General Contractor vs Business Employees

[nafterclifen]

I will be starting the planning process to build a "sun room" soon. Having never hired anyone to build a structure (room, garage, etc), I'd like some general feedback on hiring either a GC or a business with employees on staff.

A while back, I met with two companies to talk high level budgetary estimates, options, etc.

The first guy was the owner of the company. He specializes in sun rooms. He was straight froward and said he's not cheap but he always delivers - on time and within budget. When I asked how many people work for him, I was surprised to learn that he subs out all of the work. He's more or less acts as the GC. Or course he works with many of the same people but not always.

The second guy was a sales/PM for a reputable construction company. He said almost all of their work is done in house - carpenters, electricians, etc. Meaning, they staff and employ all of their people. In concept, I like that they have 100% control over their workforce.

So what say you GJ'ites? Pro's and Con's of GC vs Business Employees?

 

[Spencer Was Here]

The company that self performs will make more profit. They will also have more control over the schedule and the quality of the work. They will be easier to hold accountable if any issues arise during or after construction. You should also have less liability and less fear of being liened.

The guy who subs everything out will have less control of the schedule and quality. You open yourself up to more liability with all his various subcontractors being involved. You are more susceptible to being liened by one of the many different subs and suppliers. His only way to try and make the same amount of profit as the other company is to beat up his subs. Getting any satisfaction for issues that arise during or after construction will be more challenging for you.

 

[LeeG]

If the company is large enough to keep Different trade crews running, they can do quite well. The problem can come when you have a few guys that do a range of work and are not experts at any of them. This is less an issue with a sun room than a major addition.

Generally, the really good tile guys are the one that do tile all day, every day. This is true for most of the trades. Generally with smaller, all employee shops, you have a few guys that wear a lot of hats on a job. They may be really good at some trades, but only adequate at others. A smart business owner who has a relationship with several top notch subcontractors might well be able to have higher quality of n someone who has employees do all the work.

I worked around the trades off and on for many years and seen good and bad companies that do it each way. Get references, talk to previous customers, and use that as more of a basis than how he pays the guys that do the work.

 

[driftpin]

In Florida it's a requirement to file a notice of commencement which protects you from non-payment of the subcontractors by the general contractor. The notice of commencement is to be filed before the work begins. If the contractor fails to pay a subcontractor the notice of commencement prevents the subcontractors from coming after you individually. Without the notice of commencement an unpaid subcontractor where you have already paid the GC for the work the subcontractor performed, the subcontractor can legally sue you for payment.

Checking prior customers for their level of satisfaction with the performance of the contractor I think is one way to check on things. You also should be able to check with the State Licensing Board to see what complaints have been registered against the GC and what was the resolution.

 

[jetnow1]

If you get signed lien releases from each subcontractor you are pretty well protected, be sure to include suppliers. There are some very large contractors that use subcontractors, and some very poor contractors that do it all in house.
I do not agree that there is an inherent advantage to either way, there are some advantages either way, and good and bad contractors using either model.
Very few contractors do everything in house, and those who do either have their specialists doing work outside their area of expertise or are subbing them out to keep them busy. Be sure to check for workers comp who ever you pick.

 

[ard]

who cares?

Both can do great work or **** work. IMO the OP is only focussed on this becuase he can see it...the REAL important factors he cannot.

 

[nafterclifen]

who cares?

Both can do great work or **** work. IMO the OP is only focussed on this becuase he can see it...the REAL important factors he cannot.

How dare you judge my skills and ability to access/collect information. Haha. I rarely trust anyone and always research for myself. This post was the start of that process. Gotta know something about what the heck you're getting into before you get into it.

 

[RivennHewn]

who cares?

Both can do great work or **** work. IMO the OP is only focussed on this becuase he can see it...the REAL important factors he cannot.

Really?

Nice post, not.

 

[larry4406]

I am a construction project manager for a quite large private home builder. We sub 100%. Myself and sales manager are the only company employees on the site, all else are subs. This is the norm in my area with all the major builders.

We have a large and reliable subcontractor workforce. When schedules are on the verge of going sideways I am able to call the cell phones of the owners and quickly reign things in. We always hit our dates and quality.

Although I approve their bills for payment, I don’t negotiate contracts or deal with lien releases.

A sun room is a much more focused project so maybe an in-house company could master all aspects. As was mentioned, some of these in-house employees may be jacks of all trades and masters of none.

I like that on my job each trade is focused on their specialty. I get the right talent for each phase. Yes I have my share of headaches but I’m not trying to get someone to perform outside their skill set.

 

[James-W]

Awhile back I worked with a good friend of mine and we built a house. We did a lot of the work ourselves, but some of it we hired out. For example, the hardwood floors. We had a company come in and install the hardwood floors. That's all they do all day every day, install hardwood floors. Needless to say, they did a beautiful job and it was done quickly.

Same thing for the drywall. We had two different companies do the drywall. One company hung the drywall, the second company came in and finished it. The second company had two painters that came in and sealed the drywall, then applied a coat of primer. Two coats of paint later it was all finished and looked super nice.

What I am saying is basically the same thing that "LeeG" said, when you have someone who does this work all the time you tend to get a better job than when someone does it who wears several hats and does several different types of jobs.

Are you buying a kit of some sort or will this just be an addition on the house as drawn by an architect?