What a window or siding contract must say in Indiana

The $150 rule

Indiana's Home Improvement Contracts Act covers repairs and improvements to your home. Once a job is over $150, which is every window replacement and every re-side, the contract has to be in writing. Indiana's Court of Appeals has called one rule the heart of the law: the contractor hands you the finished contract before you sign it.

What the contract has to list

• Your name and address, the contractor's name, address and email, and the property address
• A person to contact about problems, with a phone number and email
• The date it was given to you, and any deadline to accept it
• A reasonably detailed description of the work and materials
• Approximate start and finish dates, and anything that could change them
• The price
• Whether subcontractors or suppliers provide labor or materials
• Signature lines for both of you, with printed names

What to add for windows and siding

The law sets the minimum. For a window replacement or siding replacement job, ask for these in writing too:

• Each window by room and size, with the brand, product line, frame material and NFRC U-factor
• Insert or full-frame install, and what happens to the inside and outside trim
• Siding brand, profile and color, plus house wrap, flashing and corner trim
• Tear-off and disposal of the old windows or siding
• How rot found during the job gets priced, such as a set rate per board or per sill
• The warranty: the installer's workmanship warranty and the maker's product warranty, both in writing
• The firm's EPA lead-safe certificate number, if the house was built before 1978

How much to pay up front

The Indiana Attorney General's advice is to never pay for the whole project before work begins and to put down no more than a third of the total. Tie the rest to finished stages of work. Windows are custom-made, so a deposit when they're ordered is normal; a demand for full payment before delivery is not.

Before the last payment, ask for written proof that suppliers and subcontractors were paid. An unpaid supplier can file a mechanic's lien against your house.

Your right to cancel

If you signed at home, the Federal Trade Commission's Cooling-Off Rule gives you until midnight of the third business day to cancel a sale of $25 or more. Saturdays count as business days. Ohio's home solicitation law gives Van Wert homeowners the same three business days. The seller has to tell you about the right to cancel and give you a cancellation form.

Permits and licenses

Indiana has no state license for window or siding contractors, but counties can require one. Allen County says every contractor and subcontractor working there must hold a county license, and its building department (260-449-7131) can confirm one. Ask the same office whether your job needs a permit. Work shouldn't start until any permit is issued.