Anyone served as their own GC for building a house?

[Anonymous]

I was wondering if anyone served as their own GC for building a new home. If so, would you do it again? What are some of the pros and cons? TIA.

[Anonymous]

Do you have time, knowledge, and patience?

[Anonymous]

I had a GC for our new build, but acted as one for all site work & permits. Looking back, for my next endeavor it'd still hire one, as in this area, unless you have experience AND connections, I doubt you'd save anything, and will only delay your project tremendously and develop hate for every.single.contractor. Unless there's significant downturn in economy like few yrs ago, and contractors are fighting for your business, not vice versa.

[Anonymous]

Penny wise and pound foolish. Very, very bad idea unless you are already in the building trades, not just a weekend warrior DIY person. Otherwise, how could you meaningfully oversee and critique the work being done? I live in a house in which the previous owner, a secretary, served as the general contractor. In the process of working with a reputable builder on renovations, I have encountered many screw-ups and shortcuts which she was not capable of catching. Just one example: a gas fireplace stopped working and I learned that it was improperly vented upon installation and cannot be fixed unless I have it re-vented, at huge expense, so for now it is just decorative.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who did it. It was a full time job for her. The build took much longer than mine did (with a builder GC). Right now, most good tradesmen are really busy and turning down new projects. Having a builder that has established relationships is well worth the money.

[Anonymous]

Not attacking OP at all, just making the observation that there are many smart, high powered professionals, rock stars in their fields, who think that tradesmen are just not that bright and could not possibly posses a level of expertise that exceeds what they (the high powered professional) could gain with a few weeks of self study.

[Anonymous]

I suspect that if you had the knowledge base to do this effectively, you wouldn't need to ask the question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not attacking OP at all, just making the observation that there are many smart, high powered professionals, rock stars in their fields, who think that tradesmen are just not that bright and could not possibly posses a level of expertise that exceeds what they (the high powered professional) could gain with a few weeks of self study.

I give construction workers far more respect than I do real estate salespeople.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was wondering if anyone served as their own GC for building a new home. If so, would you do it again? What are some of the pros and cons? TIA.

Yes,

No. Never again.

Pros are you think you are saving money. Cons are that you are not really saving money, and you end up with less than idea results because you are not a pro at building houses. The contractors will perform work according to contract, and I've never had any issues with the quality of work. But no one will stand up to tell you that your idea of building a retaining wall in that spot is a shitty idea, for example.

[Anonymous]

I second the poster who said "penny wise and pound foolish." Our neighbor served asa their own general contractor and bid out every portion of their renovation with the help of a GC. We hired a GC and retained our architect/design team to help oversee the project with us. Best money we ever spent. Our project came in on time, essentially on budget (maybe 2-3 % over which is unheard of and for things we upgraded or couldn't be seen because they were under ground or behind walls) and everything turned out great. Our neighbors still are not back in there house even though work started on their house before ours and our addition was larger and more complicated. We have been back in our house for 6 months.

I also agree with the prior poster that a lot of people think that the work that a GC or subs do isn't that complicated and think that they could do it. It is complicated and experience matters. Unless you are experienced in the field, I wouldn't do it. I should also note that I have experience in the field and come from a family that worked and currently works in the industry and we still hired a GC. Just do your research and hire a good one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I second the poster who said "penny wise and pound foolish." Our neighbor served asa their own general contractor and bid out every portion of their renovation with the help of a GC. We hired a GC and retained our architect/design team to help oversee the project with us. Best money we ever spent. Our project came in on time, essentially on budget (maybe 2-3 % over which is unheard of and for things we upgraded or couldn't be seen because they were under ground or behind walls) and everything turned out great. Our neighbors still are not back in there house even though work started on their house before ours and our addition was larger and more complicated. We have been back in our house for 6 months.

I also agree with the prior poster that a lot of people think that the work that a GC or subs do isn't that complicated and think that they could do it. It is complicated and experience matters. Unless you are experienced in the field, I wouldn't do it. I should also note that I have experience in the field and come from a family that worked and currently works in the industry and we still hired a GC. Just do your research and hire a good one.

Cool story, but OP is asking about a new build.

OP, I am living next to a new build project which is going into month 18 because my neighbor a commercial architect did not get a reputable builder GC due to tight budget constraint. And now is serving as the GC with little to no progress accomplished over the past year. He has convinced me that I will gladly pay a home builder GC to get a quality built home when we proceed with our own teardown.

[Anonymous]

Yes. DH was the GC on our house. He is a GC with 25 yrs experience and we are from this area.

[Anonymous]

Do you have all the money or you are getting a construction loan? If the latter, bank will not lend you the money unless GC has certain credentials. They know the risk of amateur GC.

[Anonymous]

My bank won't let a homeowner act as the GC.

[Anonymous]

As others said, unless you have a lot of experience in different fields (know how things are supposed to be done correctly and upto code) and know good subs that you can use for the work, I wouldn't bother. Good GC's have a bunch of subs they already use and know that do good work. You fishing for bids for different projects can work, but you will likely end up with a lot of headaches and possibly subpar work.

This might be a strange analogy but I was surprised to hear how beneficial a wedding coordinator is/was for a family member. The few thousand you pay up front can be easily paid for in the savings you'll get from them because they have their own regular "subs" they use (florists, caterers, etc). I was quite surprised but it makes sense..