Almost everything that goes wrong with a home trade goes wrong in one of four places, and all four are public record. None of this requires you to distrust anyone. It is the same set of questions a property manager asks as a matter of routine, and a good contractor has the answers ready because they get asked every week.
Published Metro Vancouver ranges for 2026, from the same calculators we built for the trades themselves. A quote inside the range is normal; one far outside it is worth a question rather than a refusal — access, condition and how far someone has to drive all move the number legitimately.
| Trade | Metro Vancouver range | Job minimum |
|---|---|---|
| House cleaning | $40–$75 an hour | $145 |
| Painting | $40–$100 an hour on site | $420 |
| Landscaping | $35–$80 an hour per visit | $120 |
| Pressure washing | $50–$160 an hour | $220 |
| Gutter cleaning | $50–$140 an hour | $180 |
| Handyman | $70–$145 an hour | $190 |
| HVAC | $110–$190 an hour | $149 |
| Junk removal | $42–$68 a cubic yard | $119 |
| Epoxy flooring | $6.50–$13 a square foot | $1,900 |
Click any trade for the full calculator, where you can price your own job by size and condition rather than reading an average.
A scope in an email is enough. Which rooms, which surfaces, what happens to the waste, and what is explicitly not included. Nearly every argument about a finished job is really an argument about a sentence nobody wrote.
A deposit on a large job is ordinary; a deposit that is most of the price before anything happens is not. Progress payments tied to visible stages protect both sides, and paying the last part after you have looked at the work is normal practice rather than an insult.
Whether the person quoting is the person working, and whether anyone else will be in the house. If work is subcontracted, checks 1 to 4 apply to whoever actually turns up.
Pick the job and watch the price as you answer. We confirm a checked pro within 24 hours — the registration, the WorkSafeBC standing, the licence and the insurance are already on file — and you're invoiced after the work, not before.