When you are planning on starting a construction project for your home, no matter how small the project is, if you are not in the construction field, you should always hire professionals to do the work. Not only it is imperative that an experienced contractor builds your home design project but also that he/she is bonded and with a valid active contractor’s license in your state.
A lot of people think that hiring laborers at the closets hardware store or 7-eleven is a great idea to save money but that is perhaps the worst thing you could do in construction. First of all, the work is being done at your home, where your family lives and that should be enough reason to think about it twice. Second, when you hire workers from the street, those people have no insurance so anything that happens to them on your property like falling, hurting themselves or others and even braking things would be an expense you would have to cover.
It’s very important that you not only hire a licensed contractor but also that you check his or her license with the Contractors License Board in your state to make sure the license is in good standing and active. I also recommend that the homeowners ask for and check work references from the contractors. If possible, ask them for addresses of current projects or the latest project they worked on so you can drive by to check them out. I know people who even ask for permission from the contractor’s clients to go into the job sites and check out their work and craftsmanship. Of course, that is up to each individual but the truth is, it would not hurt.
A contractor’s license or good references do not guarantee that the contractor is going to be good at what he does or honest when it comes to construction expenses but the odds are, you are in better hands if you do your homework before hiring anybody.
If the plans were submitted at the City or County with the owner acting as Owner/Builder, that means that the homeowner will be responsible for hiring everybody who is going to work on the job. If instead, the owner decides to hire a licensed general contractor, this contractor is the person in charge and his/her job starts by pulling the permit under his/her own license.
As Owner/Builder you must insure the construction of the job and the most common way of doing it is by bringing it under your home insurance. All you have to do is call your insurance company or agent and tell them you need to extend you policy to cover the construction of your project. Anything that happens during construction is then covered under the same policy. To do this is not expensive or difficult at all.
As Owner/Builder of your project you have many advantages. You hire the subcontractors on your own even if they are brought in by the general contractor and you sign contracts with every one of them separately. You are aware of the cost of materials they are buying for the job, so you can negotiate prices when the cost of material you get from the contractor or subs is higher than the one you get on you own. You can even bring your own materials, appliances, etc. and save the mark up they would charge you, etc. For instance, if the price for the tile that they are quoting you is higher than what you got on you own, you can always get the tile you want for less and take the cost of the tile out. Always ask the contractor to include allowances. There are many ways to negotiate that with the contractors but you having the freedom to negotiate prices is a must.
Some people feel that this amount of responsibility is more than what they would like to have but at the end, it always pays off. The fact that you can negotiate prices is always a huge advantage in construction. Getting construction permits as Owner/Builder is what I recommend. Bottom line, any decision that needs to be made has to be run by you. Nothing at the job site can be approved without your consent no matter what it is because you are the boss.
Another advantage is that with the owner acting as Owner/Builder, the general contractor you hire for the job who usually has his or her own labor guys is just another sub, so you save the money they usually charge for overhead when you hire a full time construction company. The overhead charge is usually not less than 35% of the total construction cost for a small to medium size construction company. So if the cost of your project is for instance $50,000, by hiring a full time construction company you would pay at least $17,500 over the total cost of you project when as Owner/Builder you save all that. Even as Owner/Builder you should have very clear and concise contracts with the general contractor and with every sub. You need to protect your property and yourself and you can only do that by having everything in writing. I have seen contractor quit and walk out of the site to never come back. When that happens, if you have a solid contract, you can easily build a case against the contractor. I have met and worked with excellent contractors too. There are all kinds of contractors out there. Please read my article: Always Hire a Professional to Prepare Your Plans
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