DEVELOPMENT  |  DESIGN  |  CONSTRUCTION

ARCHITECTURAL  -  ENGINEERING  -  CONTRACTOR

Contractors are builders and managers of builders who turn ideas on paper into enduring physical forms: apartment buildings, warehouses, stores, offices, public buildings. Our highly specialized society often takes for granted constructed space and its providers, yet without builders, each of us would face a simple choice: build our shelter ourselves or do without.

A general contractor (GC) typically executes a contract with an owner to build the project according to the plans and specifications developed by the architect and engineer (or sometimes according to the plans drawn up by our design build services) for a fixed price within a set time frame. General contractors then divide the contract among different subcontractors to perform different tasks: excavation, pouring and finishing concrete, rough carpentry, installation of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, finish carpentry, and so on. General contractors schedule subcontractors’ work and monitor quality to ensure that subcontractors’ performance satisfies the general contractor’s obligations to the owner. Typically, the GC’s contract is executed with the owner, and subcontractors’ contracts are executed with the general contractor, who pays the subcontractors as their work is completed. Many variations of these contractual arrangements are possible and appropriate in certain situations.

General contractors are often chosen through a selective qualification process in which the owner asks a contractor to submit a proposal or general statements of qualifications that include descriptions of past projects, references from clients and lenders, resumes of key employees, and possibly, verification that the company is adequately insured.

The contractor submitting the lowest bid is not always the best choice; the best player for the project may have other critical attributes, such as the necessary experience or unqualified reliability. The lower carrying costs implied in a shorter construction period can compensate for a higher construction bid.

Many owners of projects hire a different kind of contractor, a construction manager (CM). A CM is brought into the development process early to perform a variety of services, both before and during construction. During the design phase, CMs advise the owner and the design team on cost-effective ways to execute the various elements of the design. The owner agreement with a CM may be for preconstruction consulting only, or it might extend into the construction period.