Web Design in Maine for Builders and Remodelers Who Write Contracts Under the Home Construction Contracts Act

Updated November 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

Maine’s Home Construction Contracts Act puts every home building, remodeling or repair job over $3,000 in materials or labor into a signed written contract with fourteen set parts, and it caps the down payment at one third of the total price. A remodeler’s website that asks for half down to hold a start date is out of step with that cap before the homeowner ever sees a contract. Web design in Maine for builders, remodelers and trades writes the estimate, deposit, warranty and contract pages around those parts. Progression’s team is based in New York, builds sites for Maine contractors remotely and travels for on-site sessions on request.

Half down, in a state that caps it at a third

A kitchen remodeler’s booking page reads: 50% deposit holds your start date. The Act limits the initial down payment to no more than one third of the total contract price.

The website sets the homeowner’s expectations before the contract does. A homeowner who sees half down on the page and one third in the contract wonders which one is true, and the contractor spends the first meeting explaining.

• The page names the deposit as a fraction of the contract price.
• The fraction never exceeds one third.
• The rest is tied to the payment method in the contract.
• The contract carries the number; the page prepares the homeowner for it.

Web design in Maine under the Home Construction Contracts Act

Under 10 MRSA section 1487, any home construction contract for more than $3,000 in materials or labor must be in writing and signed by both the contractor and the homeowner or lessee, and both must receive a copy of the executed contract before any work. The contract holds the entire agreement. The definitions in section 1486 treat the down payment as all payments to the contractor before or at the time the contract is signed.

Chapter 219-A is short, and the site’s job is to describe the process while the contract carries the terms. Questions about contract wording go to counsel.

• Jobs over $3,000 in materials or labor.
• A signed written contract, and a copy to each party before work starts.
• The entire agreement in the contract.
• Every payment before or at signing counts as the down payment.

Fourteen contract parts and the page that carries each

The table follows the Act’s order. For each of the fourteen parts it sets out what the Act requires, which page of the website prepares the homeowner, and what stays in the signed contract.

• An estimate request form for parts 1 and 2.
• A schedule page and a how we price page for parts 3 and 4.
• A deposit page for part 5.
• Project pages for part 6.
• A warranty page for part 7.
• A dispute options page for part 8.
• A change request form for part 9.
• Short pages that point to the contract for parts 10 to 14.

Down payment wording under one third

The deposit page says the initial down payment is no more than one third of the total contract price, and defines it the way the Act does: every payment to the contractor before or at the time the contract is signed. The page states no figure of its own.

The warranty sentence, quoted whole

The Act sets the warranty statement. The warranty page can repeat it word for word, marked as the contract’s warranty: “In addition to any additional warranties agreed to by the parties, the contractor warrants that the work will be free from faulty materials; constructed according to the standards of the building code applicable for this location; constructed in a skillful manner and fit for habitation or appropriate use. The warranty rights and remedies set forth in the Uniform Commercial Code apply to this contract”.

One box to check among three ways to settle

Section 1487 asks for a statement giving the parties the option of one of three methods of resolving disputes, in addition to a small claims action: binding arbitration under the Maine Uniform Arbitration Act, nonbinding arbitration, or mediation, with a box to check for one. The dispute page names the three and says the contract has the box.

Change orders with the old and the new price

Under section 1488, each change order is in writing, becomes part of the contract, states the previous contract price and the revised price, and is signed by both parties. The contract carries this sentence: “Any alteration or deviation from the above contractual specifications that results in a revision of the contract price will be executed only upon the parties entering into a written change order”.

Does a deposit page need a dollar figure?

No. It names the cap as a fraction and leaves the amount to the contract, since the amount depends on the job.

Pricing a contractor site built around the contract

Pricing depends on scope and is set in the written proposal, and published prices are subject to change. A contractor site is usually a brochure build with an estimate request, a deposit page, a warranty page and project pages.

Contractor site prices Progression lists

These are the fixed-scope prices on our website design and development page. Hosting and maintenance are separate.

Jobs the Act reaches, and jobs it leaves out

The Act covers a contract to build, remodel or repair a residence, a dwelling with three or fewer living units and its garages, and the definition reaches electrical, plumbing and heating work, carpeting, window replacements and other nonstructural work as well as structural work. Buildings used for commercial or business purposes are not subject to the chapter. The $3,000 line counts materials or labor.

A firm that does both homes and commercial buildings keeps the residential deposit and warranty pages separate from its commercial pages. See our construction website design page for the general build.

• Residential pages say the contract follows the Act.
• Commercial pages say nothing about the Act.
• The estimate form asks whether the home has three or fewer living units.
• The $3,000 line is stated once, credited to the Act.

Website design in Maine for insulation and energy work

Part 11 brings the chapter 219 disclosures into a contract that includes insulation in an existing residence. Part 12 asks for a statement that chapter 214 establishes minimum energy efficiency building standards for new residential construction, and whether the new building or an addition will meet or exceed them.

Insulation service pages say the contract will carry the disclosures. New build and addition pages say the contract will state the energy standards answer. See our home builder website design page.

• Insulation pages point to the contract’s disclosures.
• New build pages point to the energy standards statement.
• Neither page states the disclosures or the standards itself.
• Counsel supplies the wording.
• A short line, not a section.

Selling in the homeowner’s kitchen or at a home show

Part 10 applies when the contract is used for sales regulated by the consumer solicitation sales law or the home solicitation sales law: it must describe the consumer’s rights to avoid the contract, as those laws set them out.

A firm that sells in homes or at shows says on its site that the contract will describe those rights. Counsel supplies the wording, and the page states no cancellation period.

Does a home show booth change the page?

Only by one line. The page says the contract describes the buyer’s rights, and counsel writes that description.

The Attorney General’s addendum and the website notice

Part 13 asks for an addendum to the contract: a copy of the Attorney General’s consumer protection information on home construction and repair, which includes information on contractors successfully sued by the State. Part 14 asks for a clear and conspicuous notice with the Attorney General’s website address and telephone number.

A contract page or footer link names the Attorney General’s site. The contractor confirms the current address and number with the Attorney General’s office, and the site prints neither itself.

• A link to the Attorney General’s site, by name.
• The addendum attached to each contract.
• The address and telephone number confirmed with the office.
• Questions about the notice go to counsel.

When both sides agree to leave parts out

Under section 1489, the parties may exempt themselves from the chapter only if the contractor specifically informs the homeowner or lessee of their rights under the chapter and the parties then mutually agree to a contract or change order without the required parts.

Under section 1490, a violation is prima facie evidence of a violation of the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, and each violation is a civil violation with a forfeiture of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000. No action may be brought more than two years after the violation, and a contractor is not liable if it shows the violation was unintentional and a bona fide error despite procedures reasonably adopted to avoid it.

The site’s contract process keeps a record of what the homeowner was told. See our contractor website design page.

Ready before the first estimate request

Eight checks sit beside the estimate form. Contractors who want help with the leads those pages bring can see our remodeling marketing agency and SEO company in Maine pages.

Who decides what on a contractor’s site and contract

The contract is written by the contractor and counsel. The website prepares the homeowner for it. The table keeps the two apart.

Can the site say a contract complies with the Act?

No. Whether a particular contract complies is a question for counsel.

Should the site post a sample contract?

Only one counsel has approved. A sample can help a homeowner see the shape of the parts, and it carries no promise about any actual job.

What about a job just under $3,000?

The Act’s writing and signature requirement applies to contracts for more than $3,000 in materials or labor. The page says so and sends specific cases to counsel.

Where does the maintenance plan fit?

In the written proposal. Our website maintenance page covers what keeps these pages current after launch.

Frequently asked questions