General Contracting what does this mean?

General Contracting what does this mean?
This is one of the most asked questions by people that read my blog. I decided when I started this blog that I would try to answer everyone’s questions to the best of my abilities.

So the question is what does General Contracting mean?

From my point of view, it means a company that manages and constructs residential and/or commercial construction projects. A general contractor is a construction company that builds and manages construction projects for their clients.

A few things about a general contractor that you should know;
• It is there job to construct the building to the best of their abilities by following the local building codes and the approved drawings.
• A general contractor is hired by the owner of the project or someone working on their behalf.
• A general contractor is responsible for all safety standards and the following of all safety procedures on the site.
• A general contractor will use their own employee’s or qualified sub contractors to complete the project.
• A general contractor is responsible for all budgeting, bill payment, sub contractor payment and change orders.
• A general contractor is to make sure that all appropriate inspections by building officials are completed and approved.
• A general contractor is responsible for quality of work and materials that are used by their employee’s and the sub contractors.
• A general contractor is responsible for creating and adhering to a schedule weather, client and sub contractor permitting.
• A general contractor is responsible for all warranties that need repairs after the project has been completed.
• A general contractor must be properly insured against any loss or damage that could occur.
• A general contractor is responsible for getting and keeping any appropriate licensing or accreditation that is required to construct the building project. For example; to build new homes you have to be a licensed new home builder in certain parts of North America.

If you are planning to build a new house you should hire a general contractor. They will help you have your plans drawn up, they will help you get approval from the local government to build the house and be able to give you a proper budget on what they believe that the house will cost you to construct.
They will organize the whole job, the material, the workers, the inspections and the timeline of when this will all happen. They will consult with you as the building is being constructed on any over runs, under runs, changes and upgrade options that you may need.
They will organize onsite and offsite meetings with you the homeowner and give you timelines of important decisions that you will have to make to keep the project moving along.
They make sure that your vision of what you want your custom home to look like will come to life and that you stay in the budget that you have approved.
A general contractor will make sure that when they are done all they do is hand you the keys so that you can move in and enjoy your new home.

I hope this answers the question of “what does it mean to be a general contractor?”

If anyone requires more information feel free to email me or post a commit and I will get back to you.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.