What is the Main Difference Between a Builder and a General Contractor?
Most people think terms like “custom home builder” and “general contractor” are the same thing. The tasks of these two professions are very similar and most of the time overlapping. The best built custom homes usually come to fruition as a result of your custom home builder and general contractors collaborating. There are some major differences though. The Prestige Construction Group is proud to be called a Custom Home Builder.
CUSTOM HOME BUILDER VS. GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Basically, a general contractor is someone who manages multiple subcontractors to complete various types of construction that go into completing a home. A custom home builder specializes in building custom homes and is able to complete all or most of the work required to complete a custom-built home.
A custom home builder will usually have a team of people in-house to pull in throughout the project, such as a project manager, to keep the whole process running efficiently. Unlike general contractors, custom home builders typically only subcontract the jobs that require special licenses, like electricians or plumbers.
Custom Home Builder – Prestige Construction Group
As opposed to general contractors – who generally don’t come into the picture until the construction of the home is ready to begin – hiring the Prestige Construction Group for a home or condo means you get in-person service from the very beginning. That means all the way from the initial sketches and blueprints to the day-to-day excavation and construction. In other words, everything involved with the home-building process from point A to point Z will be handled by Prestige Construction Group right up until your new custom home is finally finished, fully furnished, and ready for the keys to be handed over.
Now, as far as the actual day-to-day construction work is concerned, a general contractor might sometimes have their own employees ready to assist with the various components of building a new custom home. A custom home builder such as Prestige Construction Group has a team of individuals on-call or in-office, ready to assist with whatever tasks are necessary at any given time. And, if it turns out we do need to reach out to other specialists such as architects, then we already have pre-established relationships ready to accommodate any number of needs.
General Contractors
A general contractor is someone who will work with you and multiple other contractors to construct your project.
A general contractor’s focus is executing the construction of project plans, which are often created by outside specialists like architects and designers. A general contractor handles many types of projects, but they don’t typically specialize in building custom homes. As a result, it’s not uncommon to need to hire outside architects and other specialists to help draw up the plans for the general contractor to get things started. A custom home builder would typically handle this part of the engagement personally.
After the planning phase, the general contractor will work to make sure your home is built to your desired specifications. This is when they hire, schedule, and pay all the necessary subcontractors to reach your goal.