Should I give the contractor 1/3 down to start the project?

Down payment options depend a lot upon the scale of the project.  On smaller projects where a time table for completion is 2 months or less, a 1/3 down is almost a universally accepted contract option.  However on a larger project the contractor should only bill on work completed.  When construction financing by a lending institution is used a procedure of monthly draws based on completion for disbursement of funds is standard procedure.  In any case a contractor needs to be honest, reliable, and professional.  It is up to the customer to check references, or obtain referrals.  On a large project it would be silly for a customer to disperse a large amount of money on a down payment, when the construction funds can be earning interest until costs needed to be covered.  A contractor should be set-up with 30 day accounts as well as his sub-contractors.  A contractor that operates with cash, leaves no reasonable record of transactions, thereby leaving the customer open to liens, and possible litigation.  Select Builders operates on a monthly billing cycle based on work completed on all jobs that have a completion time table of more that 2 months.   

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