What did you learn from your g.c that helped out on the past remodels and what did you learn from those projects in general? That past experience can be extremely helpful if you gained insight from any of it positive or negative.

If you have an idea of the steps involved concerning lining up subs and dealing with them, use the m.o. of your past g.c as im sure he/she did a lot of that legwork, but if you paid attention to that detail, then it will help you out now.

I think it depends on how much you paid attention to your past g.c concerning the process of the past remodels. Some homeowners are very involved w/ their g.c's, while others just let it happen and wait for it to all end w/ little participation on their part.

I was very involed, asked numerous questions and was there observing the work in progress. I think I learned a great deal from our contractor. I know his job was difficult and I do not consider undertaking this task lightly. I believe the most difficult aspect of the project for me would be coordinating the site prep/foundation/framing/window/roof work which will all be handled by the "shells" contractor. I generally know the order in which the finish subs need to do their work, and to this end I would read up as well.

I do wonder, however, how much I would actually save if I have to consider that my subs probably will not give me the same price (or discount) they to the trade (other GC's)-- making my savings fairly slim. I will probably get quotes from GCs and "subing" it out on my own.

I also have concerns about checking the work of the subs -- which I guess is somewhat minimalized by the fact that I have worked with most of them before. But still I have concerns about not knowing whether the plumber has done his job properly, etc.

You might want to consider an onsite supervisor to oversee the physical work is being done to standards and code while you deal w/ the business end of lining up the subs, scheduling material drop offs, payments,etc.

I am not in the building trades, I am organized and detail oriented by nature and I am not afraid to ask questions. I consider myself to be pretty intelligent, too. I GC'd a project which involved completely reconfiguring 1/2 of the main floor of our home. We moved our kitchen to another spot in our house which involved knocking out an original exterior brick wall, changing headers, plumbing, electric, adding/changing windows etc etc. I did this while working a full-time job outside of the home, but it's a job that offerred me the flexibility to be at home as needed.

In our planning for this project, we interviewed at least 5 GCs or subs for each part of the job. Each gave me different tips of things to look out for/plan for. I asked questions about how their piece would fit into the overall project. Once we decided that I would GC, and the project got underway, I pretty much knew what would come next and planned for it. As it turned out, during the 3 month project, we had only 1 week of downtime because the brick wall removal and header concerns involved an unexpected visit from a structural engineer which we didn't expect.

I figure we saved 35-40% on our project. To us, that is very significant.

Your comments are confusing. One minute you say you have great licensed subs and the next you say you don't trust them. Which is it? You also sound like you don't have faith in your own abilities. If you do your homework, you can also work with your local building department and inspectors to get what they can offer. If you've been involved in your last projects, give yourself more credit than you appear to be doing. GC'ing is very detail oriented but homeowner's can do it.

Hi Paster. Thanks for your comment. About the subs -- I have great confidence in the electrician and our finish carpenter, but I had problems with each of the three plumbers we used for our five jobs -- one tended to take short-cuts and I caught him being a little lazy on the finish work; the second was good, but very expensive and nickled and dimed us to death (when all was said and done, we re-plumbed about 65% of the house) the scope of the third was limited (he seems good, but I have used him for small jobs) so I have withheld judgment. Where we live, it seems that most of the time the horror stories I hear are with the plumbers (sorry guys, I know there are good ones out there), so I guess my reservations are in that department.
I'm intrigued regarding your comment about working with your local building department and inspectors -- I live in suburban NY and the around here the building department inspectors are perceived as difficult and not helpful. Are you saying to check with them regarding reputable subcontractors? Thanks.

When we did our remodel, plumbing was our problem area, too. We just kept after them until we were satisfied. I'd speak to every friend and acquaintance you have to get plumbing referrals, and then interview/talk to them all. You could also join Angie's List if it's available in your area to see the recommendations that other homeowners have provided.

Re the building department - I meant that if you speak with them at length, you will find out how a job should be done. The guys behind the desk in our village (who don't actually inspect) know the building code, know our village's old home quirks and they were a very valuable asset to me in overseeing the work being done. The inspectors themselves weren't much help. If your area is anything like ours, they won't give referrals about reputable contractors, but they might tell you the firms who work alot in your town. Where we live, contractors who work here MUST be licensed in our village to actually work here. As a result, there are regulars who do alot of work here and their reputation travels with them. See what the status is where you live re contractors being registered and who is at the building department often.

I'm glad you posted this. We're in exactly the same position: about to build an addition and going back and forth on whether to hire a GC or just the subs directly. We're devout DIY-ers, so we'll finish the inside, and thus only need 3 subs: foundation, framing/windows/roof, and brick.

I browsed through some of the old posts on this forum looking for related posts, and someone recommended a book that I've ordered online called What Your Contractor Can't Tell You: The Essential Guide to Building and Renovating. I've also browsed a local bookstore and found a reference guide to building codes, if you want to educate yourself about what they should be doing. I've also found the good people of GW to be extremely knowledgeable and able to pipe up quickly to tell you if something's being done wrong. So you could always take a photo of the plumber's work before it gets covered up, post it, and ask for critiques.

My boss used to work in construction, and he said GC'ing yourself would probably save around 20%.

We've decided we're going to bid out the shell to GCs (we've gathered 3 from recommendations), and if it's over a price point we've got in our minds, we'll go the self-GC route.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Your architect should be able to provide a good set of plans & specifications and review the work of the subs so you can avoid most construction problems.

We have been the general contractor on three and one tenth houses (the one tenth being our current one ... just ramping up with this one). It is hard work, but as others said, if you paid attention to previous GCs and ask questions you can do it, save money and make sure the work is to YOUR standards. We have the added benefit of having a great carpenter who can spot shoddy workmanship a mile away and he helps us check the workmanship. We pay him hourly, so if he spends 5-10 hours on GC issues, it's good in the long run. He also smooths over issues with subcontractors that don't want to deal with homeowners. If you could find someone like that to come in at critical points and assist, it'll work. Also -- get permits -- the city inspector can be a great savior. Good luck!

Our project is more like 500 sq ft inside space and 500 of porch space. My architect gave me a quote of arount 200,000-300,000 range!!!!! O-M-G! He added 80,000 for inside reconfiguring (we are adding closets). No bathrooms and no kitchen space --- just bedroom space. We live in NY but this seems excessive, no?