Your home building or renovation process all starts with choosing the right construction company. Having the right team can make all the difference. In general, there are three types of General Contractors and we have met or worked with all three types.
The Corporate General Contractor
This type of contractor shows up, with pen and paper and gives a bid for the project. He has a team in place, typically with a lot of different subcontractors, laborers, etc. He can handle multiple jobs at a time with other lead guys, project managers, architects, etc. The corporate contractor is usually more expensive and fits well for a large upscale project that may be a lengthy one. We interviewed such a contractor who had been referred to us. He came just as described above, First thing he said was how he could straighten out the angles of our cape cod project. We never got to even discuss the idea of renovating the lower level because his bid just for the main level was already beyond the proposed investment for our project. Yes, this contractor type is great, just be ready to pay.
The Mid-sized General Contractor
This type of contractor seems to be able to handle 1-2 projects at a time. He has a lead man, the general contractor, who generally is at least partially doing some of the work. This contractor knows, understands, and can do multiple trades-plumbing, basic HVAC, electrical, framing, tiling, sheetrock. He may not be an expert at all of these, but has a working knowledge and is doing at least part of these within the context of the renovation. The mid-size general contractor tends to have a crew of 4-8 guys along with a list of quality subcontractors for HVAC, flooring, etc to sub out to.
The best advantage to this mid-size contractor is that the client's prices for basic plumbing, basic electrical, etc. are cheaper because this type of contractor can handle them in-house.
The downside to this mid-sized GC is that he needs to be able to balance work on the job and managing the job/future jobs/other projects AND manage his crew.
We have worked with a mid-sized GC who works on-site as well as one who does not. Honestly, the main difference boiled down to personality and their individual management skills. As designers, we can certainly attest to the fact that it is less stressful to tackle unforeseen problems with a contractor who is open to dialogue while trying to execute a design vision.
The one or two-man Contractor
This type of general contractor may have a general background in basic plumbing and electrical. The quality of the work may be solid. However, this GC is not someone you would hire to run a large-scale renovation. It takes too long with the number of guys available and the one or two-man contractor is usually not quite ready (or may not have the skillset) to manage a larger project.
Unfortunately, we once worked with such a contractor who perpetuated that he had a lot more guys on his team when he bid for our project. Therefore, at times we were making lists and communicating tasks that were not done or had to be redone. So a 2-3 month project turned into six months. This is what happens when you have only 1-2 guys to work on a top to bottom renovation.
I guess one of the important questions to ask yourself is if you have the right GC for your project? Can the contractor execute the design vision, especially when you are working with a designer?
**This blog article references the original article "3 Types of General Contractors (& How to Choose One for your Project)"**