Homeowners who act as their own General
Contractor
By: Bill Harbrecht
My immediate answer would be, probably not. The long answer would be
something like this:
It depends on a number of factors. Most homeowners who contract the job themselves
are trying to save the amount of money the contractor would have grossed on the
project. I guarantee you, the homeowner will not have a joyous time doing it.
No different than trying to sell your house without a real estate agent. I can't
speak for the Realtors but I can speak for the contractors. Contractors gross do
not approach the Realtors gross. It's a good idea if you can pull it off, but
most of the time you will find you can't.
You will find yourself with a mess on your hands. Not only a mess of problems,
(construction defects, contractor disputes as to who is at fault etc) but you
will not save nearly as much money as you thought you would.
A lot depends on the complexity of the project. If you are looking to pour a
cement patio or have aluminum siding put on your house then you need only to
call a cement contractor or a siding contractor. There is little preparation or
coordination necessary to accomplish what you want to do. If you read my
kitchens page on my web site (http://www.remodeling4dumbbells.com)
you know I am surprised more homeowners aren't doing a simple cabinet &
countertop redo by themselves.
I have built hundreds of shells for customers (Shells are usually projects built
to a point where the exterior roof & walls are complete and the interior is left
for the homeowner to finish himself.) The homeowner gets a good start on the
most difficult part of the construction and is competent enough to finish the
interior. In many cases the homeowner contracts the electric & heating to
others. Some times, if he is very competent, he does the electric and heating
himself.
Does he save money? Yes, he does. He saves all of the interior
carpenter labor.
The electric & heating contractor will charge him more (probably a lot more)
than a general contractor who is giving them a few hundred thousand dollars a
year worth of business. The homeowner still has to deal with inspections,
certificates of occupancy, underwriter certificate, cleanup, etc. In addition
the project will take forever to complete.
Homeowners who want to do the finish themselves have good intentions but some
are not as capable as others. Let me tell you of experiences I have had when
doing estimates. Over the years, at least a hundred times, the homeowner at some
point in the conversation would say something like this. "I could build this
myself but I don't have the time. Then he insisted he show me the finished
basement, attic, deck or whatever it was he did himself. He would then say:
"Would you believe I did this all myself?" After looking at his work I would
answer truthfully. "Yes" There are more reasons why I believe it is in your best
interest to hire a general contractor. If your project demands a building permit
then you will need a set of building plans to submit to the building department.
If you have read any of my books you know you do not need an architect at a cost
starting at $700- $800. You will be spending money that is not necessary.
If you are going to do it right then you will have to call in three contractors
on each trade involved in your project to get decent pricing on each:
Carpenters, plumbers, electricians, spacklers, heating & air, cement etc. This
alone is a daunting task. When you are all done you will still not get a price
as good as a general contractor. Many of these contractors are so busy that they
don't care whether you hire them or not. They will throw you a price (any price)
& if you bite, fine. If not, they don't need you.
In many cases you will be asked to provide the material & its cost up front. You
can expect appointment promises that will not be kept. You will have to
coordinate the timing of the trades in the correct order. You will order yellow
& have blue delivered, you will order 100 & receive 90, you will have damaged
goods delivered that have to be returned & credited. You will have people
falling off your roof & injuring themselves.
I could go on, but suffice it to say, it is a much tougher job than it appears
to be. Will the savings be worth it? Is $500, $1000, $1500 or more worth the
added time & work on your part? That is a question you will have to decide for
yourself. There is a reason contractors exist. If it was easy & significant
amounts of money were to be saved then most people would contract themselves.
Most people don't.
About the Author: This article was written by Bill Harbrecht of
http://www.remodeling4dumbbells.com.
Remodeling4dumbbells.com is a great resource for information about all facets of
home remodeling in general & room additions in particular.
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- Should You Contract Your
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