A general contractor, principal contractor or joint venture contractor is in charge of the day-to-day oversight of a commercial construction site, coordination of trades and vendors, and all other information sharing among all involved parties during the course of a project. Having a general contractor on hand that can handle everything that you need to get your construction project done without having to take care of it is very helpful. However, sometimes having just one person handling this large task can cause mistakes to be made, and it can be especially frustrating when something goes wrong and the job gets delayed or stopped altogether. If you need to have some help with all of these aspects of your construction, you may want to consider finding a general contractor that can offer a number of different services.
One of the most common services that a general contractor can offer is the ability to act as a prime contractor. This can be particularly useful if you already have a construction crew in place, or if your building project requires a significant amount of equipment and materials that will require special delivery, transportation, or storage arrangements. When you hire a prime contractor, they will take over all the responsibilities that you would normally have handed off to another individual, and will focus their attention entirely on your construction project so that all of your jobs are handled efficiently.
Another service that a general contractor can provide is the ability to hire subcontractors and suppliers for a variety of projects. When you hire a general contractor to oversee the entirety of your construction project, you are typically required to hire several subcontractors, as well. However, when you hire a company that has several subcontractors already on its books, you can rest assured that they will be ready and willing to fulfill any subcontractor responsibilities that you may have. This can make it much easier to complete the entire construction project on time, as there won’t be any delays in the process due to any unfulfilled contracts or obligations from subcontractors.
There are many reasons why you may choose to hire a company with several subcontractors on tap. For one thing, hiring a general contractor instead of an independent contractor allows you to save money on paying overhead costs. Most independent contractors belong to associations or organizations that require annual fees to be paid, and these fees can eat up a lot of your profits. Instead of paying a large amount of overhead fees every year, you can simply pay the association fees that you agree to, which can really help out a construction project in the long run. Independent contractors don’t belong to associations or unions, so they aren’t obligated to contribute to a union’s funds.
Another reason why you may want to hire a general contractor instead of an independent contractor for construction projects is because most independent contractors belong to what are called “special-interest” groups. These groups often include carpenters, plumbers, roofers, painters, architects, and others who have an interest in specific types of construction projects, like remodeling projects. By hiring a general contractor who belongs to an independent union, you’re also likely to get better service than you would get if you hire one of these contractors who belongs to a special-interest group. For one thing, the work will be done faster, which means that you’ll be able to move quickly through the construction project, taking advantage of discounts and other perks that can come from finishing a construction project in a hurry. You can also rest assured knowing that you won’t be working with individuals or companies who don’t have your best interest in mind. When you work with other professionals who have your best interests in mind, you’ll notice that they go out of their way to make sure that everything is done right.
The last major reason to hire a general contractor instead of an independent contractor for construction projects is flexibility and reliability. When you hire a general contractor to do work on your house or business, you can relax and trust that the job will be done properly and on time. With independent contractors, there’s no guarantee that the job will be done right the first time. The last thing you want is for something to go wrong or for complications to arise. If you know that you’ll be stuck with the result if you hire independent contractors, then you may find it preferable to go with a general contractor so you don’t have to deal with problems as they occur. With these reasons to choose general contractors when you need to have a construction project done quickly and on time, you can feel confident that you’ve made a good decision.
