The perils of home renovation and building are legend. Every job estimate seems to double in the end for both cost and time; endless delays and surprise, money-sucking mistakes prove that. Then there are the surly contractors, the mixed-up lumber order, the mistaken measurements -- in short, anything that can go wrong probably will.
So it can be tempting to have the final say in a project. To be the one who hires the right people, inspects the materials personally, checks and double-checks figures and costs, and -- perhaps most importantly -- both makes the rules of the project and enforces them. If that appeals to you, than you might be considering acting as your own general contractor. But should you?
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First off, let's establish what the responsibilities of a general contractor on a construction job are by first explaining what a GC doesn't do. He isn't the one hammering the nails in or installing the plumbing. In general, a general contractor doesn't actually work on the house; she coordinates the work of all the other subcontractors needed to finish the project. (In Britain they're referred to as main contractors; you also might see prime contractor, which refers to government hires.) Carpenters, roofing professionals, plumbers and so on are all subcontractors, hired to complete one specific part of a project.
The GC is a go-between, in many ways. Generally, this person helps facilitate the relationship and communicate the vision among an architect, a client and the contractors. That includes a variety of duties: hiring subcontractors, ordering materials and supplies, pulling the correct permits, scheduling each part of the process and even bookkeeping.
If you're pondering acting as your own GC on a project, first consider scope. Are we talking building a new home or just a mid-sized bathroom remodel? Remember that the more moving parts you have in a job, the more you'll have to keep track of.
Next, are you taking out a loan for the project? Some banks might be leery of granting large-scale credit if they know that no professional GC is going to be watching over the process.
Most importantly, be honest about your own experience. While you might have a keen interest in construction or remodeling, that doesn't a professional make. Part of being a GC involves having some pretty specific knowledge of several trades; knowing a lot about carpentry doesn't help much when you're overseeing roofing or negotiating a contract for an electrician.
In the next few pages, we'll weigh the pros and cons of promoting yourself to general contractor.
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