[GJBenn85]

Four or five years ago, I helped my parents build a higher end custom house. We had started out with a GC but as problems were discovered, they decided to walk off the job and we were left to finish the house ourselves. I ended up spending 4-8 hours EACH day on the job site making sure things were done properly, approving work, submitting final choices to the subs, etc. While subs did not like having to redo substandard work, they were impressed with my attention to detail and expectations. You must stay on top of subs if you want decent work, few will go back and correct things on their own.

The house was originally supposed to take six months start to finish, it ended up taking 14 months and an extra $200,000 (nearly 50% over budget) to complete. Before all was said and done, we had to tear off the roof and replace it, repaint the interior, and bring in a second pool company to finish what the original company was unable to, equating to an additional $61,000 for just those redos. On top of that was the discovery of the GC having taken loan draws without paying the subs and they floated my parents money on other jobs. About $60,000 disappeared due to this.

Shop your subcontractors, ask to see examples of their completed work and for references. Ask the references how the subs were in completing the job. Did they show up? Did they honor their bid or did they exceed it? It is unreal the difference you will find in pricing and quality. Avoid the lowest bids but do not think for one second that the higher bids will automatically bring higher quality.

Make sure you obtain lien releases from every last sub that walks on the site as they finish their jobs and are paid in full. Withhold a fairly significant portion of the total bid if the work is unacceptable, once a sub is paid in full or nearly in full, you will have a hell of a time ever getting them to come back to redo work or complete a punch list.

Whenever I build a house, I will not use a general contractor. In the unlikely circumstance that I would need to hire one, I certainly would not allow them free reign over loan draws.