What exactly did you hire the “contractor” to do? Is there a contract? How is he paid (cost plus, flat fee, hourly, etc.?)

Is the person you hired basically a glorified framer?

Flat fee, the contract is to build the house. Not a very detailed contract; that should have been my red flag. It does include insurance/liability at least. Seems like a glorified carpenter.

Actually you are a volunteer GC. This is what contracts are for. If the GC has repeatedly breached the contract you should be able to terminate the contract. Hopefully you will be able replace the contractor without hiring a lawyer or suffering a large financial penalty.

Sounds like someone none of the other GC’s in the area would hire to be their job superintendents, for a reason, so he’s trying to set up shop as one as a side hustle, and still do carpentry as his day job.

You’d better verify the insurance situation yourself. Guys who present certificates where they paid the first month’s premium, then got canceled, are counting on you not calling the agent listed.

And get in touch with your bank to have a progress vs disbursement review. You're going to need a longer build time before converting to a permanent mortgage if you have a 2 close loan.

Also talk with your local permitting and inspections office to see what the procedure is for extending the building permit.

Being the GC comes with a lot of responsibility. Accept that you have to assume the whole responsibility here, and gear up to get your subs more motivated and in line. But since you are a one off project, motivation to work on your self build project usually comes down to $$. You are also responsible for quality control. If you don’t know enough to tell if the parts are done correctly? Things like window and door flashing, roof flashing, insulation and roof ventilation, plumbing slope and ventilation, electrical capacity and outlet distribution, lot grading and other moisture control, etc. Those are critical to keeping your home dry and warm. Hire a separate construction inspector for that. For milestone inspections. Out of pocket.

"Flat fee, the contract is to build the house. "

And what does "build the house" per the contract entail? Are you paying him for his labor portion only as a flat fee or for the house in its entirety as a flat fee. For example, are you paying for the entire cost of the house plus him a flat fee of $50K and if so, what is that $50K (or whatever $$ it is) supposed to include? Are you starting to see why written contracts are so important?

When DH and I built a house 15 years ago, we DID act as our GC. WE contacted the necessary subs for excavation, framing, masonry, framing, drywall, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc. etc. We paid them directly. We also were responsible for all the cleanup after each sub left. We did all the "dirty work" to ensure that the site was ready for the next sub to come in. Is that what you intended to do at the get go or is that what you were paying this guy to do? Did he understand that or did you just assume he understood that? What actual value is he adding to your house at this point? Is he providing any labor himself?

@shead so I guess we are kind of in between that. He has done the majority of the sub hiring upfront but thought he would leave anything that said "allowance" on our bid estimate meaning we had to take care if it ourselves. I interviewed several builders when we started this and no one said anything about contracts. Guess we were naive and didn't know what we were getting into. Basically his value is that he will finish the custom master shower, hang doors, put up trim (extension jambs) chip board in the garage and closet organizers. We have paid everyone directly.

Luckily we also have insurance and theft risk on our build site. And we just closed on our construction loan so we have 6 months forward. Surely we can get everything completed by then.

Well, clearly you and this guy did not have a mutual understanding of responsibility at the beginning. He feels like he's taken care of everything he actually priced out on your bid which is why he's not there when he doesn't have to be. You *thought* his price included it all. I'm not sure how you move forward without have a "come to Jesus" talk with the guy about going forward and who will maintain responsibility over the subs and finish work. If you don't want to do it, you might have to pay him more money. Without a contract, you really have no leverage over him unfortunately.

If you are paying the subs directly you have relieved this guy of the most defining aspect of a GC. From there, things can unravel quickly.

@User Thanks for weighing in on this. I think this is why we have had so many "gray" areas. Luckily we have been able to work with him on most things not explicitly described. I think we are just getting tired and since we have never built before we are overwhelmed and ready to be done.

@shead I think that is a great idea to sit down and have a meeting about the finishing of the house. From there I will record responsibilities. I talked to him this morning and he was in agreement that he wants our house to be finished sooner than later as well. I think there was too much assuming on both ends! Once again communication is key and for some reason we lost that. Thank you all for being supportive listeners and helping me out.