The Players' Roles
Contractor's Role
The general contractor (GC) hires and coordinates the work of subcontractors. While most contractors also have direct employees (usually carpenters and helpers), some rely on subcontractors for everything. The contractor typically procures all or most of the materials for the project. The purpose of a GC is to provide one stop shopping for the owner, who would otherwise have to find, hire, and coordinate many separate subcontractors. The GC is usually the only person on the job that has a complete understand of the entire project, from the design to the scheduling.
The contractor typically has expertise in a trade (typically carpentry), and broad knowledge of all subtrades. S/he must also be skilled in project management and accounting, marketing, hiring and supervising employees and subs, understanding construction documents, and communicating with employees, subs, architects and owners.
It is often difficult for homeowners to understand the complexity and difficulty of the contractor's job. Someone described Boston's Big Dig as "trying to do open heart surgery on a patient who's playing tennis". While remodeling your kitchen may not be that difficult, it does involve coordinating interdependent variables that all want to spin out of control. Remember planning your wedding? Running a construction project is like planning a hundred weddings in a row.
The contractor brings these two key values to the project:
- understands the entire job and how all the pieces fit together, both from a construction and scheduling standpoint.
- has relationships with subcontractors who have an interest (future work) in providing good service.
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