Do I need a general contractor to build a house?

[buckeyefarmer]

Even with a great GC for our church building build, I still caught wrong insulation on an exterior wall. You definitely have to be on top of things either way.

 

[JDZ735M]

Even with a great GC for our church building build, I still caught wrong insulation on an exterior wall. You definitely have to be on top of things either way.

Good thing you were watching!

 

[geteh]

I gotta buddy. He is a gearhead, handyman extraordinare, jack of many trades. Some years back, he bought a chunk of ground, took his out of state architect friend plans and decided to have a go of it. Five thousand feet, two story place. He acted as his own GC and hired all the subs...........Ten years later he started repairing stuff. Repeat, repairing stuff, all to what his satisfaction was.

A few years later, after defects up the wazoo, that he fixed, he sold it. The new buyer did a small addition and found 'significant defects'. New buyer sued the ship out of my buddy to the tune of 275k, and won easily. The point is, you gotta be a DETAIL driven individual. I wouldn't buy anything used from my bud, though I love him dearly. And he is a good fixer, not a master.

I've got a real old place, over the last forty years we have hired out some major projects. I even worked on a couple with some buds who were pretty good, but not the best. The projects that we had done by the Best are the Best. I gotta lot of respect for those much handier than myself construction & remodeling, but if I want the best, I look for the best and let them have at 'er.

Can anyone give any advice to a first time builder — wanting to take on task of being the general contractor. Is it plausible? Any idea of cost saving?

 

[WM75Guy]

We had the same GC that built the spec home we bought in 2006 for our custom house we built in 2009. He did it for cost plus 12%. He had the best subs in the area pretty well locked up for his projects. I hired a plans designer for the blueprints, took us 3 months to get what we wanted. I worked with each sub on options and price. In the end I saved over $25,000 from the initial $350,000 estimate for the house and came out with a better product. Not having to manage schedules, material deliveries, and payments to subs was great.

Still, I was at the jobsite almost every day, which was tough having a full-time day job. The GC was over the house build but I was the GC for the stables we built. Morton built the building and did the concrete, but I contracted the site work, plumbing, electrical, and cabinets out to subs of my choosing. Fortunately I was able to use most of the same subs that did the house, except for plumbing.

 

[scaredychicken]

Just because you Can, doesn't mean that you Should.

If this is a Bucket List kinda thing, then by all means, Do It, be your own GC, because you will be paying attention, and you won't ever regret the accomplishment of knowing that you achieved that goal. Even better if you know people in the Construction trades, because they are a wealth on information and experience.


It would not be in my best interest to be a GC on a build that I would do. That said, I know nothing about the construction trade(s), other than general concepts. I am a very detail oriented guy, ... fine print, legal documents, contracts, financial numbers, administration, coordinating/leading meetings - that kind of stuff. (I will still go to a lawyer to prepare a will though).

However, I don't have the experience, time, knowledge, patience, skill set, or even connections with the trades OR suppliers, to take such a feat at this point in my life. That is why (for me) a GC would earn their keep. I could probably manage coordinating a small reno however. I did that much several years ago, when we split the house in half, and created a basement suite. The builder on that occasion was a good friend, he set things up and singlehandedly did most of the physical work, and I basically assisted by being available as supplies and trades people arrived. That still required a huge amount of my time. I was the clean up crew.

I am planning a small barn build (30 ft x 40 ft), but that will need a GC. That way, I can stick with tinkering on the cars, equipment, workshop ...

All The Best with your build. Exciting Times

 

[YanmarFever]

My lovely wife and I have built 2 homes, we were the GC for both of them. What we could not do, we hired out and watched that everything was done to code.
The first house a GC quoted us a fair price, but all the materials were low grade. We decided to do it ourselves and we found out that we could buy the best materials with my contractors license and be money ahead, so we built it.

By the time we did the 2nd house, it was a lot easier since we had been down that path before.

It did help that my business was at home already in a large shop out back so that I could be there and keep an eye on things.

Its also hard to be your own general if you borrow the money from a bank cause they are always on top looking down and there are time lines to get things moving quickly.
We took our sweet time, a year and a half, and God just worked everything out in the end.

If you take out a contractors license, you can buy materials at a nice discount, and not hard to do.
I was a licensed contractor but not a builder of houses.

We are building a 40 x 120' building at the moment for storage of farm items, I will start a new thread on it when all the pictures are ready.

 

[Renze]

I can afford it but I will also be twiddling my thumbs watching others do the work if I hire this out.

Hoping others here can give some advice.

My advice: Ask a price to build the house casco: Wind and water tight, then you can finish the rest.

The contractor is responsible for the structural things such as, that the building is footed on solid ground (my sisters house they had to dig to 6 feet to find solid sand, because they hit an old creek bed full of sediment, which remains spongy forever)

Also, i think youre getting in over your head if you do it alone. My other sisters house was built by her father in law who retired early. He was a construction worker and oversaw hired bricklayers, and for concrete pouring all lads from two families showed up. Scaffolding and goods lift were borrowed from her father in laws former employer, and they could just drive there a few miles to pick up some materials when they were stopped by some missing 2 by 4's

Would you purchase all the equipment such as forms, scaffolding, goods lift, boom crane, for this job, or rent it ?

I think its going to take you so long on your own that its becoming a pain in the ass to you. If you hire a construction company to do the concrete work and exterior walls, you can do the inside, plumbing, stair, and electric at your own pace while seeing progress every day, without needing all the special equipment. Plus you can work irrespective of weather, under roof, and leave your tools behind locked doors when youre not there. Just lock the door and walk away, come back when you feel like it.

Maybe you feel confident enough about your ability to bear final responsibility for a construction project, but even then, i would farm out sections to speed up the project and avoid having to rent or buy special equipment.

My father built his own pig barns, first he hired a contractor to do the job and watch and learn, later he masoned the manure pits and poured the floors, and then let masons do the visible brick walls on an hourly basis, he would supply stones to the scaffolds before milking, and mix cement after milking, so that the masons were ready to hit the ground running when they arrived at 7:30
But he had aquired basic knowledge of construction by watching the contractor work, and ask questions, the first barn he had built.

10 years ago one barn was demolished. The contractor hired another 20 ton excavator because he wanted to spare his new to him, 2 year old excavator. The contractors father asked which contractor had built those slurry pits, because a 14 ton excavator could hardly break the near granite blue concrete slab of just 4 1/2 inch and a single 1/4" welded rebar web. With the 20 ton excavator they pulled slabs out of the ground the size of a dumptruck, they had to drop it on another piece of concrete to size it down to fit in the dumptruck. Well, pops built that. He threw an extra shovel of cement in the mixer, and watered it three times a day to maximise curing, for a week, because he said youve got only one chance to do it right.

 

[Renze]

Can anyone give any advice to a first time builder — wanting to take on task of being the general contractor. Is it plausible? Any idea of cost saving?

If you have to ask the TBN community if you can, you cant.

You dont get the discounts a contractor gets at the wholesalers, youre going to make costly mistakes, such as pouring concrete floors first and find out you forgot some plumbing or conduit that had to be cast in, and the such. Once done, you can be a general contractor by the valuable lessons learned, but the money saved you will spend as learning fee by mistakes.

 

[duffer]

If I read your original post correctly, this is the first build ever for you. Unless you're one helluva handyman, I'd suggest not doing it on the first, or even the 2nd build. You not only need to be very detailed, but you also need to think 2-3 subs ahead, and know what they need from the current sub, for them to do a good job, when they get there.

In my neck of the woods, you won't find a sub willing to work with a newbie "one and done" builder (yourself). At least not any good subs. You'll always be at the bottom of the priority list for the subs you do get, because they are beholden to the GC's that give them constant business.

I've built the last 7 homes as the GC. And even on the last one, I hired a GC to get it weather tight. Foundation, framing, windows, roof. I paid him a flat fee to get it that far, and I took it over from there. I bought the materials, he supplied the subs. Worked out well.

 

[oosik]

The house we built here - a double wall PanAbode. 100% Western Red cedar - out of Redmon, WA. EXACTLY like assembling a Lincoln log structure - only is double walled. Foil backed urethane insulation fills the four inch space between the walls. Exposed beam throughout the house with four inches of foil backed insulation under the shingles on the roof.

We ( myself, wife & son ) did everything except the foundation and carpeting in the living room. Took us five months.

That was 1982 - when we came down from Alaska. House has require no repairs in those 42 years.

The house isn't that big - 1600 sq ft - just right for our retirement.

 

[orezok]

I was. GC for 40 years. Early in my career, I built 2000 dwelling units. Single family, duplex, 4 plex and condos. When I built my custom home, I hired a GC!

I was at the time building public works projects with project cost of $25 to $105 million.

It’s not always the skills you have, but having the time to properly do it. By the time I built my house, I had lost contact with the shack builder subs and public works contractors are a totally different breed. Your electrical sub or HVAC sub who are doing $10 million dollar contracts aren’t much interested in a single house.

Yes, I did a physical inspection every day or 2, but my GC was exceptional and had very few issues.

 

[fatjay]

The tricky part would be the ability to find and coordinate good subs. IMO that would be hard to do in today's environment unless you have already established relationships. That is where a GC is worth his markup.

When I was building my shop, after 15min of talking talking with every sub i was considering, they lose the opportunity. I ask them to tell me exactly what they plan to do, how they'll do it, and the cost. And they reply with they plan to do substandard work for an outrageous price. And this is why I ended up doing everything myself, while saving money, while learning something new.

 

[dstig1]

Thread is over 2 years old now... @Root Cause did you ever complete the project and how did it go?

 

[t1kilo]

Geteh, for someone to tell you "No, you can't do it" is a bit condescending IMHO. Self contracting doesn't mean that you're physically doing all the work. It just means that it's up to you to do all the scheduling of subs, materials delivery, etc. It also falls on you to pay the bills on time and to make sure the bank is happy. If you have the skill set and time to do something like plumbing or electrical, then by all means, plan to do that and save some money.

I self contracted my home and moved in 5 years ago this spring. It took 12 months and there was a bank involved. The good thing about having the bank involved is that there was a deadline for getting it done, so I was less likely to slack off. I did my own electrical, painting, and a few other odds and ends. Before I started, I did a lot of research. I had a really good idea of what my costs were going to be, down to the LED light bulbs that would be used. Planning on new appliances? Include them in your numbers. Doing high end appliances in your kitchen? Include them in your numbers, and so on. Make sure that you have a contingency built in. It's better to come in under budget than to exceed it. If you are financing, have all of your homework organized in a binder before you meet with your banker, and make it easy for them to give you a yes. Banks really don't like self contracted homes most of the time (at least that was my experience).

FWIW, I am a die hard DIY guy. I make my living in IT, but my passion is my family, property and animals. I'm not involved in the trades, but I know people that are. With their help, I was able to put together a crew of great subs that with only one or two exceptions, I would love to hire again if I were to ever build another house. So, do your homework and dive in is my suggestion!

 

[Renze]

Geteh, for someone to tell you "No, you can't do it" is a bit condescending IMHO.

Its just protecting the ignorant from getting in way over their head. Here in Holland theres a TV show called "help, my husband is DIY" where the wife calls a construction crew with a camera crew to help finish stranded house remodeling projects. And those are simple projects like adding a sleeping room in the garage, or extending the kitchen, not planning an entire house build.

If you have to ask the TBN community if you could, it means you have noone in your circles who has any construction experience, and can give you solid advice based on their expertise versus how they know your skills.

In that case the only honest answer is: leave the planning to a GC untill youre at least under roof.

 

[CliffordK]

My neighbor said that he acted as the general contractor when his current house was built. I'm not sure of all of his previous experience, but he was a millwright, and perhaps a manager at work.

In my case... well, let's start with my father who apparently helped his parents build their house when he was young. That house was a fairly modest box shaped house from the 1950's.

Then when I was young we built my parent's house. An extraordinary experience for two young boys.

Let's see. Custom designed with the help of a local architectural student (with previous commercial architect experience). I believe the county required an engineering analysis to approve the plans.

Excavation was contracted out. And septic tank was also contracted out.
We formed up the foundation, and I believe poured the foundation.
Hired out concrete block work to a "retired" mason for foundation walls, and an integral brick wall in the middle of the house. He did some excellent work.

Our previous neighbor was a licensed electrician. He did moonlighting work to help coordinate the electrical work. But, I did most of the pulling wires and wiring plugs and switches at age 13. An excellent experience.

I think we also did most of the plumbing.

We did hire the architect to help build the house during the summer. A unique arrangement. And, a few other "handyman" type laborers.

We did the sheetrocking, but hired out taping and spackling.

Kitchen cabinets were made by a local company.

My parents did pay worker's comp on all employees, and have continued to do that for any farm employees that they have.

Oh, and while we were building the house, my parents had the main barn structure contracted to be built.

Financing was mentioned earlier. I don't remember all of the details. The land was mortgaged, but I believe the house lot technically had to be paid off. My grandparents loaned my parents some of the money for building the house. And, at some point we moved into a pair of trailer houses on the property and sold the previous house to raise funds for the building.

Mom had a rule, we couldn't move into the house until it was done (or 99% done).

Overall it turned out very nice for self built houses.

In Oregon, most construction, electrical, and plumbing can be done by owner occupants.

I've done some remodeling and maintenance projects over the years.

I'm wanting to build a large "finished" workshop, although a little stuck getting started.

Many of the building codes are the same now as they were 50 years ago. However, one of the issues that I'm running into is there are a lot of new construction techniques. We did galvanized pipe in the barn and copper pipe in the house. Modern construction uses PEX which has quite a few advantages. Other fields such as insulation has evolved over the years.

Anyway, it would take a bit to keep on top of all the modern technologies.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

I recently retired after thirty years as a Construction Engineer. I worked for one of the big three home builders, as projects manager, for a few years. Did Facilities Engineering for the Forest Service for the last decade and a half, building and taking care of the buildings on two forests. I grew up in house my father was building, and worked for a general remodeling contractor when in my teens. I can do journey level work in most of the trades, except finishing drywall and painting, (color blind engineers should just stay away from paint).

I'm certified as a code inspector for all phases of residential construction. And have done half a dozen remodel and flips.

I'm designing an ADA compliant house for my sister, to be built on one of my extra lots. I could act as the GC and will if I have to. But I would really rather hire someone else to handle it. Doing it right is a lot of work, and requires a pretty broad skill set, which most folks just don't have.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

I am recently retired. I have done my own repairs or upgrades in regards to electrical and plumbing over the years.
I can do basic carpentry and have the tools to build anything.
I have project management experience in the manufacturing world.

I recently bought an IRC 0016 book online to review and have house drawings approved with an architect's stamp.

My son recently had a house built and says that he became his own contractor as he went there daily to see the work and got up to speed by asking the builders questions. I know contractors manage more than just overseeing the work but I am wondering if it's necessary.

I know enough about carpentry, electricity, and plumbing but I don't feel I know enough about footers, foundation, and waterproofing (basement) to do this on my own.
The foundation scares me a bit. i know a big box company has a reputation for cutting corners but I don't know the details. I am considering hiring a qualified contractor to oversee this up to the point where the concrete is all poured and is ready for framing.

I can afford it but I will also be twiddling my thumbs watching others do the work if I hire this out.

Hoping others here can give some advice.

You really, really, really, really, do need a GC. A good GC pays for himself. You won't have any connection with or knowledge of the subs. You won't know who is good or bad and they won't have any reason to prioritize you, show up to your site on time, or do a good job because you aren't a steady source of work for them, like the GC is. A smaller GC may be willing to let you do some of the finish work yourself and discount the job for the work you did. This has worked for me on two different builds.

 

[bigtiller]

I hired a builder that did his own general contracting to build my house. DON'T do that. There was no one to correct his mistakes. His favorite line was "it'll be alright."

 

[geteh]

Just because you Can, doesn't mean that you Should.

If this is a Bucket List kinda thing, then by all means, Do It, be your own GC, because you will be paying attention, and you won't ever regret the accomplishment of knowing that you achieved that goal. Even better if you know people in the Construction trades, because they are a wealth on information and experience.


It would not be in my best interest to be a GC on a build that I would do. That said, I know nothing about the construction trade(s), other than general concepts. I am a very detail oriented guy, ... fine print, legal documents, contracts, financial numbers, administration, coordinating/leading meetings - that kind of stuff. (I will still go to a lawyer to prepare a will though).

However, I don't have the experience, time, knowledge, patience, skill set, or even connections with the trades OR suppliers, to take such a feat at this point in my life. That is why (for me) a GC would earn their keep. I could probably manage coordinating a small reno however. I did that much several years ago, when we split the house in half, and created a basement suite home remodeling in new york. The builder on that occasion was a good friend, he set things up and singlehandedly did most of the physical work, and I basically assisted by being available as supplies and trades people arrived. That still required a huge amount of my time. I was the clean up crew.

I am planning a small barn build (30 ft x 40 ft), but that will need a GC. That way, I can stick with tinkering on the cars, equipment, workshop ...

All The Best with your build. Exciting Times

thank you so much for your suggestion