HOW TO BE YOUR OWN GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Building your own home is one of the most rewarding – and demanding – projects you will ever undertake. Acting as your own General Contractor (GC) can save you money, give you full control over decisions, and allow you to shape the quality of your home at every stage. But it also places complete responsibility for planning, coordination, cost control, scheduling, and problem-solving squarely on your shoulders.
This guide walks you through the entire process, step by step, from finished plans to final warranty. Each section introduces a critical stage of the journey and prepares you for the deeper, detailed guides that follow.
With preparation, discipline, and realistic expectations, serving as your own GC can be highly successful. If approached casually, it can become stressful, expensive, and overwhelming. The goal of this guide is to help you succeed.
What Does A General Contractor Do?
In many cases, the General Contractor does not physically build most of the house; subcontractors do. The GC organizes, coordinates, and directs the entire project so each trade performs the right work at the right time and in the right sequence.
As the GC, you are responsible for:
- Coordinating subcontractors and suppliers
- Managing schedule and sequencing
- Controlling the budget and payments
- Overseeing the contract and scope
- Handling permits and inspections
- Solving daily problems and conflicts
- Monitoring quality and completion
Think of yourself as the conductor of an orchestra. Without coordination, even skilled trades cannot produce a successful project.
THE STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS
STEP 1: Getting The Plans 100% Finished - Avoiding Change Orders
Every successful project begins with complete, coordinated construction drawings. Incomplete plans cause confusion, inconsistent bids, cost overruns, and delays. Subcontractors must be bidding the same scope – apples to apples.
Finished plans define:
- Materials and specifications
- Structural and dimensional details
- Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing coordination
- Construction sequencing
The clearer your plans, the smoother your project will run – and the fewer surprises you will face.
There is often a ‘chicken and egg’ sort of thing involved in construction. You can’t get bids on construction until the plans are finished, and you don’t know if you’re going over budget with what you’re drawing until you get bids.
This is where the ‘value engineering’ phase happens. Once you get numbers from the subs, you may find that you’re over budget and need to cut back. Take advantage of this opportunity and give yourself a little time cushion to adjust.
STEP 2: Apply For The Building & Site Permits
Getting the Building and Site permits is typically the General Contractor’s responsibility. Without them, work can be stopped, fines imposed, or construction reversed. The permitting process may involve multiple agencies, reviews, and approvals.
Understanding the process early helps prevent delays and ensures inspections flow smoothly once construction begins. Proper documentation, complete drawings, and correct submissions are essential.
STEP 3: Start Interviewing Subcontractors / Suppliers
Your subcontractors determine the outcome of your project more than any other factor. Skill, reliability, communication, and professionalism matter far more than choosing the lowest bid.
During this phase, you begin building your construction team – trades, suppliers, and specialists who will carry the project forward. Careful selection now reduces problems later.
STEP 4: General Conditions and Other GC Responsibilities
Not all work is covered by subcontractors. General Conditions include the ‘invisible’ tasks that keep the project running.
I have seen many people get themselves in trouble by forgetting one or two of these pesky accounting topics on their Cost Projection Sheet. In our example house, I forgot to include scaffolding in my budget, which messed me up.
Don’t forget to include these things in your ‘General Conditions’ budget:
- Project Management Costs (Project Manager, Job Superintendent, Administrative, etc.)
- Site Facilities and Temporary Utilities (Temporary power, water, Porta-john, Job Trailer, etc.)
- Safety
- Jobsite Services (dumpsters & Porta-johns)
- Tools, Equipment, Rentals
- Insurance and Bonds
- Permits, Fees & Inspections
- Setup Costs
- Administrative Costs
- Miscellaneous
STEP 5: Prepping for Site Work - What Can You Do before permits?
The answer to that question will vary widely from County to County, with some counties stricter than others.
I’m used to the strict kind where you need permits or County approvals before any site utility or earthwork project.
In my area, there are generally two permits the General Contractor handles: the ‘Site Plan’ permit and the ‘Building’ permit.
- A civil engineer or surveyor generally draws the Construction Documents for the ‘Site Plan’ permit. This work may include designs for utilities, grading, roadwork, house placement, well and septic information, etc. They can amount to several pages of drawings, and there’s no way that I’m going to try to teach you everything involved with doing it yourself. You’re going to have to pay somebody for this stuff.
- The documentation necessary for the ‘Building’ permit is generally drawn by an architect or residential designer, or potentially a draftsman. The requirement varies by jurisdiction. I know that without an architect’s stamp, I can’t practice in downtown D.C.
- Where I work now requires a structural engineer’s stamp on the framing pages. Every place is different, but I believe most allow homeowners to prepare the plans, provided a structural engineer reviews them.
This might be totally different from what they do in your jurisdiction. I’m used to these two permits going through the County in parallel. Most jurisdictions won’t release the Building Permit until the Site Plan is approved.
To answer the question above, could you check with your local jurisdiction or visit their website? You might be able to do a little clearing or rough grading if you have the Site Permit. I’ve had clients who cleared early without the necessary approvals and completely shut down the project.
One area you may want to ask your jurisdiction about is ‘safety-driven’ construction, such as guardrails around demolition sites.
You can also use the time for:
- Finalizing schedules
- Pricing and confirming subcontractors
- Planning logistics and materials
- Preparing documentation
Proper preparation shortens the time between permit approval and breaking ground.
STEP 6: What Scope of Work Do You Want For Yourself?
I have worked with General Contractors who had big crews of skilled workers who did everything except ‘trades’ (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing). I have worked with General Contractors who had subbed out everything, including Construction Management, and everything in between.
One of the most important decisions you will make is defining your role. Some owner-builders perform certain tasks themselves to save money, while others subcontract nearly everything.
Balancing savings against time, stress, skill, and risk is critical. Poor scope decisions can delay the project or increase costs. Clear boundaries help maintain control and efficiency.
STEP 7: Identify the 'long-lead' items - start ordering
Some materials take weeks – or months – to arrive. These include:
- Windows and exterior doors
- Roof trusses and framing packages
- Cabinets and millwork
- Specialty fixtures and finishes
I’ve seen nearly finished houses sitting idle for months, waiting on a single specialty item.
The key is to order early, let the supplier stockpile them for a week or two, and have them delivered, out of the rain, the day before you need them.
STEP 8: inspections and lender mileposts - conquering cashflow
As the General Contractor, you will be responsible for all day-to-day administrative tasks, such as scheduling inspections and paying subcontractors.
You’ll need to learn more about the paper trail you need to follow with the government agency that will eventually issue your Occupancy permit.
You complete the entire process of obtaining a Building Permit, and they provide all the paperwork. You can find it online.
You typically need to call in a footing inspection before pouring any concrete. They might require soil testing. There are many hoops to jump through when they issue the Building Permit. You generally need to have the framing inspected in different phases; each trade has its own inspections and should be responsible for its trade permits and inspections. (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, etc.)
As the General Contractor, you are also responsible for paying the subcontractors. All that accounting stuff: invoices, draw requests, bank inspections.
There can be coordination problems between subcontractors who want to be paid weekly and lenders who pay at milestones, with you in the middle.
STEP 9: - orchestrating subcontractors
Construction is a chain of dependent events. One missed step can halt progress across multiple trades.
Coordinating subcontractors means ensuring each trade:
- Arrives at the correct times
- Completes the correct scope of work
- Leaves the site ready for the next phase
Good coordination creates continuous progress. Poor coordination creates delays.
Scheduling subcontractors is an art in itself.
A sequence must be met. You can’t do Step #2 until Step #1 is finished, and so on.
I learned it as ‘The Critical Path Method‘. There’s probably an app for it these days, but at the time, it was a simple Gantt Chart showing the timeline each subcontractor needed to finish their job.
I was taught that, if you have somebody working in the house every day, eventually you’ll get it done.
There’s a natural progression from one subcontractor to the next. The painter can’t start until the drywall contractor is finished, and he can’t begin until the framing carpenter… etc.
In my simplistic mind, it all boils down to this:
Get the house enclosed as soon as possible. Don’t let there be any surprise delays during this time. (usually windows)
Continue with one crew on the exterior while framing, and continue on the interior as well. Don’t cramp your trades. I always scheduled them: mechanical, plumbing, and electrical. (the least flexible to the most). Sometimes, the electrician would hang lights before ductwork if things were going to get tight. It paid to walk it through with everyone during your framing inspection.
The more you talk with your subs, the better. How big a lead time do they need? How many days do they need to finish, etc? Call them a couple of weeks before they’re scheduled to work, to remind them. Keep the conversation going.
Confirm each subcontractor’s steps with them and schedule them individually. For example, the plumber needs to come in before the basement slab is poured to do their groundworks. They come in again before mechanical to locate their fixture drains, after mechanical to run pipe, and after drywall to set fixtures. Each step needs to be scheduled.
STEP 11: Resolving Daily Problems
I hope I never painted the picture that you could EASILY become a General Contractor while continuing to work full-time at your dental practice (I’ve had a lot of clients over the years who were moonlighting dentists). It’s going to take more than a quick drive-by in the morning and a couple of phone calls during your lunch break.
There’s a reason that homebuilders are making big money.
The only advice that I can give is this:
At least one problem will pop up each day. It’s Murphy’s Law. Accept it and resolve it as well as you can, then move on.
During the framing phase, you should visit the jobsite 2 or 3 times a day. I would try to go by at least once a day after that. If you were unable to do that, I would recommend hiring a superintendent or a contract construction manager. There are many options these days.
I would go with the old rules of thumb when it comes to avoiding daily problems.
- Stay Organized.
- Mentally work out the problems beforehand.
- Don’t freak out. There’s always a solution.
STEP 12: assuring quality - finishing - punch-list - Warrantees
There are several ways to bake quality into your end product.
First, you have to pay for it. In my mind, you can’t beat a guy up on the price and then expect top quality.
Once you have agreed to pay, you need to let the subcontractor know what you expect. You have to be clear about what you will and won’t accept and stick to your guns. Don’t pay anybody 100% until they have satisfied your to-do list.
Don’t micromanage. Don’t do the work yourself if you could make more money elsewhere.
Is It Even Legal for You to be a general contractor?
Check with your particular jurisdiction, but in most states, it is legal to build your own house. At least, it’s legal here in Virginia.
You do have to have a Contractor’s License to build somebody else’s house, or…at the very least, somebody in your company needs to have their license.
Here in Virginia, anybody can get their Class ‘C’ license, which limits the scale of work to small fence or patio projects.
My roadblock came from my bank, which required a Class ‘A’ license. I did have experience working for a few contractors, so I took a six-week community college course to qualify for the test. I got my license that way and moved forward from there.
Another solution might have been to act as the General Contractor, but hire a licensed ‘Construction Manager’ to supervise the work as my employee. Generally, this would have been less expensive for me, but I would have been liable for any problems.
Another solution would have been to hire a licensed General Contractor to build the shell and to act as my own contractor to finish the trades and interior work.
The Reality of Being Your Own general contractor
To do a good job, you need to become the planner, coordinator, problem-solver, and decision-maker for every stage of construction. When done correctly, the reward is a well-built home, controlled costs, and the satisfaction of successfully managing one of life’s most complex projects.
In the detailed guides that follow, each step of this process will be broken down into clear, practical, and manageable actions, so you can move forward with confidence, avoid costly mistakes, and build successfully.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Get 10-15% instant equity by building it yourself!
That said, the most successful ‘doing it yourself’ contractors are driven more by quality than savings.