Anybody tried being your own General Contractor

[homewithtwins]

We are thinking of building a new house and acting as our on General Contractor.. The idea of saving 10%-20% on the construction cost is appealing. I was wondering if any of you have done it and did you really save that much money. I know it is a pain to do but if the savings are that great I am willing to do it.

I have the advantage of having a father and father-in-law both retired from building trades but, unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it, they both live two hours away.

[Don-Dad]

Check around your local lumbar yards, they might have plans and can assist you in being your own contractor. We just built a house but not as our own contractor so I cannot give much insight. But my bro in law built his own house and used a local lumbar yard for alot of services.

I believe some builders, like Barden homes , help you be your own contractor as well. http://www.bardenhomes.com/constuct_owner.asp

[Weston]

I would think very long and hard before trying something like that. Are you willing to meet sub-contractors at anytime during the day (not always at your convenience) Or deal with subs who don't show up on time, pushing back the whole project.

Sorry to sound negative, but I know a few people who did what you are thinking of doing and they regretted it (they were also in building trades and were familiar with the problems involved)

I'm not saying not to do it, I'm just saying not to take the job lightly. There's a reason why you would be saving a lot of money. :wink:

[Jackson's Dad]

We had to renovate a few rooms in our house after we bought it. We looked at being our own contractor or hiring one, and decided to hire. The amount of coordination that is needed is insane (even for a renovation) and beyond my abilities. Luckily, we found a great contractor, who did the job fast, and well. Because he hires his subs all the time, they trust each other, and they respond to him. For example, we had a problem with the plumbing late one afternoon. Our contractor called and got he owner of the plumbing company himself to come out that evening to fix the problem. If it was me calling, I might have been lucky to get them in a week or two.

Then again, I know someone who built her house by herself, with just some help from friends on the weekend.