Bathrooms attract a particular kind of trouble because the expensive part is invisible. Tile looks the same over a proper backer as over a paper-faced one, and nobody finds out which they bought until water has been getting into the wall for two years. That asymmetry is what the checks below are for.
The FTC pattern for home improvement scams is consistent: demands for full payment up front, no written estimate, and a licence you are asked to take on trust. Verify with your state or county rather than with the contractor.
One check most homeowners never make
If the house predates 1978, the firm doing paid work that disturbs paint must be EPA-certified under the Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, and the minor-repair exemption does not extend to demolition.
This sits entirely apart from a state contractor licence. A firm can be properly licensed by the state and still not hold RRP firm certification, in which case it cannot lawfully perform your demolition. Ask for both, separately, by name. It is the fastest way to discover whether the person quoting actually works on houses of your age.
On deposits, and a widely repeated myth
You will read that federal rules cap a deposit at a third. They do not. There is no federal deposit percentage; the FTC advises against paying in full before work is complete and otherwise defers to state law, and several states do set their own limits.
So the useful move is to find out what your state actually says rather than quoting a rule of thumb at a contractor who knows it is not real. What is firm is the FTC advice not to hand over the whole price before the work is done, and to tie payments to completed stages.
If they came to your door
The FTC Cooling-Off Rule gives three business days to cancel certain sales made at your home or at temporary locations. It is worth knowing precisely, because it is also widely overstated: a contract signed at the seller’s own showroom or office after you visited it is generally not covered.
Where it does apply, it removes the entire force of a price that expires tonight. Sign if you like, then spend the three days verifying the licence, the RRP certification and the insurance without anyone standing in your kitchen.
What belongs in the contract
The FTC’s guidance on hiring a contractor names the elements a written agreement should carry, and each one closes a specific argument before it starts.
| Element | The argument it prevents |
|---|---|
| Contractor licence number | Whether the firm you checked is the firm doing the work. Verify the number with the state or county, not with the person who gave it to you. |
| Payment schedule | Money running ahead of progress. Stages tied to completed work, and never the full amount before completion. |
| Who pulls permits | Responsibility landing on you. The contractor pulls them; a request that you do it is a warning sign. |
| Change orders in writing | The single largest source of bathroom disputes. Once a floor is open, discoveries happen; the question is whether they are priced on paper or verbally. |
| Materials list by product | Substitution. This is where the backer board named in our bid drivers piece either appears or quietly does not. |
| Broom clause | Argument about clean-up and debris removal at the end, when your leverage is lowest. |
The materials row deserves particular attention on a bathroom. A contract saying tile backer is not a specification. A contract that names the board under ASTM C1288, or the membrane and its evaluation report, is one.
The order to do this in
- Establish the year the house was built before you speak to anyone. It determines which firms can legally bid.
- Verify the state or county licence yourself, using the number, with the issuing authority.
- Ask for EPA RRP firm certification separately if the house predates 1978.
- Get a certificate of insurance from the insurer, covering liability and workers compensation.
- Require a written estimate with the six elements above, and check your own state’s deposit rule rather than accepting a national figure that does not exist.
Having spent eighteen years on the industry side of consumer marketing and lead generation, the pattern I would flag is that urgency in this trade is manufactured almost without exception. A real price survives a week. Nothing about a bathroom requires a signature tonight.
Questions readers actually ask
Is there a legal limit on the deposit?
Not federally. There is no FTC deposit cap, and the widely repeated one-third figure is not a federal rule. The FTC advises against paying the full amount before work is finished and leaves limits to the states, several of which do set one. Check your own state before agreeing.
Can I cancel a contract I signed at home?
The FTC Cooling-Off Rule provides three business days for certain sales made at your home or at temporary locations. It generally does not cover a contract signed at the seller’s own showroom or office. Cancel in writing and keep a dated copy.
My contractor is licensed. Is that enough for an older house?
Not on its own. A state licence and EPA RRP firm certification are different things, and paid work disturbing paint in a pre-1978 home requires the latter. The exemption people cite for small jobs does not apply to demolition, and a bathroom gut is demolition.
The bid is a single number. Is that a problem?
It makes comparison impossible and substitution invisible. Ask for the materials list by product, the payment stages, who pulls permits, and how change orders will be priced. If a firm will not itemise, that is information about how the job will be run.
Sources
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Every figure in this article traces to a government record or to a named independent, non-commercial research body. We do not cite insurance marketplaces or affiliate comparison sites for data.
- Federal Trade Commission How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam Published 2022-07-01Supports: Do not pay the full amount before the work is complete; get written estimates; verify a contractor licence with the state or county. The FTC does not set a federal deposit percentage and defers to state law.
- Federal Trade Commission Buyer's Remorse: The FTC Cooling-Off Rule May Help Published 2025-09-01Supports: Three business days to cancel certain sales made at the buyer's home or at temporary locations; generally not applicable to a contract signed at the seller's permanent place of business after visiting the showroom.
- Federal Trade Commission Hiring a Contractor Published 2026-01-01Supports: A written contract should include the contractor licence number, the payment schedule, who obtains permits, how change orders are handled, a materials list, and a broom clause covering clean-up and debris removal.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: Contractors Published 2026-03-31Supports: Firms performing paid work that disturbs paint in pre-1978 housing must be EPA certified; the minor repair and maintenance exemption does not apply to demolition. Firm certification is separate from any state contractor licence.
Figures last verified August 30, 2026.