What a general contractor does for you
A general contractor takes responsibility for building the project: hiring and scheduling the trades, ordering materials, getting permits and inspections, keeping the site safe, and answering for the quality and the budget. You deal with one person instead of a dozen trades.
- Build to your plans as the contractor of record
- Project and construction management when you want an owner's representative on your side
- Pre-construction: feasibility, budgeting, scheduling and value engineering before you commit
- Drawings and permits through our design partners when you are starting from an idea
- Site work: excavation, foundations and framing
- Exterior: roofing, siding, windows and doors
- Residential and commercial projects
How we price
Most projects get a fixed-price contract with every line item written out. When drawings are incomplete or the scope is still moving, we offer cost plus with a capped fee: you see every invoice, and our fee is written down before we start. Either way, payments are tied to finished stages of work, never large sums upfront.
What to check before you hire any contractor
- Licence. New homes require an HCRA licence. Look the builder up in the Ontario Builder Directory.
- Insurance and WSIB. Ask for a certificate of liability insurance and a WSIB clearance certificate.
- A written, itemized quote. Lump sums hide the extras that show up later.
- A payment schedule tied to progress. Be wary of large deposits.
- Who is on site. Ask who your daily contact is and how often you will hear from them.
We hand you all of this at the first meeting.
Permits we handle
Each municipality runs its own process. In Cramahe Township (Colborne), a zoning review appointment comes before the building permit, and septic and plumbing permits go through Northumberland County. Cobourg and Port Hope have heritage districts downtown. Peterborough has its own rules for additional residential units. We know the counters and the paperwork, and we file it all.
We work across Northumberland County (Colborne, Cobourg, Port Hope, Brighton), Quinte, Peterborough and the Kawarthas, with Barrie from early 2027.
Questions, answered
Yes. We can price and build your drawings as the general contractor, or join earlier to check buildability and budget before you finalize the design.
Yes. We can manage the project on your behalf for a written fee, with every trade invoice visible to you.
Yes. NEUE is an HCRA licensed builder, registered with Tarion, fully insured and covered by WSIB.
A small deposit to start, then payments tied to finished stages of work. You never pay far ahead of what is built.