Hire a General Contractor or Do It Yourself?
If you are building anything from a new home to a new commercial construction project, you have a decision to make. You have to decide whether you should hire a general contractor to oversee the project or whether to take on the task yourself. There are pros and cons to both methods. Learning the benefits of each may help you decide which is the better option. Here are a few of the benefits to both overseeing the project yourself and hiring someone to do it for you.
The Benefits of Doing It Yourself
- May Save You Money
One of the benefits to overseeing the project yourself is that it may save you some money. This is because you will pay the general contractor a fee for their services. From there, they subcontract out the work to other contractors based on what task needs to be completed at the time. However, always be realistic about just how much money you can save doing it yourself. Some people forget to factor in their time or the discounts a general contractor can get for them. While some websites may boast that you can save thousands upon thousands of dollars being your own project manager, the amount of money you save, if any, is generally fairly small for those who do not do this often.
- Helps You Retain Control
The other major benefit to being your own general contractor is that you retain control over the entire project. it puts you in charge of sub-contracting all of the work and hiring every professional. Some people prefer to be in charge of their construction project. If you are one of these people that wants to manage the entire project, you may have problems letting go of the reigns and passing them off to a project manager.
The Benefits of Hiring a General Contractor
- They Can Save You Time
One of the benefits of hiring a general contractor is that it can save you time. Depending on the size and scope of your construction project, a general contractor can work full time hours. If you work a regular job or have a family, it can be time consuming trying to hire sub-contractors, follow the project and order supplies as needed. You need to be realistic about how much time you can invest in the project. If you can’t invest the time that is needed, a general contractor can. This frees up your time to focus on other things, such as your family and your regular job.
- They Can Negotiate Discounts
Another benefit to hiring a general contractor is that they can negotiate discounts for sub-contractors, other labor and supplies. The general contractor works with all of the professionals and suppliers on a regular basis on a variety of projects. As such, they develop a rapport with these people that may help them get discounts for buying in bulk or doing so much business with them. While it does cost money to hire a general contractor, the discounts they can get help to offset this cost.
- Helps Manage the Work Efficiently
The last benefit to hiring a general contractor is that they help manage the workflow efficiently. If you take on the task yourself, work can come to a standstill if you miscalculate when supplies arrive, when permits need to be pulled or inspections need to be done or if you do not have the right sub-contractors on hand. A general contractor does this for a living, so knows how things flow and how to predict what is needed when. This helps things to flow, which also helps to keep costs down.
There are many benefits to hiring a general contractor for your construction needs. When you are looking to hire one in the greater Melbourne, Florida area, MH Williams Construction Group can help. We provide administrative, design, project management, project supervision and technical expertise for a wide array of projects. Our team is made up of general contractors, construction managers and engineers, ensuring there is always a professional to help with your construction needs. Call us today to discuss your needs and let us explain how we can help.