Should I Hire a General Contractor or Manage the Project Myself?

General Contractor

General Contractor

When you’ve made a decision to build a new home, remodel your current home, or simply undertake some repair work, you can either act as the project manager yourself, or you can hire a general contractor to take on the headaches. Most homeowners choose to have a licensed professional oversee everything – and wisely so.

Any project that involves building or remodeling is a big undertaking. Even a simple remodel can require the services of a carpenter, a plumber, a painting contractor and an electrician – to name just a few of the potential contractors who may have to be involved. Somebody has to coordinate them all and keep them on schedule. That’s the job of a general contractor.

The painter can’t do his work until the sheet rocker has finished, and the flooring contractor can’t get going until the painter is done. In this chain, if anything gets held up, the entire schedule may need to be adjusted. Moreover, permits must be obtained, supplies ordered and paid for, plus each subcontractor must be paid. To say that things can get complicated is an understatement.

So, unless you are prepared (and capable) of doing all this, you should not hesitate to use a general contractor. He will have his own team and reliable connections to subcontractors he has worked with on other projects. He’ll supervise every phase of your build or remodel, and pay his staff and the subcontractors from the payments you make to him in terms of the agreement made prior to commencement of the work.

 
Cody Byrd
 

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