I’ve acted as GC on my last few renovation projects, one which involved three bathroom gut remodels and a brand new kitchen with all new appliances and cabinets, new hardwood floors, doors, and moving walls. Subs I had: (1) paint/general construction/drywall, (2) plumber, (3) tile, (4) floor guy. I did the bulk of this in about a month and a half, with just little aesthetic touch ups later. I saved both money and time. Time, because I found that GCs will schedule one thing after another, not wanting people to work around each other, but because I was on a really tight timeframe that my son and I wouldn’t have a place to live, I scheduled a lot of folks to work at the same time around each other. They grumbled a bit more, but I was there every day to smooth things over, help, and just be a charming friendly person who brought cookies and snacks :). That said, to echo a lot of what folks said, it’s important to (1) be there on site every day to catch things early that are not aesthetically what you’d like, before it becomes more difficult to fix later, (2) have great people skills to motivate folks and work through issues, (3) have great organizational and project management skills (4) make decisions quickly and easily (being willing to do your own research) (5) be efficient about ordering supplies and materials on your own, which really saves time and money. And maybe most importantly (6) have the energy to deal with this all — it takes a lot of energy. I was exhausted. The reason I undertook it is that some GCs I talked to gave me a 4 month estimate on the work, and I just didn’t have that kind of time. All the sub folks were referred by my broker, so they were really responsive and professional and above par. I’ve continued to use them on other renovation projects, and they’ve always been really responsive and great. I may be lucky, because I’ve heard of nightmare stories as well, but it’s just to say that if you get good referrals, I‘ve found it’s not always the case that you can’t get subs to show up or have leverage compared to a GC. In fact, on a current project I have, all my same subs agreed to take on the work for me, right away, when my GC couldn’t get his subs for weeks out. I respectfully don’t agree with the comment that if you can’t tell about running an electrical line you can’t be a GC. If you trust your subs to be good at what they do, they’ll guide you through everything and help you make the best decisions. That’s what they’re there for. I‘ve done several remodels now, and haven’t had any issues later on (I lived in that particular house for 5 years). Anyway, I know it’s been 6 years since this post, but since I always get value from older comments and advice, I thought I’d still share my own experiences for others with this same question.

GCs do a lot of integrating and air-traffic control, problem solving, working through problems and dealing with inspectors, municipal offices and the people who work in them. (For example, I know that in my city, it took SEVEN signatures to put a Dumpster in front of my house. That's in addition to obtaining the Dumpster itself. Could you name, for example, even one of the offices you'd need to go to? I know I couldn't. Multiply that by every tiny step of this process.) If this is your first remodel, I'd really suggest you hire a GC, unless you have a background that lends itself to these issues. A GC telling an electrician to wait because the is a trusted colleague with a working relationship he wants to protect. You telling an electrician to wait is just another client he can blow off, and you may never see him again, while he makes room in his schedule to wire a whole 16 room house for his friend the GC. Can you blame him, business-wise? That's a big check. They occasionally also ask fairly technical questions. You have to be prepared to answer them. Like how many amp line you want where. You can learn these things, obviously, but, again, you need to know you need to know them. A good GC will alert you to problems, like whether he thinks the subs workers are doing a good job, whether there are problems with the design, if he/she thinks an engineer needs to be called in (if there are surprises in a wall or floor). CAN it be done? Yes. If it's a fairly simple remodel, just straight replacing a wall or two of relatively recent cabinets, swapping appliances, not a lot of position changes, changing a floor covering where you have good reason to believe the floor underneath is sound, you could do a lot of research UP FRONT. There is definitely a lot of good information here, and people have definitely done it. People have, in fact done the actual WORK themselves. I just want you to go in with your eyes open, if you do it. Not just thinking "oh, it's just like calling the plumber a bunch of times". There were times I could really see the strain on my GC, who does this for a living, getting these guys to behave and do what he needed them to do when he needed it. But it would be smart to have a handy friend come over and give their opinion on your actual house.

I say go for it. There are a lot of nay sayers out there but if you do some research about "owner builders" you will find many people do this all the time with great success. You will have headaches, you will have stress, but its a trade off. There are plenty of good reliable subs out there that are willing to do the work. You will just need to research them. Best thing to do is have a written contract for the work. Will GC's get better pricing. Sure. Then they mark it up and you end up paying more than you may have paid yourself. I did a full gut remodel a couple years ago and found a great set of people I will continue to work with. Are they the cheapest? Probably not (plumber is for sure) but I felt the prices were reasonable and I got good work out of them. Go by word of mouth. Get on Nextdoor (the app) and ask your neighbors for recommendations on contractors. If you have time to do research and understand the basics, you can do a lot. If I can rewire my house by learning off youtube and pass a city inspection, anyone can.

I agree, talk to a good HVAC contractor. Finding the good ones is the key point. I'd question if what you are asking for makes sense for your house (how new and how tightly, or not. is your home sealed). Do you want unheated/unconditioned air coming directly into your kitchen, do you want to stand under that supply of air when it is 32 degrees outside? Qualifier: I'm not familiar with Fantech products. What is used in newer, well sealed homes are devices knows as HRV or ERV (Heat Recovery Ventilators or Energy Recovery Ventilators). What these devices do is get any heat from air being exhausted from the structure (cooking, bathroom exhaust, clothes dryer exhausts, etc.), and exchange the heat to add it to air coming into the structure (some do exchange of moisture along with heat). In some areas, northern and colder climates and Canada, these devices are required by code. If your structure is older and enough makeup air comes in through door and windows seals, mail slots, screen doors, garage entrances, dryer and bathroom exhausts when not in use, etc., etc. then you don't want this arrangement. A good HVAC contractor will have someone on staff who understands all this stuff and can tell you what options make sense for your house.