If you're the GC, you wouldn't be hiring a builder. You'd hire cribbers, excavation crews, framers, roofers, siding crew, plumbers, ...

If you want a builder to handle all the subs, they are the GC.

Typically the bids from the trades are good for 30-90 days. And you need plans for them to bid on. The plans seem to be the longest, most drawn out part. (I hope, because if anyone drags this out as long as my architect has, I'll be selling and retiring to Florida before my house is finished. And I'm only in my 30s).

If you're looking to get a general ballpark of how much it costs to build a house, you can talk to builders. They were all very happy to discuss their pricing structures with me before I even had land. That wouldn't be binding, though, because the slope and location of the lot would affect the price. As would the number of bathrooms you have, marble vs ceramic tile, architectural features, etc. But they gave me good ball park figures.

you read several books but none of them talked about bidding and getting bids??

First off, you start by calling subs to complete the different tasks. If you need survey work for staking and pins, then excavation, concrete/foundation work, framing crew, roofers, electricians, plumbers, hvac, insulators, drywallers, painters, finish trimmers, and flooring installers; contact several of each area to get numbers.

Bids are as binding as whatever is spelled out in the bid, RFP, or contract. Most bids are only good for 90 days or until the project begins if its later. Meaning, I highly doubt anyone will give you a bid if you do not intend on starting within 90 days. sometimes its less, such as 30 or 60. They can give you bids now so you can budget, but would update them with new pricing (assuming it changes) for the final bidding.
Your job would be to break out scope packages for what each sub is to price. If it is not clearly spelled out to them either in specs or plans, it would be grounds for a change order if they do not include it you would have to pay.
Being your GC is a good way to save money and have closer quality control some times, but its also a good way to lose money and have issues too depending on experience. Coordinating subs is a large part of it and keeping to your construction schedule. For example you would need to know how long each phase takes and make sure your sub can start work when its needed in the schedule. This is the hardest part, especially with busy subs.

This post was edited by lzerarc on Thu, Jun 26, 14 at 16:56

Sorry, I didn't frame my question very well. As the GC, I realize I will be responsible for securing bids from all the subs. My concern is getting the bid for framing, which I assume would be done by builders in my area. In an environment in which you have to get on a waiting list a year or two before the work begins for many builders, how will I secure bids for framers (and any other work typically done by builders)? I suppose I need to call some builders to gauge their willingness to bid as a framer for projects, but I hoped to gain a better understanding of the process prior to talking to builders.

lol, you as a one time home builder will find it about impossible to get on a builders "waiting list" to be a framer. If they are this busy they will be working for regular customers as a framer (if they are a famer) or building/GC'ing their own complete projects if they are a GC. Same will go for just about all subs.

Ask yourself why you want to GC? Because you love building, want to save money, are interested in giving it a try....the list goes on. You can be the owner and still very involved in decision making and product selection without assuming the overall role of GC. Keep that in mind and good luck!

this is a joke, right? You've read a couple books, you have no idea how to elicit bids from subs and you're planning on GCing the most expensive thing you'll probably ever purchase??

If the builders aren't available, the quality subs aren't either. You might hang out at low's on the weekend and pickup some illegal labor, but this whole plan sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

If you sub out the framing you should be looking to hire a framing crew that works for builders that don't have their own framing crew.

kh....You must be in Tx?

Ha! Good times.

I didn't find it that difficult to get bids. Getting reasonable bids, however, was a challenge. I GC'd my own house because this was on my bucket list and I wanted it constructed in a way that was not affordable from a builder.

Some bids were from trades that were referred by words of mouth (those were not cheap but the quality was good).

Other bids were from companies that I found through (sometimes long) online searches. Many bids were from people who obviously tried to take advantage of me not having been a pro.

I weeded out the obviously ridiculous bids and just rolled the dice with the ones that sounded reasonable (but what do I know - I still probably paid a substantial premium).

If you build traditionally, I don't think you'll save much being a GC.

I'm going to gently suggest that you take another year or two and read some more books. And in the meantime, develop relationships with industry professionals. That's the 1000lb gorilla that makes hiring a GC save you time and money. A good GC has longstanding relationships with subs that he uses repeatedly, and who give him loyalty and better pricing in return. A one off project won't have those relationships. Think about the implications of that long and hard.

Reading a couple of books may not be sufficient to be a general contractor on a new residence! And having to ask how to get bids may be a clear signal that constructing a new house exceeds one's knowledge and experience.

Are you sure you really want to do this? Wouldn't it make more sense, in this case, to find and use an experienced and reputable general contractor, who has her/his own sub-contractors, and who knows what s/he is doing?

If quality of construction, code-compliance, time and money are important, it may be best to use someone who has done this many times before...just a thought!

Good luck on your project.

IMO the only way to save money building a home is to use a Cost of the Work with a Fixed Fee contact and interview GC's and ask them for a % of the cost fee proposal. If you can get a reasonable fee from a competent GC you can participate in the selection of subs and materials as much as you want. The biggest downside is that you will not know the final cost but you would have more reliable information and less risk than if you were acting as your own GC.

I have used this approach to seal GC's from other jobs they had bid on. A letter of intent and a deposit check can be very persuasive.

Being your own GC without construction management experience to save the GC fee reminds me of investing on your own to avoid a 1% manager's fee. Often the total of fund fees and commissions will be equal to or greater than the manager's fee and you will need to follow the investments and make decisions based on limited experience and information which can result in stress for you and more importantly for your family.

If you have plans already, go to local lumber suppliers (84 Lumber, Stock Building Supply, etc..) to get a lumber take off and price. Use the opportunity to ask for contact info to local framing crews. A local supplier like that can be a great resource for finding subs.

I have had 2 new homes built for me. The first one was a cute little starter home when I was just a youngster, and the second one was just completed about 2 years ago now, for me as an older and presumably much wiser person.

Having gone through the process twice the best advice I can give to you is to re-read Renovator's advice.

I'm sure the approach you are considering has worked well for some people through the years. But the potential for disaster is so large (in my opinion) that I just don't think the POSSIBLE cost savings are worth it.

Building a new home is fraught with problems. Every damn day it seems like something will go wrong, cost more, or take longer than you expected. To take all of that on as your own GC boggles my mind - particularly if you are working full time in another line of work and then are trying to do the job of a GC too on top of everything else. I could barely keep up with everything in my second build, and my only real "job" was to write the checks. Ha-ha. :)

Renovator8,

I am about to sign a contract with GC cost plus his fixed fee. However, he is very upset and did not want me to participated in selecting subs. Of course those subs cost a lot higher than others and do less.

Should I find other GC ?

Thanks

That sounds odd. Is the fixed fee a % of construction cost or a lump sum? Is there a guaranteed maximum price (GMP)?

How do you know those subs cost 'allot' higher? That sounds very strange!

The advice someone gave about gaining more experience in the industry would be a good starting point if possible. I GC'd and also physically built my ICF home. It took me 10 months. The only work I sub'd out was electrical (cant by code on new construction without license), HVAC (although I did place duct sealing and energy testing in my scope), and plumbing (I hate plumbing), and drywalling (although my handing sub walked out after 2 hours bc he didnt like ICF. I hung the house in a weekend with a few friends and hired a finisher). I did everything else.

Other than that I was able to select the subs i wanted due to working with them on jobs over the years. They knew me and i knew them. The only issue I had was the mentioned drywall hangers. As a GC if someone walks you need to then scramble to find someone new. I could not find anyone available, and I had finishers scheduled to show up in 3 days. The only choice i had was to hang it myself or pay a new crew overtime weekend hours to get it done.

Things like this come up all the time. On about all of my last commercial projects I have had a sub either declare bankruptcy or close their doors. Obviously as the archy I do not have to deal with that...the GC does. You as the GC would then have to deal with that. It might cost you more money since a new one most likely will not work for the same bid as well as more time. They may not be able to work for weeks and then your job is sitting...which costs you more money. These are real world examples and they are common.

Would I do it again? Of course, already working on a new design to build and sell. But I also have the experience and connections. However I worked every night and weekend, phone calls during the day, and other times having to run out to the site to look at something a sub was working on or meet an inspector. All took time out of my work day. Lots of time. Make sure to factor in these things as you calculate any cost savings you may think are there for GC'ing your own.

Try getting a shed built first before you even think about going from 0-60 in 2 seconds. Everything has a learning curve, and you are setting yourself up for failure by not practicing on something less important to start with. If you have difficulty getting proper square foundation poured in a timely manner for a storage garage, then what's gonna happen when it's about 100 times more difficult and important?

Renovator8,

He has a fixed $ number not %, and used that to breaking down as $2000 deposit + how much every month and for 7 months of building my home as he estimated.
Longer or shorter time does not matter, his fixed $ has to be paid all when done. I told him the last payment will be held for punch list.

Robin1909,
At first I thought his subs quote are normal. Until I caught 4 subs were not honest as he claimed they are. Hardwood sub show me common 1 and select grade the same sample. Tile sub does not have tile in price range she quoted. Electrician quoted for just basic coding everything in electric even I have gas for water heater, cook top, gas forced heat; after I asked he said $300 will be taking off for those. Garage sub told I need wind load 120MPH for my garage door size 18' x 8'. I checked with inspector 90MPH is all needed.

I did not address my concern to GC until recently because he was rushing me to sign the contract. He was not respond to "mistakes" by his subs when I brought up these.

Am very frustrated now. Should I continue with this GC or find some one else?

You've posted under a different name? It sounds like maybe you have gotten quotes from subs earlier that 'actually' quoted you GC prices and 'not' consumer prices which are usually 40-50% higher and his subs are trying to 'hide' what they are actually charging the GC. If you are in TX....you're sr@wed. Tx in the last couple of years has had TREMENDOUS demand for housing. It used to be on the least exp. state to build but with demand so HIGH... that's gonna be history! You can thank the oil speculators for that.

KHoene-
You can do this!!! We are building our third house now and I can honestly say it is not rocket science. If you are well organized and have good communication skills, there is no reason you can't save yourself a big chunk of money by being your own general contractor. There are lots of great resources complete with sample contracts available on line to help you. http://www.buildahouseyourself.com/ is one that I've used myself. Don't get me wrong, contractors do make things easier for the builder. We have many friends who are contractors and my husband has worked with contractors for over 20 years with his work. But most just follow a step by step process and stay on top of things. One just this week was saying how people can save themselves a lot of money just by doing what he does for themselves. A friend of mine who is a stay at home mom was the general contractor for their home two years ago and they saved a lot of money and had NO problems. Their home is beautiful and she had never done anything like that before. She was just extremely organized and on top of things. You know what your skills are better than any of us. Time to oversee the project and make sure that everything is completed appropriately and timely will be the most difficult aspect of the process. Good luck on your adventure!!!

Robin1909,
I was never use different name here. No, his subs quotes hand directly to GC not me. GC was trying to tell me he is 100% honest by provided me those quotes.

Houses - if you are not comfortable with your gc, and you don't trust him, then don't sign with him. It doesn't matter your reasons, or what the rest of us on some anonymous message board think. It's your house, your money, your sanity.

I hate to say it either house14 or khoene(whichever you want to go by, unless this house is going to be built actual GC 'cost' plus a fixed fee, the GC will NEVER let you know their 'real' cost. I hate to say it but GC's will ask the subs to quote 'consumer' price if it is going to be shown to the customer.

robin0919,

Were there some reasons that you were keep insisting i am khoene???

My new home will be built in hickory, NC. Please read my posts from kitchen, electrical, hvac, before assume anything.

I did not ask for those quotes. GC was do himself a favor by providing me his "honesty quotes" as claimed.

He was saying spend too much time on helping me. Therefore, felt guilt if go back to the first GC builder I met last year.

Ok.....sorry, it sounded just like the OP. I don't go into the kit, hvac or elect forums.
I have no idea about the wood floors. Why would she give a quote on tiles that she doesn't have? All gas appliances have to have elect. Sounds like the garage guy was going just above code which is always a good thing.
I'm about 60 mins below you and I built a house a few years ago. I did have to have a garage door rated at 130 and even had to have hurricane ties thruout the roof and h@ll I'm 200 miles from the ocean!

Robin0919,
I asked her the same and what she was responded is GC told her that.
Seperate power for electric cooktop, heatpump,tankless waterheater. Those need more amps and voltages. Which could very expensive not $300 only
Garage guy priced 1 18" x 8, and 1 9' x 8, both is $6990 of amarr serie 3000. Which is too high. My house is not mil $ home

I don't mean to be rude but I think the OPs thread got derailed. Perhaps Robin and houses need to start another thread and maybe the OP will come back and try to get his owner builder questions answered.

I hope he didn't get ran off. We could use some new blood on this forum.