Home Building advice do I need a GC ?

[BungeeII]

You can definitely GC your own house. Heck, you've already done a great deal of the work. There are some pitfalls...

First, it helps to have an idea of what you actually want. Sounds simple, right? Not always the case. This applies to materials and building methods.

Second, you must know that you're going to spend a lot of TIME on this. A LOT. Paperwork alone can drive you nuts.

Third, you must be patient. The building process is either at a dead stop or at 100mph. There is no in-between.

Next (but could easily be the First), it helps to have at least one good friend in as one of the subs. My ace in the hole was a friend in the business who is also an inspector. I only contracted him for my basement construction, but he was SUPER helpful, supportive and informative along the way.

Previous relationships with subs is awful helpful. I was friends with our basement, electric, plumbing, drywall and HVAC contractors. The concrete, septic, insulation and drywall were all direct referrals from the other trades and/or family. My insulation and gutter contractors were the only ones I couldn't call a friend or friend-of-a-friend.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I was my own GC for my house. You can have a problem with getting a construction loan doing it. The hard part is finding good subs. I knew some builders, and used some of their subs. I also did a fair amount of the work myself (framing, plumbing, electric, roofing, painting, finish carpentry, landscaping), and still got it done in 9 months while working full time. It's amazing how fast one can work when a bank is breathing down your back. READ books, and understand the construction process. I also designed my house, so I was very familiar with the plans.

 

[Kays Supply]

Here is my 2 cents worth. I am a plumbing contractor. I have been one for 26 years. I feel I do very good work. I will NOT work for a home owner contractor. If I can't get out of it, I bid in a very big cushion.

The generals I work for have schedules that have proven out over the years. When they call me to work, they are ready and the other subs haven't installed things in my way. Home owners usually aren't completely ready, won't admit it to me if I ask, some don't even have their paperwork done so money is not available, I can go on and on.

If you do it yourself, please do your homework, the good subs deserve it.

 

[saltman]

Thanks for all the information and advice. I got rid of the two GC's today. I am still mulling it over but am certain I will not use either of those guys.

I manage a business that does testing for Asbestos, Lead and Mold we do or did a lot of work with contractors so I already have a pretty good base and know enough people to get good advice and subs, I was a framer during the summers while in college and both my brother and Uncle are General Contractors in WA state.. So I am confident, I just don't want my full time job to suffer too much.

It sounds like the rest of he economy in other areas is much better than here?, I can drive by home Depot and find licensed electricians for hire where the migrant workers normally hang out, our building industry is dead in the water, they celebrated (rung a bell and clapped) the day I got my permit at the county and they have extended all the inspection periods giving guys like me more time to finish.

Thanks again, and I'll keep you posted, the house will be off grid, and really cool in a country kind of way.

 

[dave1949]

It sounds like the rest of he economy in other areas is much better than here?, I can drive by home Depot and find licensed electricians for hire where the migrant workers normally hang out, our building industry is dead in the water, they celebrated (rung a bell and clapped) the day I got my permit at the county and they have extended all the inspection periods giving guys like me more time to finish.

Thanks again, and I'll keep you posted, the house will be off grid, and really cool in a country kind of way.

Sounds like things are really slow there. I can't think of any new home construction around here, still see lots of elec., plumbing, roofing going on - people fixing up their homes. According to the news, CA, NV and FL are worst hit in real estate.

Looking forward to hearing about your building project.

Dave.

 

[KubotainNH]

You didn't mention if you were having a building loan. I agree with buckeyefarmer on a loan being tough to get, my first loaner ended up telling me no which set me back 6 months. I was the GC on mine but I had to have a supervisor who was in the industry (needed to send in his resume) and this after searching for someone to do the loan. Luckily I have a friend of the family that charged me a small fee to do this and he setup all the contractors and timing. Good thing he lives up the street because he was there often.

It worked out really well except for a snafu with the electrician. We poured the foundation in August, the drywall was completed in early December. I did all the finish wood work and painting. I also laid in the radiant heat piping plus other stuff like piping for central vac. Most of the contractors my sup picked were top notch. The framers built the structure in 4 days, that was amazing. This was basically a second job to me because I was there most weekdays, luckily I work 2nd shift. Like BungeeII says, full on or nothing. I wish you well.

 

[/pine]

Just about everything has been covered already...but even a quality and active GC can be duped by a sub contractor that is responsible for covering their own crews with workmans comp....and any liability will rest on thier shoulders make sure they are adequately bonded...

If you act as your own contractor...make sure every person on the job site is covered (with workman's comp)...

also get lien wavers from all subs and material suppliers when you pay them (if you finance through a bank they will probably want copies)

 

[The Haymaker]

I built my own place by mistake. I am a nuts and bolts guy, not a carpenter. Or so I used to say.

Here's the whole story of the above. My Dad gave me an acre located on a 15 acre plot which may someday be mine. My intention was to build my dream shop on it using out of pocket cash and stealing from my 401k. This would allow me to have my shop before being burdened with a big mortgage that I actually intended on paying without government help. What I ended up with was a 24x40-10' posted gambrel. I had lots of help from family members, and paid a contractor for the slab. That was mistake number one. Total investment at this point was about 15k.

During all this, I was renting a 200 year old house for 286 a month, heat included. The place began falling apart around me, with no sign of landlord funded repairs in sight. Soooooo........ The wonderful wife and I decided to finish off the upstairs. Finish it off we did. I took out a 15k home improvement loan and again started carpentering. This loan also covered installation of the septic. This time we did it alone. I started the first of september and spent the winter working 50-60 hours a week at the normal job, then spending friday, saturday, and half of sunday each week working on the house. We moved i the first of june. Burnt out? Yes. Lots of frustration due to learning everything on the fly? Yes. Learned a lot of new prayer words? YES! But, we ended up with a nice little place of our own complete with tile and hardwood flooring, and fancy colonial style trim through it's entirety. Best part about doing it ourselves? Do the math on the investment and realize that we have a home valued at over 100k, while paying 115 a month for a home improvement loan.

Moral of the story is, yes, you can do it yourself. With a lot of patience and even more stubbornness.

 

[vpnwiz]

Here is my 2 cents worth. I am a plumbing contractor. I have been one for 26 years. I feel I do very good work. I will NOT work for a home owner contractor. If I can't get out of it, I bid in a very big cushion.

Exactly, this was my experience. The 15% the GC charges you is saved on the discounts the subs quote his work.

Maybe everyone else posting here has done this in areas where subs bid their jobs for homeowner GC's as "real" GC's. I can tell you emphatically that was not the case in my area and I learned it the hard way...

If I ever build another house I will use an established GC, with my plans, my rules, my edits, I will be there 5 days a week etc... but I will use the most established GC around because you just can't do it cheaper on your own. No way, unless you do all the sub work yourself.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

FWIW, a little off topic.
I was talking to a builder the other day. He said that when things slowed down, he and other builders thought it would get rid of the inferior contractors. He said it's worked the other way around, the cheaper guys are still working, and the higher priced quality workers were let go.

When I was my own GC, I was surprised at the number of guys you would call, and they wouldn't even respond. I guess they had all the work they wanted. Hope they are still doing well, because the ones that dissed me, I haven't forgotten. You could also tell the ones that didn't want the work by their costs. If they responded, they would give you a ridiculously high price. Most of my subs came from referrals, some were guys doing side jobs. I definitely recommend being your own GC if you have some construction sense.

Don't overlook insurance. I took out a policy that covered the construction., I think it was called a builders risk policy. You might want to consider setting up your own business, to be able to set up your own accounts at supply houses. Some supply houses are real sticklers about only dealing with contractors, others are happy to make money. Supply houses are a lot less cost than going to HD and other box stores, but you gotta know what to ask for.