[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":254},["ShallowReactive",2],{"glossary-draw-schedule":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"category":213,"description":214,"extension":215,"faq":216,"meta":238,"navigation":248,"path":249,"publishedAt":239,"seo":250,"stem":251,"term":252,"__hash__":253},"glossary\u002Fen\u002Fglossary\u002Fdraw-schedule.md","Draw Schedule: The Payment Plan That Decides Who Has Leverage",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":203},"minimark",[9,13,16,21,24,34,38,125,128,132,135,138,141,145,148,157,161,164,172,176,195],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Every renovation dispute eventually becomes a question about money that has already changed hands. The draw schedule is the clause that decides how that argument goes, and it is usually skimmed.",[10,14,15],{},"Its purpose is not administrative. A draw schedule exists to keep payment permanently a step behind completed work, so that at any moment in the project the contractor has more to gain by carrying on than by disappearing.",[17,18,20],"h2",{"id":19},"what-a-draw-schedule-actually-is","What a Draw Schedule Actually Is",[10,22,23],{},"A draw schedule is the list of payments in your contract, each one tied to a defined, verifiable milestone of finished work. Not to a calendar date. Not to a percentage of elapsed time. To work you can stand in front of and inspect.",[25,26,27],"blockquote",{},[10,28,29,33],{},[30,31,32],"strong",{},"Key point:"," Payments tied to dates transfer risk to you. Payments tied to milestones keep it where it belongs. That single distinction matters more than the percentages.",[17,35,37],{"id":36},"a-reasonable-shape","A Reasonable Shape",[39,40,41,57],"table",{},[42,43,44],"thead",{},[45,46,47,51,54],"tr",{},[48,49,50],"th",{},"Draw",[48,52,53],{},"Trigger",[48,55,56],{},"Share",[58,59,60,72,83,94,104,114],"tbody",{},[45,61,62,66,69],{},[63,64,65],"td",{},"1",[63,67,68],{},"Contract signing and mobilisation",[63,70,71],{},"~10%",[45,73,74,77,80],{},[63,75,76],{},"2",[63,78,79],{},"Demolition complete, framing altered as specified",[63,81,82],{},"~20%",[45,84,85,88,91],{},[63,86,87],{},"3",[63,89,90],{},"Electrical, plumbing and HVAC rough-ins pass inspection",[63,92,93],{},"~25%",[45,95,96,99,102],{},[63,97,98],{},"4",[63,100,101],{},"Drywall, substrates and surface prep complete",[63,103,93],{},[45,105,106,109,112],{},[63,107,108],{},"5",[63,110,111],{},"Substantial completion — usable, inspected, minor items outstanding",[63,113,71],{},[45,115,116,119,122],{},[63,117,118],{},"6",[63,120,121],{},"Punch list signed off",[63,123,124],{},"~10% retainage",[10,126,127],{},"Treat the percentages as a starting point, not gospel. Two properties matter far more than the exact split: each draw names completed work rather than a date, and a real amount remains unpaid when the contractor is finishing the fiddly last items.",[17,129,131],{"id":130},"why-the-deposit-number-tells-you-so-much","Why the Deposit Number Tells You So Much",[10,133,134],{},"A 10% deposit funds mobilisation and first materials. That is a legitimate ask.",[10,136,137],{},"A 40% deposit funds the contractor's other projects, or their cash flow problem. It also means that on day one you have paid for four-tenths of a renovation and received none of it — and if the business fails that month, you are an unsecured creditor with a hole in your house.",[10,139,140],{},"Several states legislate this precisely because it is such a reliable predictor of trouble. California caps home improvement down payments at the lesser of $1,000 or 10% of the contract. Other states set their own limits, so check yours — a contractor who cannot explain why their deposit exceeds the local cap has answered a different question than the one you asked.",[17,142,144],{"id":143},"retainage-the-last-10","Retainage: The Last 10%",[10,146,147],{},"The final stretch of a renovation is where projects stall. The crew has moved to the next job, the remaining work is unglamorous, and the contractor's incentive has largely been spent.",[10,149,150,151,156],{},"Retainage restores it. Withhold 5–10% of the contract until the ",[152,153,155],"a",{"href":154},"\u002Fglossary\u002Fpunch-list\u002F","punch list"," is complete and signed. Say so in the contract, in writing, before work begins — retainage introduced at the end is a renegotiation, not a term.",[17,158,160],{"id":159},"tie-draws-to-waivers","Tie Draws to Waivers",[10,162,163],{},"A draw schedule and lien protection work as one mechanism. Make each payment conditional on receiving lien waivers covering the work that draw pays for — from the general contractor and from the subcontractors and suppliers paid out of it.",[10,165,166,167,171],{},"Without that link, you can execute a flawless draw schedule, pay exactly on milestones, and still face a ",[152,168,170],{"href":169},"\u002Fglossary\u002Fmechanics-lien\u002F","mechanics lien"," from a subcontractor your contractor never paid.",[17,173,175],{"id":174},"before-you-sign","Before You Sign",[177,178,179,183,186,189,192],"ol",{},[180,181,182],"li",{},"Rewrite any date-based draw as a milestone-based one. \"Week 6\" becomes \"rough-in inspection passed.\"",[180,184,185],{},"Check your state's deposit cap and hold the contractor to it.",[180,187,188],{},"Name the retainage percentage and the release condition explicitly.",[180,190,191],{},"Require waivers as a condition of each draw, not as a favour at the end.",[180,193,194],{},"Inspect before paying. Every time. A draw schedule only works if the milestone is verified rather than asserted.",[10,196,197,198,202],{},"Use our ",[152,199,201],{"href":200},"\u002Fcalculators\u002F","renovation cost calculators"," to size the contract first — the draw schedule only protects a number that was realistic to begin with.",{"title":204,"searchDepth":205,"depth":205,"links":206},"",2,[207,208,209,210,211,212],{"id":19,"depth":205,"text":20},{"id":36,"depth":205,"text":37},{"id":130,"depth":205,"text":131},{"id":143,"depth":205,"text":144},{"id":159,"depth":205,"text":160},{"id":174,"depth":205,"text":175},"glossary","How renovation draw schedules work, what a healthy milestone split looks like, why front-loaded payments are the clearest warning sign, and how retainage protects you.","md",[217,220,223,226,229,232,235],{"question":218,"answer":219},"What is a draw schedule in a renovation contract?","A draw schedule is the payment plan written into your contract: it lists each payment, the amount, and the specific milestone of completed work that triggers it. Its real function is to keep the money slightly behind the work at all times, so the contractor always has more to gain by finishing than by walking away.",{"question":221,"answer":222},"What is a normal deposit for a home renovation?","For most residential work a deposit of roughly 10% is normal, and it should cover mobilisation and initial materials rather than profit. Some states cap it outright — California, for example, limits the down payment on a home improvement contract to the lesser of $1,000 or 10% of the contract price. A contractor asking for 40% or 50% before anyone arrives on site is asking you to finance their business.",{"question":224,"answer":225},"What does a healthy draw schedule look like?","A common shape for a mid-size renovation is around 10% at signing, 20% after demolition and rough framing, 25% after mechanical rough-ins pass inspection, 25% after drywall and substrates, 10% at substantial completion, and a final 10% released only when the punch list is signed off. The exact percentages matter less than two properties: every payment is tied to verifiable completed work, and a meaningful amount is still outstanding at the end.",{"question":227,"answer":228},"What is retainage and how much should I hold back?","Retainage is the portion of the contract you deliberately withhold until the project is genuinely finished — typically 5% to 10%. It exists because the last 2% of a renovation is the hardest to get done: the missing outlet cover, the door that sticks, the touch-up paint. Without retainage you have no leverage during exactly the phase where leverage is most needed.",{"question":230,"answer":231},"Should I ever pay a contractor ahead of the work?","As a rule, no. The exception is a genuine special-order item — custom cabinetry, imported tile, a specific window package — where the supplier requires payment before production. Handle that as a documented material deposit paid against a supplier invoice, ideally by joint check to the contractor and supplier together, rather than as an unexplained advance on the contract.",{"question":233,"answer":234},"How do lender draws differ from paying a contractor directly?","When a renovation is financed through a construction loan or a renovation mortgage, the lender controls the draws: the contractor requests a draw, an inspector verifies the work is actually complete, and only then are funds released. It is slower and more paperwork, but it applies exactly the discipline a cash-funded homeowner has to impose themselves.",{"question":236,"answer":237},"What are the warning signs in a proposed draw schedule?","Four things should stop you signing: a deposit far above 10%, payments tied to dates rather than completed milestones, a schedule where 90% or more is collected before the finish phase, and any pressure to pay by cash or wire without a receipt tied to a milestone. Each one shifts risk from the contractor to you, and together they are how abandoned projects begin.",{"updatedAt":239,"author":240,"related_tools":241,"featured":247},"2026-09-15","Home Renovation Calculator Editorial Team",[242,243,244,245,246],"how-to-hire-renovation-contractor","how-to-compare-renovation-quotes","mechanics-lien","punch-list","change-order",false,true,"\u002Fen\u002Fglossary\u002Fdraw-schedule",{"title":5,"description":214},"en\u002Fglossary\u002Fdraw-schedule","Draw Schedule","mcZmfPmXQsIPxKEsqeunnkQfbBjUmgxB5qXdVHl6dPs",1789992688947]