Before you sign for a driveway, patio or sidewalk, the state says certain things have to be on the paper. Here is the checklist.
New Jersey does not leave a home improvement contract to the two people signing it. The Contractors' Registration Act sets a floor for what has to be written down, and a separate consumer rule adds more on top.
Concrete counts as home improvement work. The state's own list names driveways, sidewalks, patios and pool decks. A contract to pour one follows the same rules as a kitchen or a roof.
This page covers what has to be in writing and the lines your contract has to carry. It also covers the cancel notice in bold type and what to check before you sign. Papaneri & Sons has been the concrete contractor in Cherry Hill families call since 1987, and every job we price goes out on paper.
The rule is a dollar figure, not a judgment call. Any home improvement contract for a price above $500 has to be in writing. So does every change made to it later.
The contract has to be signed by all parties to it. A quote with no signature on it is not the contract the state has in mind.
Terms have to be set out clearly and accurately, in legible form and in understandable language. Fine print nobody can follow does not meet the rule.
A change in the terms is treated like the contract itself and has to be in writing. If the start or finish dates move, that change is agreed in writing as well.
A replacement concrete driveway or a new backyard patio runs well past $500 in South Jersey. Treat a handshake deal on either one as a warning sign.
Two sets of rules stack here. The Contractors' Registration Act sets three items a registered contractor's contract has to carry, and the state's home improvement practices rule adds the rest. Read your paper against this list.
The contract carries the contractor's legal name and business address, not only a trade name on a letterhead. A post office box standing in for a street address is worth a question.
Every registered home improvement contractor has a number from the Division of Consumer Affairs, and it belongs on the contract. The same number goes on business papers, advertising and the company's work trucks. Papaneri & Sons puts ours on the contract and sends the paperwork with the estimate.
A copy of the certificate of commercial general liability insurance comes with the contract. So does the telephone number of the insurance company that issued it. State law sets a floor of $500,000 per occurrence.
The total price or other consideration you will pay has to be stated, including any finance charges. On a time and materials job, the hourly rate for labor and every other term affecting price is stated instead.
The description covers the work and the principal products and materials. For concrete that means the type, grade, quality, size or quantity of what goes in. That covers the stone base, the mix and the reinforcement.
Steel is part of that description. Our post on rebar in a concrete slab explains what belongs in the spec and why.
The contract gives the dates or the time period within which the work begins and is completed. Open ended paperwork is the most common gap we see on contracts homeowners bring us.
Guarantees have to be specific, clear and definite, with any limits spelled out. You get a written copy when the bid is presented and again when the contract is signed.
Signing is not the end of your say. A home improvement contract can be cancelled for any reason. The window runs until midnight of the third business day after you receive your copy.
The notice is not buried. State law asks for a conspicuous notice headed NOTICE TO CONSUMER. It is printed in at least 10 point bold faced type.
To cancel, you notify the contractor in writing. Send it by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested, or deliver it to the address in the contract. A phone call does not do it.
All money paid under a cancelled contract is refunded in full. The deadline in the Contractors' Registration Act is 30 days from the day the contractor receives your notice, and the notice in the contract has to say so.
If you signed a credit or loan agreement through the contractor, that agreement is cancelled with no penalty to you. Written notice of that cancellation is mailed to you on the same clock set by the law above.
Ask for your signed copy the same day. Three business days is short, and the count runs from the day the copy reaches your hands. Papaneri & Sons hands you a signed copy before anything is scheduled.
A contract that carries every required line can still be a bad fit for your job. These five checks take a few minutes at the kitchen table.
Numbers get typed wrong and companies change names. Our guide to checking a contractor's NJ registration walks through the state's own search, which takes about two minutes.
A contractor may not start work until the building and construction permits are issued. Cherry Hill also wants a zoning permit for a driveway or patio, and the review takes time, so the contract dates have to allow for it.
Footings in Camden County get dug to a set depth, which is covered in our note on frost depth for concrete footings in South Jersey. The crew also has to call 811 before the dig, and that notice has a waiting period built into it.
Some jobs need a midpoint or final inspection. Copies of those inspection certificates are handed to you when the work is finished. That happens before final payment is due or a completion slip is signed.
Any invoice, contract or letter from a registered contractor carries the Division of Consumer Affairs toll free number, 800-242-5846. Its absence tells you something about the paperwork.
Yes, once the price is above $500. State rules put every home improvement contract over that figure in writing, signed by both sides. A driveway or patio is home improvement work.
Yes, for any reason, before midnight of the third business day after you receive your copy. Send written notice by certified mail, or hand deliver it to the address in the contract. Your money comes back within 30 days.
It states the total price you will pay, including any finance charges. On time and materials work it states the hourly rate for labor and every other term that affects the price. Call us at (856) 354-9338 and we will walk your estimate line by line.
Our estimate comes with a contract that carries all of it. The name, the number, the insurance certificate, the price, the dates and the cancel notice. Papaneri & Sons has put every one of those terms in writing for driveway, patio, sidewalk and step jobs across Cherry Hill, Marlton, Mount Laurel and the rest of South Jersey since 1987.