Do I need a general contractor to build a house?

[hslogger]

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, but if I want the best, I look for the best and let them have at 'er.

 

[MasseyFerg231]

That might be true some places but the building inspectors here maintain a high quality standard.

No, it’s true that the building code is the minimum amount required unless there is no standard enforced.

 

[4570Man]

No, it’s true that the building code is the minimum amount required unless there is no standard enforced.

What if the minimum amount required is still a good standard? Modern diesels only meet the minimum emission standards. Is anyone claiming they still burn dirty? The building code doesn’t dictate the quality of the finish furnishings which is what I would do better vs the guts of the house.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

What if the minimum amount required is still a good standard? Modern diesels only meet the minimum emission standards. Is anyone claiming they still burn dirty? The building code doesn’t dictate the quality of the finish furnishings which is what I would do better vs the guts of the house.

The IBC is the minimum required to pass an inspection for an ultimate Certificate of Occupancy. You can over build all you want, as long as it passes the minimum requirement... Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

 

[JasperFrank]

Always had to have the conversation with contractors, that under "Time and Materials," I want their best work. NEVER WORK WITH A BID! Bids never worked for me. Under a time and materials concept there isn't a mechanic's lien. You buy the materials, they do the time. You can fire or hire anyone you want. Just have cash on hand to fire that person you don't want.

 

[4570Man]

The IBC is the minimum required to pass an inspection for an ultimate Certificate of Occupancy. You can over build all you want, as long as it passes the minimum requirement... Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

I’ve actually at times had problems with over building “because we don’t have a chart for that” or “that’s not what the engineering drawings says”. I also got failed for not bending rebar in a footer good enough to suit them when code doesn’t even require the use of rebar. I could have taken it every bit out and passed code but since it was there it had to be bent properly. Who thinks up this crap?

 

[MasseyFerg231]

What if the minimum amount required is still a good standard? Modern diesels only meet the minimum emission standards. Is anyone claiming they still burn dirty? The building code doesn’t dictate the quality of the finish furnishings which is what I would do better vs the guts of the house.

I would say that accessibility and emergency egress sections of the code are good minimums off hand along with span tables for lumber. As far as performance of your building, codes leaves ALOT to be desired. I’ll give you a real life example of where the code minimum was not a good minimum. In 2007/08 we had to remove all siding from three house that were each three stories tall. The reason was that the code (and inspectors) allowed electro-galvanized nails,hangers and straps to be used on CCA treated wood. Well the builder “upgraded” the owner and fully sheathed the house with pressure treated plywood. The house was within 2,500 feet of the Gulf of Mexico. The houses were all built in 2004. After an extensive inspection it was determined that over 50% of the sheathing nails had rusted away The builder followed the code, the homes suffered damage, the report bills for each home were in the neighborhood of $75,000. I would have rather spent the $2,000 to $3,000 dollars extra on the “guts” than on the nice finishes had I purchased the house. Countertops and trim are easy to change later.

 

[hosspuller]

On the question of sub contractors or trade people. A general contractor hires subs for tens or hundreds thousands of dollars of work. The owner / GC is a single job. Whose job is priority ? Construction is a ballet of many trades. A single misstep or failure to show can throw the whole project out of schedule through cascading scheduling failures. Example... If the electrical isn't done, the sheet rock can't finish, which throws the painter out, which throws the cabinet worker out, which delays the install of appliances, etc..

Unless the owner is doing all or most of the work, a good GC is a must.

 

[4570Man]

I highly doubt the electro galvanized nails were rated for PT lumber. Using the improper nails and the code inspectors not noticing doesn’t mean the building code was inadequate.

 

[Fxfymn413]

I highly doubt the electro galvanized nails were rated for PT lumber. Using the improper nails and the code inspectors not noticing doesn’t mean the building code was inadequate.

It is a fallacy to believe that an inspector is going to catch every mistake. The GC has to be willing to want to do it right and hold their subs to that standard. On a commercial job the Superintendent is the most crucial person who had best know what the code requires and is making sure the subs adhere to it.

Getting and holding onto good inspectors is difficult for most shops because for the most part inspectors come from the trades and inspector jobs just don't compare salary wise. It also takes several weeks to get them certified so even if you make a hire they may not be able to start doing inspections right away. And just like contractors there are good and bad inspectors. That is why I encourage anyone who believes the inspector is wrong to call the building department and ask to speak to a supervisor.

My part of the inspection process mostly took place when the building was almost complete and the developer was striving to get the OP so he/she did not renege on the financing. It would gall us when we discovered blatant code violations which the super missed and then we got blamed for holding up the OP. And yes I would hear from my boss and the politicians about why we failed them.

I also got failed for not bending rebar in a footer good enough to suit them when code doesn’t even require the use of rebar.

The code is developed based on real life experience and laboratory testing. The inspector probably did you a favor by making you do it right instead of letting you spend your money to put something in that might ultimately not do what you wanted it to do. Yeah, it sucked at the time, but no one ever went to bed at night and thought "I'm glad I didn't do that right."