Guides
Is a CCDC 2 contract the right fit for Canadian fence quotations?
Fence contractor pricing on commercial work often lands on the CCDC 2 stipulated price contract, so here is how it fits Canadian bids, CCQ wages and Quebec terms.
What to take away
- CCDC 2 fits a commercial fence package with a settled scope, drawings, measurable quantities and a consultant administering the contract. CCDC 2 2020 is the current edition.
- It does not fit vague scope, guessed quantities, or rock and frost risk the owner will not disclose. Qualify the bid in writing or move to a unit price schedule.
- Clause GC 6 governs changes and GC 10 governs payment, including holdback release. Supplementary conditions override the printed form.
- Quebec prices CCQ decree wage rates, Quebec Construction Code terms and a Regie du batiment du Quebec licence category inside the lump sum.
- Statutory holdback is 10 percent in Ontario and British Columbia, with 60-day and 45-day lien periods. Quebec runs a legal hypothec registered within 30 days of the end of the work.
Where CCDC 2 fits a fence quotation
Yes, when the scope is defined. CCDC 2 is the stipulated price form published by the Canadian Construction Association through the Canadian Construction Documents Committee. One lump sum covers a scope fixed by drawings and a specification, and the owner pays against progress.
Three questions decide the fit. Can you measure every quantity from the drawings? Has the owner disclosed access, soil and buried services? Can you bond the job? A no on any one is a reason to qualify the bid in writing, not to sign and hope.
Residential work runs on a quotation and a deposit instead. The permits, codes and calls that come first decide whether your licence covers the fence scope you are pricing.
What the stipulated price has to carry
| Priced item | Unit | Quantity | What the owner expects inside the lump sum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post excavation and concrete footings | each | 210 | Depth set against the local frost line, spoil removed |
| Chain link fabric and framework | linear metre | 350 | Line posts, top rail, tension wire, fittings |
| Gates and operators | each | 4 | Frames, hinges, latches, access wiring |
| Treated wood or composite panels | linear metre | 120 | Rails, boards, fasteners to the named standard |
| Coatings and galvanizing repair | lump | 1 | Field touch-up and colour match |
| Site restoration | square metre | 600 | Topsoil, seed, hard surface reinstatement |
| Traffic control and permits | lump | 1 | Signs, flagging, municipal permit fees |
| Mobilization, layout and survey | lump | 1 | Setting out, staking, as-built drawings |
Every line carries a quantity and a unit even though the agreement states one total. That is how the number is defended at closeout when someone asks why the price is what it is.
Priced items in a fence lump sum
- Supply of materialsposts, rails, fabric, gates
- Installation labourlayout, excavation, setting posts
- Footingsconcrete, gravel, depth to frost line
- Equipmentaugers, lifts, trucks, mobilisation
- Site conditionsrock, buried services, poor access
- Cleanupremoval of spoils and packaging
Example: a $180,000 fence lump sum and its holdback
These are illustrative figures, not market rates.
Ontario holdback at 10 percent holds $18,000 of that price past the 60-day lien period. Bill $45,000 a month and you carry that $18,000 unpaid for roughly three months. Cash flow, not margin, decides whether the job funds itself, which is why the pricing and profit plan belongs in the bid file.
Taxes sit on top of the price. GST or HST applies, and the CRA guidance on which rate to charge covers registration and input tax credits.
CCQ wage lines and Quebec code terms
Quebec moves the labour number. Wages, pension, benefits and training contributions for covered trades are set by decree through the Commission de la construction du Quebec, known as the CCQ, and are not negotiable with the worker.
Fence work commonly touches the charpentier-menuisier, manoeuvre and operateur d'equipement lourd trades. Rates vary by trade, region and worker classification, so confirm the classification with the CCQ before you price.
- Identify the trades and classifications the fence scope touches.
- Pull the current decree rates, including benefits and contributions.
- Multiply the loaded rate by productive hours, not hours on site.
- Add employer contributions and the payroll burden.
- Carry the total into the labour line of the CCDC 2 price.
Building CCQ wage lines
- Identify trades and classifications the fence scope requires
- Pull current decree rates, benefits and contributions
- Multiply rates by productive hours, not site hours
- Add the payroll burden the decree imposes
- Carry the total into the CCDC 2 labour price
Decree rates are revised each year, commonly effective 1 May. As a planning range, a journeyman rate near $40 an hour on paper often lands between $55 and $70 an hour fully loaded, with labourer rates below that. Verify the current decree values.
Quebec Construction Code terms arrive in the specification, which CCDC 2 incorporates by reference. Frost depth must be stated in the drawings, and the provincial code comparison shows how each province writes those requirements into a quotation. 4 m on the Prairies; the local value governs.
Holdback and lien periods by province
Holdback
- Ontario
- 10 percent
- British Columbia
- 10 percent
- Quebec
- Legal hypothec; any retenue is set by the contract
Lien period
- Ontario
- 60 days after last supply or publication of substantial performance
- British Columbia
- 45 days after completion of the improvement or the contract
- Quebec
- Register within 30 days of the end of the work
No clause in the agreement shortens these periods. The Ontario Construction Act sets holdback and prompt payment rules for Ontario work, and the BC Builders Lien Act does the same on the west coast.
Tender documents, clauses and the signing check
The package arrives as drawings, a specification, the agreement, a tender form and supplementary conditions. Read the supplementary conditions first. They override the printed form and carry payment, holdback and insurance limits.
- Supplementary conditions read line by line against GC 6 and GC 10
- Bid bond, labour and material payment bond and consent of surety in hand
- Insurance limits confirmed with your broker before bid closing
- Written change order procedure agreed, no verbal instructions accepted
- Unit prices fixed at bid time for extra metres and extra gates
- CCQ classification and Regie du batiment du Quebec licence category confirmed
- Frost depth and footing design stated in the specification
- Holdback release date and lien period marked on the cash-flow plan
A gate moved on a superintendent's word is not a change until it is written and priced, which is how the overview of change orders frames price and scope moving together. Ontario holdback timing belongs on the same plan, and the note on lien rights under Ontario's Construction Act shows how the 60-day clock runs against a progress draw.
Common questions
Is CCDC 2 the right form for a small commercial fence job?
Usually not. It suits packages with drawings, a specification and a consultant. Below a few hundred thousand dollars, a written quotation with a unit price schedule costs less to administer.
Can the owner change the scope after signing?
Yes, through GC 6. A Change Order or Construction Change Directive must be written and priced before the work proceeds, or the argument lands at closeout.
Do CCQ rates apply to every fence job in Quebec?
No. They apply to trades covered by the decree. Confirm the classification for your scope, because commercial sites commonly fall inside it while some residential work does not.
What happens if holdback is not released on time?
Lien rights and prompt payment rules take over. Ontario and BC set statutory timelines, and Quebec requires the legal hypothec to be registered within 30 days of the end of the work.
