Redefining the "General" Contractor

General Contractor is a horrible title. Contracting to build a specific building or renovate a specific structure is tough, tough work. But GENERAL contracting? It sounds willy-nilly, and almost useless. No one contracts for "general" tasks. General contractors are employed to do specific tasks, and they must do them well. Thousands, tens-of thousands, even millions of their customer's dollars depend on their work being done meticulously well.

General Contractors are high level operators. They oversee projects from the macro and micro levels. They must immerse themselves in every detail of what is going on to make sure that work is done correctly. After all, you aren't going to sue the framing crew who actually set your roof trusses and decked your roof incorrectly if a catastrophic systems failure occurs on your new home. You're going to go after your general contractor.

For this reason, instead of defining the general contractor as someone who "contracts for all different types of building projects without limitation" or "someone who can contract anything generally" we should define general contractors as people who are of the "highest level of operations command and responsibility" in the contracting industry (much like a traditional general in a military outfit).

In this way a general contractor would be like a 5 star general. These guys are the top of the heap, they can oversee everything. They have no limitations on size and scope. They have the most responsibilities and privileges with respect to contracting law.

There are other categories of "general" contractor too. They come with a different title and a lesser set of privileges, which can be confusing. But these guys and gals are still high level operations specialists who drive the project vehicle with all of it's moving parts toward completion.

Building contractors are the next step down from general contractors. They would be the 4 star general in our analogy. They operate in very large theatres as general contractors do, but they have some limitations. Building contractors, for example, cannot contract to build new building over 4 stories tall. They also must sub-contract out structural pool services.

Residential contractors are your 3 star generals. They are your homebuilders. They develop single family residences, and may produce custom homes as well. These guys, as their title implies are mostly focused on residential construction, and single family construction at that.

As you can see even in contracting titles and nomenclature there is nothing "general" about being about contractors, down to their titles and defined legal roles. But that isn't good enough, let's go deeper.

Zooming in on the contracting industry, we also need to analyze what differentiates contractors from one another. You wouldn't want a general contractor who builds warehouses in industrial parks to renovate your bathroom. Just like you wouldn't call a contractor who builds high end custom homes to be responsible for building your large commercial building project.

Contractors specialize in different areas based on strengths and weaknesses. They have different interests, motivations, and roles based on their geographical location and background. In areas experiencing an economic boom, some contractors move to specialize in the construction of large apartment complexes, provide affordable housing to the many people moving to that area in need of a roof over their heads.

In more rural or secluded areas however, some contractors choose to specialize in high end custom homes. In areas with large plots of land or where there is a concentration of people building larger, more customized homes, there will be a higher demand for contractors who can meet those needs.

Contractors specialize for many different reasons. Some contractors focus in on different service specializations due to their geographical location, as explained above. However, contractors are people, and people individually have strengths and weaknesses. Most contractors are tradesman. They are carpenters or plumbers or electricians by trade. Maybe a commercial electrician-turned-contractor is very strong on commercial building practices because of his pedigree. This is what makes him suitable for large commercial building projects.

Another carpenter-turned-GC has worked framing high end custom homes for his entire career. He, fittingly, seems more than capable of pivoting into a role as a custom home builder, as that's where he's spent most of his time.

For this reason I recommend talking to your contractor about his resume when consulting with GC's about your next project. Review their portfolio, and make sure that you see examples that resemble the project you are working on contained within it. If you're building an apartment building, look for other apartment buildings your contractor has renovated or built for reference. If building a custom home, ask your contractor about the design process, or for an address list for homes he has completed in the past. Drive by them, check them out!

In summary, there is nothing "general" about general contracting. Contractors of different types do different things, for different reasons. In your area chances are there are many different contractors who can serve your needs, and doing due diligence to find the right guy for the job will yield the best results. Happy renovating y'all!