used with every contractor I've hired — is straightforward:

1/3 at the start — covers initial materials and shows you're serious

1/3 at the midpoint — when measurable progress is on the ground

1/3 at completion — when the job is done, signed off, and cleaned up

This isn't just safer for you. It's better for the work. That last third keeps a contractor motivated to finish strong. Without it, you'd be amazed how often a "90% done" job stays at 90% done forever.

The Better Business Bureau confirms this approach — they explicitly warn against high upfront payments and cash-only deals as some of the top home-improvement scam red flags.

Step 6: Know What's Actually Licensed in BC

This is one of the most important things BC homeowners don't know:

BC does NOT require a general contractor's licence for renovation work on existing homes. Anyone can put a magnetic sign on their truck and call themselves a contractor.

But several specific trades DO require provincial licences, and they're the ones you can verify:

Electrical work — Licensed by Technical Safety BC (Class A or B). Ask for the licence number.

Plumbing work — BC Certificate of Qualification required.

Gas work — Licensed gasfitter (Class A or B).

New home construction — Licensed Residential Builder under the Homeowner Protection Act, with mandatory 2-5-10 warranty insurance.

Asbestos abatement — Mandatory licence from WorkSafeBC since January 2024 (WorkSafeBC AAL Registry).

Two free verifications you can do in five minutes:

Request a WorkSafeBC clearance letter — this confirms the contractor is registered and current on premiums. If they aren't, YOU are liable for any worker injuries on your property.

For electrical, plumbing, or gas — ask for the licence number and verify it directly with Technical Safety BC.

If a contractor refuses to provide either of these — that's your answer.

Step 7: Watch the Professionalism

This is the simplest test on the list and the one most people skip.

If the tradesperson is rude or unprofessional during the quote — they will be rude or unprofessional during the job.

Watch how they:

Talk to your spouse (especially if they default to talking to the husband)

Treat the receptionist or office staff if you visit their shop

Show up on time for the quote — or not

Take their boots off at the door — or not

Clean up after themselves when they leave the consultation

Answer your "dumb" questions — patiently or with eye-rolls

A guy who's rude at the quote is the same guy who's going to scream at his apprentice in your driveway at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. Don't sign with that guy.

The Slob Story (And Why "Complete" Is Part of the Job)

I want to close with a real story.

I hired a contractor once who was, in most ways, exactly what you'd want. He showed up on time. The price was fair. The quality of his work was genuinely great — no complaints about what he built.

But when he finished the job, he packed up his tools, took my final cheque, and left all his crap and garbage everywhere. Drywall scraps. Empty caulking tubes. Cigarette butts. Coffee cups. Lengths of trim he didn't use. Just gone — and his mess stayed.

It took me two days to clean up properly. Two full days I had to work around — and not work around easily, given my MS. So even though the job and the price were perfect, the cost of his "completion" came out of my time and my health, not his.

That experience taught me one of the most important lessons I've ever learned about hiring trades: complete is part of the job.

A great tradesperson finishes the work, hauls out the garbage, sweeps the floor, and leaves your home better than they found it. A guy who half-asses the cleanup is telling you, loudly, that he doesn't care once the cheque clears.

Word of mouth gets around. Don't be the slob who blew his own reputation. And don't pay one either — the cleanup goes in the contract, in writing, every single time.

The Honest Bottom Line

Hiring a tradesperson in BC is not as hard as the internet makes it seem. The whole game comes down to:

Do enough homework to spot mumbo-jumbo.

Talk to people who use simple words.

Confront the game — be direct, ask the real question.

Get a contract, not a handshake.

Pay 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 — never all up front.

Verify the licences you can actually verify.

Watch the professionalism — it tells you everything.

Make sure cleanup is in the contract.

Twenty years across a desk taught me people don't really hide who they are. They show you in the first ten minutes — if you know what to look for. Now you do.

Need Help Reading Someone?

If you've got a contractor on your driveway tomorrow and your gut is telling you something's off — drop me a line through the Contact page. I'm not a licensed inspector, and nothing here is professional advice — just the read of a guy who's been on the other side of a desk for twenty years and is happy to share what he sees.

Brew approves the messages.

— Mark Dupuis

Duncan, BC