Free Construction Contract Template. Fill & Sign Online
A construction contract sets out the work, the price and the payment schedule. On small jobs the clause that decides profitability is the change order: verbal extras agreed on site, never priced, and disputed at the end.
The second is payment structure. Progress payments tied to defined milestones keep you from financing the client's project out of your own cash.
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What a construction contract must nail down
- Scope of work: a written specification with drawings attached, and an explicit list of what is excluded.
- Price and payment schedule: deposit, progress payments at named milestones, and the final balance. Note that some jurisdictions cap the deposit on residential work.
- Change orders: every variation priced and signed before the work is done. No exceptions, because the exception is the one that gets argued.
- Retainage: the percentage held back until completion, and exactly when it is released.
- Timeline: start and completion dates, with defined causes of excusable delay: weather, permits, client-supplied materials.
- Permits and inspections: who applies and who pays.
- Warranty: how long you stand behind the work, and what is excluded. Statutory warranties may apply on top of whatever you write.
Mistakes that cost small builders
- Verbal change orders. The most common cause of unpaid construction work, and almost always avoidable with a one-page signed variation.
- No progress payments. Carrying materials and labour to completion means financing the client's project with your own working capital.
- Missing lien deadlines. Mechanics-lien and construction-lien rights are strictly time-limited, and once the window closes it does not reopen.
- Vague scope. "Renovate the kitchen" invites the client to keep discovering things they assumed were included.
Common questions
How should progress payments be structured?
Tie each payment to a milestone that can be inspected, foundation complete, framing complete, rough-in complete, rather than to dates. That way payment follows verifiable progress and neither side argues about percentages.
Do change orders have to be in writing?
For your own protection, always, and in some jurisdictions residential change orders must be written to be enforceable at all. A signed variation takes two minutes and prevents the single most common construction dispute.
What is retainage?
A percentage of each payment (commonly 5–10%) held back until the work is complete and any defects fixed. Both the percentage and the release date should be in the contract, since "on completion" is itself frequently disputed.
This page is general information for small businesses, not legal advice. For your specific situation, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.