This is not a good idea if you A, aren't familiar with residential construction and local building codes, and B if you are working outside your home. Hire a general contractor for everything but the cabinets. Let him/her coordinate the cabinet installation. That's how it typically works.

I guess it depends on whether you're confident that you can research and procure the best vendors at the best price for each of aspect of the reno. I usually GC reno projects, and prefer to coordinate the project as it saves a bit and I can choose the subs, but if you're happy with the price from company A, go with it as it is simpler. If you try to take it on you will need to have and stick with a tight timeline. Either way, be sure to have them name you as an additional insured on their policies. If you go with company A, be sure you get a list of his/her subs and waivers of lien from each sub as they complete their work. Good luck!

Another factor is if you want to learn how to GC and are willing to do the research and don't mind it taking a lot longer. Dealing with a GC can be a headache, but being the GC is probably more of a headache. Some find satisfaction in it, others need counseling afterwards.

We acted as our own GC because no one would give us a quote after seeing the job. It worked out great for us but I don't work, DH works 5 minutes from the house and could come home a lot and we had almost 2 decades of remodeling experience behind us. If you can't be there on a daily basis I would not recommend being your own GC. Your still going to have to do some research and be there at times even with hiring a GC.

We GC'd (well, I shopped and picked out stuff, husband GC'd) for our build.

In the end we saved a lot of money, but you definitely get what you pay for. My husband spent AT least 4-6 hours a day at the site to supervise, argue, learn, make mistakes, hire, fire, and go toe to toe with people who knew there wouldn't be repeat business after we were through. 50% were honorable contractors who wanted to work and were gracious enough to honor their bid even where we were ignorant and, in some ways, helped us carry the water. 25% did the work but enjoyed pointing out our ignorance and holding it against us. Another 20% were the nightmare folks that had to be tracked down, ridden with a whip, and sheparded like school children. And, of course, there are the 5% who disappear altogether to whom non-payment didn't deter.

We are both self-employed, flexible and had no demolition surprises to contend with. My husband would tell you that the thought of ever doing this again takes years off of his life.

We did it, but you basically need a job where you can work from home for some period of time. (I think between the two of us, my husband and I probably worked from home for about three weeks over the course of the project---we spaced it out and took far longer to do the project so that this could be just a day or two a week for each of us over a couple of months.) Had we not been able to do that, it would have been impossible---not only do you need to physically supervise the work, but you also will get peppered with questions and decisions throughout the process. You need to be comfortable learning about the nuances of how homes work, able to understand what you're learning, and able to talk intelligently with contractors and inspectors about it (even if you don't always understand exactly what you're talking about, it has to SOUND that way or people will walk all over you!)

I like to tell people we are really, really glad we did it (it saved us ~$30K off our lowest GC bid, which was the difference between doing the project and not doing it) and we are never, ever doing it again. :) We learned some great skills/knowledge about the process and our house, but I have no desire to repeat it---it's very draining since you spend in time and energy what you don't spend in money. That was great for us since we have a lot more time and energy than money right now, but hopefully if we ever have another big reno project (this one was it for this house!) we will have tipped the scale a bit on that.

For us, it helped a lot that I manage projects with for work, so I knew something about contracts and subs and the like. We had also done two big permitted projects beforehand so I was familiar with reading our state code, navigating our city permitting process, etc.---something that can be a PITA if you aren't familiar with it, and IMO a big part of what you're paying the GC to do. We had to make decisions about what to push our city on and what not to, and if it hadn't worked out (happily we got wonderful inspectors and it did!) it would have been on us to fix, whereas with a GC, they take on all that responsibility/liability assuming you have a good contract. (And speaking of contracts, if you act as your own GC, you *must* have contracts with your "subs" for anything that you aren't willing to eat the cost on---a pain to coordinate but really, really important since that is your only recourse.)

Also, there are GCs out there who will work with your cabinetmaker if you really want to go with B or C and that's the only hangup, though---interview at least three full GCs before choosing one, for sure. (We interviewed five, I think!)

How am I making this work? Little sleep, a little wine, tenacity, beer, sense of humor, tequila, patience with unfortunate surprises, OK into week 9 here, I'll take an adult beverage of any kind at this point. I have resorted to talking to the dog, he's cheaper and better looking than a therapist. There have been times when I had to slap on my banshee hat to address issues with vendors not labor. If you can't make your beotch attitude chirp in, GCing may not be for you. Are you good at multitasking? Arranging a time line like army tactical maneuvers? Spreadsheets for spreadsheets? Do you know local codes and how to micro inspect contract?

I am GCing my total kichen reno. The choice for me was kitchen of my dreams or a KD & GC. I couldn't have afforded both options. Design was free from a local contractor distributor house. They have a full time KD there and she was a peach. Course I didn't know about this site during the design phase, I but like the functionality of the design.

I hate shopping so that was the worst part for me. Researching, reviews, getting samples, choosing, getting the best price, shopping...blah, blah, blah :(

That said, I've known my contractor for MANY years, he's done other projects for me and his work is meticulous. I've had the same plumber for 25 + years and love him. My Dad and brother were my electricians (who have both passed away), so that was a tricky for me, but the one I chose came highly recommended. Not one complaint. My contractor does everything else, soup to nuts. I DIY'd demo, painting, clean up, knobs and pulls, and anything else I could manage. Contractor gave me a serious homework to do list every night to keep costs down.

For me, although it's been painful and long hard hours of sweat equity, I am crazy happy with how it is coming along. I think it is a budget consideration. Would I have loved to have a KD, personal shopper, and GC. OH YEAH!!! But alas, it was not in the budget.

when it gets too crazy around here I go to a barren strip of rock shoreline and listen to the sound of the surf crashing along the rocks :( Pure peace...You'll need a place if you're GCing :)

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

If you are willing to take 6 months to a year to research all aspects of construction issues and do preliminary shopping and then have 3-9 months off from work, then you would be a candidate for GCing. Without the knowledge or time, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

you cant really gc something if you are not going to be there (at least part of the day) these guys arent going to work nites for you so you can still keeep your day job

I took a compromise approach. I chose to be the project manager. I hired a contractor who GC'd everything related to demolition and construction. He took care of all the permits, subs, and construction materials. I coordinated between him, the cabinet maker, the counter top fabricator, propane vendor and procured all items of a personalized nature. That included all the tiles and grout (the GC covered everything under the tile), appliances, plumbing and lighting fixtures. I was supposed to supply the paint too, but when I had the appliance company do the haul away of old appliances, he passed his savings to me by covering the paint.

I have a full-time day job in IT. But it's flexible enough that I can work from home on some days. I've done some PM for my IT job so MS Project, Gantt Charts, Budget Sheets, etc. are nothing new to me. As PM, I didn't have to physically be around, just reachable via phone.

I was also the Kitchen Designer. I designed everything using Google Sketchup, so I knew my kitchen inside and out. My project also included a half bath, mudroom and foyer in the remodel.

This is my first construction-related project and all-in-all, I'd have to say it has been pretty rewarding. What was supposed to be a 6-8 week project is now in week 6. Overall, I'd say I'm about 3-4 weeks away from completion.

Serving as the PM, I was able to keep a tight budget and ensure that everything was done to my (and wife's) spec. Compromises were made along the way, but I had to make quick on-the-spot/over-the-phone decisions.

I have to say, the toughest part to being PM wasn't even construction related. It was managing the expectations of my wife and serving as a buffer between her and the project.

I think I will stick with the tequila! You people are just wonderful - I was laughing thru your trials & tribulations! I'm a pretty good multi-tasker - I planned my own wedding, worked for a few not-for-profits, booked European travel for us, etc. I'm weird in that I like understanding everything about the project at hand. I painted my cabinets by hand in our last house, BUT - I think for sanity sake and to not loose my day job, I will need to hire a GC. Thanks all! As always, you all are VERY big help.

Not worth the time and aggravation. If u can make quick decisions and stay focused, it ay work. We second guessed on everything and it ended up costing us more money. We saved money on the contract work but some of it didn't come out rit and we had to redo. Still I think we saved money but not enough to make it worth the time and stress. Make sure you get a kitchen designer We used just the cabinet people and ran into big problems with the first 2 designs. we still don't have a kitchen plan since April 1. This time they made the cabinets and it doesn't work since our hood goes up to the ceiling. We ripped out the soffit and they never bothered to changed the plan . Glad you're getting a gc