I'm a toolmaker by trade, so I have ridiculous expectations when it comes to accuracy and craftsmanship. The few jobs I contracted out drove me nuts! I also had my own business for a period of years, and the things that are OK in construction would be major no-no's in my line of work. In my world, things HAVE to be perfect, and they HAVE to be on time, and you can't change the contracted price no matter what happens. I would have never survived contracting everything out!

Don't. Get. Me. Started. Mushcreek, you and my husband would probably get along well. He's a perfectionist, an engineer, a craftsman, and thinks through every aspect of the building process 10 steps ahead so that the work on step 1 isn't going to complicate the work for step 7. It wasn't possible for him to build our entire house on his own but it's been close.

Our experience with subs has been like a version of the poem - When they were good they were very very good but when they were bad they were horrid. If I had a nickel for every time we heard "That's the way we've always done it" or "We don't do things that way here" we'd have higher end appliances ;-) When you come to view a job and are given the specs, bid based on those materials or process, and are hired, you don't get to decide the customer doesn't really need those materials or process after all! It's tough to have to babysit every single person who comes to work on your house, but that's the reality. A GC should be doing the same thing, but they'll never be as invested in the outcome as an owner. Does it make it more difficult for the people hired? No doubt. But as someone here said long ago, My house, My money, My way.

There was a short period of time about five or so years ago when I considered doing just this. I realized if I were to do so I'd have to retire BEFORE anything at all got started, just to have the time to keep my eye on things happening 2 hours away.

Anyhow, I went out and got a couple of books They were actually pretty good books on the topic too. They served two useful purposes:

1) No way was I going to be my own contractor!

2) I obtained enough lingo and background to talk to the guy who IS my contractor without sounding like a complete ditz he might take easy advantage of. (At least he'd have to work harder at it...)

My husband is acting as our GC. Sometimes we think we are crazy and other times we think we'd be crazy to have hired a GC. The ONLY way this is working for us is because:

1) My husband loves this kind of stuff. He's a researcher, wants to understand how things are done, a people person, and loves to get his hands dirty.

2) He works from home. We are building literally right next door so he can keep an eye on the project anytime or meet subs anytime.

3) We've done substantial renovations to 5 homes prior to this (some DIY and some contracted out). While not the same as building from scratch it's given him a lot of experience with construction and what works and what doesn't.

4) Because of #3 and also helping others renovate their homes, he's acquired a long list of subcontractors that like to work for him and he knows they do good work. We are getting good prices because of his relationship with them and because we've referred countless other business for them over the years.

5) We are working together as a team. While my husband has a lot of good qualities, being detailed isn't one of them. And he's too nice of a guy. That's where I come in. I've got a detailed spreadsheet with budget vs actuals and another with the schedule. I work with the bank for all draw requests and keep all invoices/receipts organized. I'm also the one who had to talk to the foundation subcontractor when he screwed up and I made it very clear that he make things right or we'll see him in court. My husband, while just as mad as I was, just couldn't bring himself to be firm enough. Big softie.

If any of the above wasn't happening, being our own GC would be a horrible decision. It still might end up being horrible, but at least we're starting out ahead vs doing this all for the first time. Fingers crossed it will all work out! :)

Frankly I give all of you who do your own GC'ing a lot of credit. I'm not being the GC but still find I have to stay on top of everything. If I had to also find subs, etc I think I'd tear my hair out.

Yes, whether or not one is ones own GC, one MUST stay on top of everything and take nothing for granted. If one knows of good subs, one could do it oneself. Most people don't, thus the GC.

I acted as my own GC when we renovated the kitchen. We had done an addition a few years before with a GC. While he was out of business, we knew most of his subs and liked them. With the assistance of the finish carpenter for advice, I was able to successfully act as my own GC. I did a great job if I say so myself. I would never attempt to build an entire house. I've done a custom build as a client and it's doing the kitchen on steroids. There is way too much that you don't know. I'll stick to home remodeling and not construction.

Yes, it is definitely important to stay right on top of things. I try to get up there as often as possible... And to stay informed. It did not help that I was out of commission for several months with a broken ankle... but it did help I have a neighbor up there who knows just enough to have looked out for me during that period.

It's a constant challenge - but hubby is GREAT at being on site, working side by side, and ensuring that the vision gets executed.

But- we're not as good / tough / rigorous as we should be about getting lien releases, ensuring that the downstream subs have been paid and getting lien releases / indemnification from the primary subs etc... Word to the wise - keep making sure that EVERYONE downstream is getting paid....

That was the advantage of playing GC. I wrote the checks. There wasn't any doubt payment or liens. Obviously, that's only practical on a project of my size and not something as large as a home.

I write the checks too - but right now, there is a large downstream supplier (sub to my sub, i.e. the crane people) that haven't been paid. They can lien you too. So - the best practice is to get a lien waiver from your subs upon work completion, certifying that THEIR subcontractors have been paid; and if not, they will indemnify you against any liens.

A house is not a precision tool. Good luck finding happiness with your new house if you have unrealistic expectations.

A house is not a precision tool. Good luck finding happiness with your new house if you have unrealistic expectations.

What the heck does that comment mean?

jannicone, You are correct and reminded me of a situation I encountered.

We were doing a large addition to our home. A lien was placed on our home by the concrete supplier used by our concrete contractor. While I had a GC on that project, I raised holy hell about it. I was on the phone with the supplier. I ate him a new one. I told him that we would happily pay COD for the concrete it that was what he needed. Just let us know. But, to slap a lien on the property before the bill was even generated was pretty much ridiculous. I was sending my GC over right then with a check and a release of lien form and he better sign it. Did he want my check, certified check or cash?

I remember how pissed I was about the whole thing. My GC was terribly embarrassed about it. I didn't hold it against him. He didn't do anything wrong. Neither did the concrete contractor.

I also understood the position of the concrete supplier. He wanted to be paid. My position was he should be up front about it, demand payment and we can work it out. I was pissed about the supplier's business practices. It wasn't like the concrete was going anywhere and I didn't expect credit. That's a lesson of how you can end up with a lien through no fault of your own. The lien was cleared. I checked that at the Courthouse.

We have a good online process for lien registration and waiver in NC and we're signed up. For example, our roof panel provided filed a lien and notified us. Because of the large dollar amount, and that this is a standard practice in the commercial construction industry, we simply called our roof panel contractor and said please confirm payment and provide us a lien waiver / indemnification from the panel supplier. I'd much rather have one that is "current" that I can work through, vs what I am finding now, is that after a period of time - and after the sub has long been paid - to have it come out of the blue is a problem. The GOOD news is that they are likely beyond the time frame in which they could actually collect - but - I would have been able to help them if they had notified me before I made a final payment to the contractor (because we had been told that they WERE paid!)

Even though i have a GC handling the build for our new home, i feel like i need to stay on top of everything and take nothing for granted. In fact, I have now hired my Architect to project manage the project manager. My builder's project management skills are poor and he doesn't do a great job paying the subs downstream and that has forced me pay the subs/suppliers directly. Please make sure you always get Unconditional Lien Releases for progress payments made and not pay any more unless the builder provides those lien releases to you. In fact, it's illegal to accept any more money until those lien releases are presented to the owner, at least here in California. One thing that i regret not doing is coming up with Gnatt chart to visualize timelines for different phases of the project. There are softwares readily available these days that let you very easily make up these charts so you get a full view of span of your build. Keep a paper trail of every single item and document it whether it might be bills, texts, emails etc and put it on the cloud. It might seem like a lot of work but it's always best to have it.

We were lucky - couldn't get enough solid pricing from subs for our large reno/addition (may as well have been a new build) so we went with the GC we liked the best. Once I saw what was involved, it would have taken us so much longer to get it done, and with so many compromises that even if the best pricing had come through it never would have been worth it. GC was fantastic (yes, they exist!). Ok going to knock on wood now.