What Is A General Contractor?

What is a general contractor? If you own a home and want to remodel it, you need to understand what a general contractor is. In this post, I will explain what a general contractor does. I will also give examples of when you would want to hire a general contractor, and why they are helpful.

What Is General Contracting?

A general contractor supervises home remodeling and building projects. A general contractor generally does not do any of the actual labor on the project. Instead, they use the plans and specifications to lay out a timeline and budget for the project. Then, they hire the correct trades to get the work done.

Why Is A General Contractor Important?

In an ideal world, a homeowner would hire a general contractor to help with a remodel project from planning through completion of the remodel.

Planning Phase

Planning means coming up with the physical layout for the new space and specifying all the materials you want to use in the new space. Depending on the scope of work, a general contractor should have an architect, draftsman, and designer you can work with on this part of the project. You would pay for those services upfront. Have a conversation about your expectations for the level of work for the project. This helps the general contractor line up with the subcontractors who will give work that meets your expectations. The important thing for homeowners to note is that this phase is not free. Getting work done is costly.

There should be a very open conversation where you tell the general contractor your budget and what you want to accomplish. If the general contractor you’re working with doesn’t ask for this information, you need to bring it up. Otherwise, a lot of time, effort, and money can be spent putting together a plan that will cost too much.

For example, I had a guy call me yesterday about remodeling the primary bathroom in his home. He openly shared that he expected the remodel to cost approximately $25,000. In that initial conversation, I was able to communicate with him that the actual cost for the remodel he wants runs more along the lines of $45,000 – $50,000. That immediately told him he needed to either increase his budget or reduce the scope of his project. No time was wasted!

Bidding Phase

Once the design or planning phase is complete, the general contractor will obtain bids for materials and labor based on what you want to do and put back in the space.

Contract/Permit Phase

At the contract signing phase, you should very clearly understand what will happen on your project. You should know how much it is going to cost, when the work will start, and how long it will take. During this phase, all the materials for the project are usually ordered. Then, the laborers are notified that they are getting the job and given a schedule.

Construction Phase

During the construction phase, the general contractor will manage the work to ensure it gets completed to your specifications according to the budget and schedule. The general contractor is tasked with getting the different trades to show up, do a good job, and follow the specifications. During this phase, a general contractor should regularly communicate with you (2-4 times per week) to update you on what’s going on. If unforeseen problems happen, the general contractor’s job is to let you know the problem, a viable solution, and approximately how much it will cost to remedy it.

Wrap-Up Phase

At the end of the project, there is a wrap-up phase. Before the project is cleaned and handed over to you, you meet with the general contractor to walk through the project and not any items that need further attention. This is called a punch list. Then the general contractor will schedule the trades to come back and punch out the project. Then final cleaning and final payment to the general contractor will mark the project’s close.

Cost

A general contractor usually charges based on the cost of the job. For example, I have a line item in the bids I prepare for my clients for “indirect costs.” Those are things that are my cost to do business, but that cannot be directly tied to any job. Examples of this would be insurance, office rent, office supplies, payroll taxes, etc. This typically runs 2 – 5% of the project’s cost, depending on how challenging or accessible the project is, how long it will take, and how far it is from our office.

Then there is the project management fee. The fee is typically 20-25% of the project’s cost.

When To Hire A General Contractor

General Contractors are not required on home remodeling projects. Some homeowners choose to act as their own general contractor and hire various trades (or subcontractors). To act as your own general contractor, you need to have the following characteristics and traits:

1. Be available. You have to be able to meet each trade on-site multiple times.
2. Be organized. You will be keeping up with a lot of information and a lot of schedules. And, you are going to be paying a lot of bills. You need a system for all of this.
3. Good communicator. You need to tell trades EXACTLY what you want to be done when you want it done.
4. Knowledgeable. You have to know (or learn) what good work looks like. And, be able to skillfully handle a conversation with a trade when their work is not meeting your expectations.
5. Stress adverse. You have to be able to roll with less-than-ideal situations, come up with a solution, and keep trades happy.

If you don’t have one or more of these five abilities, you probably should hire a general contractor. If you have a complex project that involves adding or relocating walls, hiring a general contractor with experience with this kind of project is probably a good idea.

Real Examples

Some general contractors, myself included, are a hybrid that does both design and general contracting. I like to work with my clients to design their projects, bid them out, and manage the work. I’m not an architect or an interior designer, but I’m skilled enough in both areas that I can handle most additions and remodels for our clients. However, there are situations where I get too busy to handle this aspect, or a project is too complex for my abilities. In that case, I do have a very talented architect and interior designer whom I call on to help my clients.

Closing

A general contractor is a person you can hire to manage a group of quality trades to make your remodel dreams come true. When working with a general contractor, you should have someone who will advocate for you by:

• Hiring subcontractors to deliver a finished product meets your expectations, plans, and specifications.
• Bringing the project in on budget – see my blog about the cost of a remodel, here
• Completing the project on time
• They communicate updates regularly and guide you to make the best decision.

For more free information on home remodeling, visit my blog. I want you to remodel your home without fear of being ripped off, going massively over budget, or having your home torn up for months.

If you are already working on a home remodel and need some friendly, honest advice on what to do next, sign up for my 1-on-1 coaching! For 30 minutes, I will answer any question about home remodeling and work as hard as possible to get you over whatever is hanging you up.