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Hiring a contractor for the first time to replace carpet with wood floors. They are a local company with a great reputation. A couple questions. Any advice appreciated!

  1. They’ve offered a pretty significant discount if I pay in cash. I’m considering it because of the savings, but worried about having no proof of payment if I do that. Is this a bad idea? Any way to protect myself?
  2. They are asking for a 50% deposit. I have the money to pay it, but just wondering if this amount is normal? I thought I’d read online that more like 10-25% was the norm. If the deposit were lower I’d probably be less worried about the cash payment.
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    you have a better business bureau? does the company have good reviews?
    – Fresh Codemonger
    Commented Nov 4, 2023 at 0:39

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If you are hiring only a company to do flooring, a larger deposit is customary. The 10 to 25% is for hiring a general contractor to construct a home or do major whole home renovations.

With a cash payment you should still insist on a written contract outlining what is to be done and for how much and how long it is expected to take.

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    Also, request a written receipt on their letterhead, from their receipt book, whatever, even if it's just a piece of paper hand written by your contractor and signed by him. Also, consider that he's got to shell out a lot of money to pick up the flooring material, so he needs some funds up front for that.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Nov 4, 2023 at 0:00
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    Some sort of quality standard in the contract documents is wise also. Simply invoking material supplier instructions can be helpful in arriving at a shared set of expectations. "Unless waived in writing by customer" is helpful language to maintain formality around necessary workarounds that frequently arise.
    – popham
    Commented Nov 4, 2023 at 0:13
  • When you pay cash, you should expect a receipt, and if a receipt is not provided, the cash should not be, either.
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Nov 4, 2023 at 1:24

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