Terms and Conditions
These terms and conditions govern commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning work carried out by Hamilton Hood Cleaning. Terms and conditions are the written agreement between a contractor and a customer setting out what is being bought and on what basis, and these apply to every quote issued and every visit booked unless a signed contract says otherwise in writing. They are deliberately short on legal furniture. An operator should be able to read them once and know what the job covers, what has to be ready on site, when payment falls due, and exactly what the certificate at the end does and does not prove.
What work is covered by these terms?
Hamilton Hood Cleaning provides commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning and directly related services to commercial kitchens only, and the scope of any visit is whatever the written quote for that visit says it is.
Depending on the quote, a visit may cover the canopy and hood, the baffle filters, the plenum cavity behind them, accessible horizontal and vertical duct, the rooftop exhaust fan and its housing, grease containment at the fan, or the installation of an exhaust fan hinge kit. Where a quote covers only part of the system, it says so in the scope and the certificate is written to match. Nothing is added to the scope by assumption. If a service is not listed on the quote, it has not been priced and it will not be performed without your approval.
Work outside commercial kitchen exhaust is not undertaken, quoted, or implied. Residential range hoods fall outside NFPA 96 and are not serviced. Repairs are also outside the scope: Hamilton Hood Cleaning cleans exhaust systems and reports the defects it finds, such as a seized fan bearing, damaged duct, a missing access panel, or a filter bank that no longer seals. Making those repairs is separate work for a qualified trade, and reporting one defect is not a statement that the rest of the equipment is sound.
One point is stated here rather than buried, because it causes more disputes than anything else in this trade. Cleaning one unit hood in a shared building does not make a shared duct riser compliant. Where several tenants exhaust into a common riser, each unit needs its own cleaning and the shared portion is its own scope of work, normally arranged through the building owner or property manager. Buying a single-unit clean does not clear the riser, and the certificate will not say that it does.
How do quotes work and how long do they hold?
Every quote is written, returned within 24 hours of the enquiry or the walk-through, and states its own validity period on the document.
A quote is normally held open for about 30 days from the date of issue, and where the individual document states a different period, that one governs. After the window closes the same figure can usually be reissued, but the scope gets confirmed first, because a kitchen that has run several more months since it was priced is genuinely a different job to clean.
A quote includes the cleaning scope described on it, before-and-after photographs of every cleaned surface, the signed health and safety certificate referencing NFPA 96, and proof of WSIB coverage and liability insurance supplied before work begins. Pricing is per visit: single-hood kitchens up to ten feet start from $385, multi-hood kitchens of two to four canopies start from $725, and campus, hospital, contract-catered and multi-tenant kitchens are quoted after a free walk-through. Larger sites are walked before they are priced because guessing at a long or shared duct run produces a number nobody should rely on. The cost guide sets out every factor that moves those figures.
The invoice matches the quote. Where conditions on site turn out to be materially different from what was described, for example a canopy run twice the quoted length, or a system that has gone years rather than months between cleanings, the difference is raised with you during the visit and any additional work requires your approval before it proceeds. Nothing is added to an invoice after the fact.
What has to be ready on site?
The operator provides safe and workable access to every part of the system being cleaned, and a confirmed booking assumes that access exists at the agreed start time.
The cook line must be shut down and cold. Degreasing a hot appliance is unsafe and cleaning around live equipment is not done, which is the practical reason visits land after last service rather than during it. Cooking surfaces should be clear of food and small equipment, and anything that cannot get wet moved or covered before the crew arrives.
Beyond that: entry to the building, a key holder or a person able to let the crew in, alarm codes or somebody who can disarm the system, safe and lawful roof access where rooftop work is quoted, working power, hot water, and drainage the crew is permitted to use. Where roof access is controlled by a landlord or shared with other tenants, arranging permission before the visit is the responsibility of the operator, and it is the single most common cause of a delayed job in this city.
The crew does not work in unsafe conditions. That includes a roof that cannot be reached or worked safely in the weather on the day, a hatch or ladder that is not sound, live electrical hazards, and equipment that cannot be isolated. Judgement on site rests with the crew and no instruction from a customer overrides it.
What happens when a surface cannot be reached?
Any part of the system that cannot be safely or fully reached is recorded as not accessible on the certificate and in the photo report, and it is never recorded as cleaned.
This is the honest outcome and it is deliberate. A duct run with no access panels, a fan bolted flat to its curb with no safe way to lift it, a sealed riser section, or a roof that cannot be worked in the weather on the day all produce the same result: the surface is named, photographed where it can be photographed, and written down as unreached. You are told during the visit rather than after the invoice.
The report also states what would make the surface reachable next time, because a gap that repeats every visit is a compliance problem rather than a scheduling one. Usually the answer is fitting access panels along the duct run or an exhaust fan hinge kit at the fan. Both are quoted separately and neither is carried out without approval.
The reason for the discipline is simple. A certificate that quietly implies a sealed duct was cleaned is worth nothing to a fire inspector and less than nothing to an insurer examining a claim. A certificate that names exactly what was and was not reached is a document that survives being read carefully, which is the only kind worth issuing. What the standard requires of the system as a whole is set out on the NFPA 96 guide.
Cancellation, rescheduling, and payment
Bookings can be moved with reasonable notice at no charge, and invoices are issued after the work is complete on the terms printed on the quote.
Give as much notice as you can when a date has to move, ideally two full business days, and the visit is rebooked into the next workable slot. Kitchens run on surprises and a late change is treated as normal rather than penalised. The exception is a wasted attendance: where a crew arrives at the agreed time and cannot start because the building is locked, the line is still hot, the kitchen is still occupied, or roof access was never arranged, that visit may be charged. Work in Brantford, Grimsby and the towns beyond the city is grouped into scheduled runs, so a late cancellation there can push the rebooking further out than one inside Hamilton.
Payment terms are stated on the quote and repeated on the invoice. Institutional accounts, including hospital and long-term care food service, campus dining, contract caterers, and property-managed portfolios, are set up on their own purchase order and payment cycle before the first visit, so the paperwork is settled before anyone is on a roof. Late payment may attract interest at the rate stated on the invoice, and further bookings can be held while an account is outstanding.
If something about the work is not right, raise it promptly while the evidence is fresh. The photo report exists precisely so a disagreement gets settled by looking at pictures rather than trading recollections, and a genuine miss gets put right.
Liability, insurance, and the limits of the certificate
Hamilton Hood Cleaning carries WSIB coverage and liability insurance, supplies proof of both before work begins, and issues a certificate that records the condition of the exhaust system at the time of that cleaning.
Property managers, facilities departments, and institutional purchasing teams can be named as additional insured on request, and the request should be made at quote stage so the documents are correct before the schedule is set. Current coverage details are supplied with the paperwork for your job rather than published on this page, because the certificate in your hands is the only one that means anything.
Hamilton Hood Cleaning is responsible for damage caused by its own negligence in carrying out the work. It is not responsible for pre-existing conditions, for the consequences of a reported defect that was not repaired, for equipment failing through age or wear, or for losses arising where an operator did not meet their own fire code obligations. Where the building, the system, or the weather prevents part of the work being completed, the remedy is the documented record of what was and was not done.
The limits of the certificate deserve stating plainly. It records the condition of the exhaust system on the day it was cleaned, listing what was cleaned and what was not accessible. It is not a permanent compliance guarantee, it is not an inspection or service of the fire suppression system over the cook line, and it does not replace the day-to-day duties of the operator, which include keeping filters in place and in good condition, keeping the suppression system serviced by a qualified company, and booking the next cleaning on the correct interval for the cooking volume.
These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply in it, and the courts of Ontario have jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remainder continues to apply. Terms may be updated, and the version published here on the date your quote is issued is the version that applies to that work. How your information is handled is covered separately in the privacy policy, and any question about the above can go to the contact page or 289-796-0840.
Terms of service: frequently asked questions
The clauses operators ask about most often before approving a first quote.
How long is a quote valid?
A quote is normally held open for about 30 days from the date it is issued, and where the document states a different period, that one applies. After the window closes the same figure can usually be reissued once the scope is confirmed, because a kitchen that has run several more months since it was priced takes longer to bring back.
Does the kitchen have to be shut down before the crew arrives?
Yes. The cook line must be shut down and cold at the agreed start time, with cooking surfaces clear of food and small equipment. Degreasing hot appliances is unsafe and cleaning around live equipment is not done. That requirement is the practical reason visits are scheduled overnight and between service hours rather than during a shift.
What does the certificate actually prove?
It records the condition of the exhaust system on the day it was cleaned, naming what was cleaned and what could not be accessed, and it references the NFPA 96 standard. It is not a permanent compliance guarantee, it is not an inspection of the fire suppression system, and it does not replace the day-to-day duties of the operator or the obligation to clean again on the correct interval.
Is there a charge for cancelling or moving a booking?
No, provided reasonable notice is given, ideally two full business days. The exception is a wasted attendance, where a crew arrives at the agreed time and cannot start because the building is locked, the line is still hot, or roof access was never arranged. Scheduled runs to Brantford, Grimsby and the outlying towns rebook further out than work inside Hamilton, so notice matters more there.
Can Hamilton Hood Cleaning be named as NFPA certified on our compliance file?
No, because no such certification exists. Hamilton Hood Cleaning references the published NFPA 96 standard and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or certified by the National Fire Protection Association. If a compliance file needs a line, the accurate one is that the work was performed to the NFPA 96 standard and documented with photographs and a signed certificate.