What value does a general contractor bring?

In the greater Denver County area – from Greenwood Village to the Lone Tree – residential contracting companies are routinely used to oversee a home remodeling project by all but the most ambitious homeowners. In fact, the use of a GC greatly reduces the amount of time, energy and stress that a homeowner will experience by owner overseeing the project themselves. Instead, the GC and the subcontractors that he hires will deal with ordering the necessary materials, scheduling the work and dealing with the local building department.

Once the final plans are formalized and approved by the homeowner, the GC is in most cases given almost complete control over the day-to-day aspects of the construction aspects of the project. Meetings between the GC and the homeowner will be sporadic until certain milestones are met. At this point, the GC will perform an intermediate walkthrough to allow the homeowner to voice any concerns or to make any changes to the plans.if everything is satisfactory, the homeowner will make a partial payment and the project will proceed to the next stage.

The general contractor’s responsibilities also include a number of other specific duties. In particular, he will create a project timeline that specifies when the respective subcontractors should arrive on the job and finish their portion of it. In addition, the timeline will detail for the vendors when deliveries should be made. Finally, the timeline will also delineate the milestones mentioned above for the homeowner and detail when payments will need to be made.

A second – but equally important aspect – of the GC’s role is to act as an intermediary between the homeowner and the subcontractors. It is an important task as the subcontractors actually work for the GC and will be hesitant to take direction from the homeowner without authorization from the GC. Homeowners generally do not recognize this fact and may meddle in the day-to-day activities without really knowing what they are doing.

It is simply a far superior strategy for the homeowner to communicate their concerns directly to the GC and then let the professional handle the details with the subcontractors. It is of the utmost importance for the homeowner to understand their relationship with the subcontractors or they can delay the timeline of the project and also significantly increase its cost.

How will the project will the project overseen by the GC progress?

The Mile High City may seem like a fairly homogeneous city to the outsider but there are numerous enclaves in and around the city that display their own individual sense of style. From the expansive mansions of Hilltop to the affordable family homes in Mar Lee, the city has as numerous styles of architecture from the traditional to the downright quirky. F

or this reason, most Denverites will work with an architect to help define their taste but will ultimately use a GC to bring their dream remodel from the imagination into reality. Here is how a general contractor makes that happen:

First, a budget is drawn up taking into account the layout, the materials needed and the amount of work that will be necessary to complete the project. This preliminary budget will then be submitted to the owner for review and revision. Once approved, an initial down payment is made and the project will start. The next step involves the ordering of the agreed upon supplies and the hiring of the subcontractors.

Next, the GC establish a timeline to coordinate all of the activities of those involved in the process – most notably the vendors, the subcontractors and the local building inspectors. The process can seem complicated but is not normally something that an experienced GC will find difficult.

As each stage of the project nears completion, the GC will coordinate the inspections required by the local building authorities. During this stage of the project, the GC will conduct his own inspection of the work to to ensure that everything is “up to code,” meets all safety regulations and will cause no problems with the building inspector. It is an important task as inspections must be scheduled well in advance and, if a problem does arise, the project can grind to a halt.

Finally, once all the “i’s” are dotted and the “t’s” are crossed, the owner now has one more opportunity to point out any problems he has with the workmanship on the project. The GC fills out what is known as a “punch list” – that is, a list of any flaws that need to be remedied. All of the issues described on this list will then be fixed to the homeowner’s satisfaction. A final walkthrough after the punch list is completed and payment the final payment will be made.