Hi folks, first time user here so please bear with me.
We're about to begin a fairly major remodeling job (5000sf house). We have the architectural drawings done, but had a hard time finding a GC with terms/prices we like. The GCs that bid on our project gave us fairly detailed breakouts of the subs' bids, but they were just all over the place. For example, one GC would quote $75k for painting while another guy would quote $40k. But the guy with the cheaper painter would quote $75k for electricals while the other guy would quote $50k for electricals. All the GC's claim they're using the best subs out there - I just wish I could mix & match them and that alone would drop the pricetag by 30%. Anyway, you get the drift.
So we were thinking - if we got to pick the subs ourselves we can probably save quite a bit of money. But neither of us have done a renovation in the past, so the task is a bit daunting. Someone suggested to us that maybe we could run the project with a Project Manager that gets paid a straight fee (flat fee, % or hourly), and his entire job is to act as a GC would normally act, with the main exceptions being that we have final say on which subs to hire, and he doesn't have to take any financial risk.
Now, we know we're not qualified to manage the project ourselves so we have no interest in GC-ing this puppy. We are very organized and good with #s. Our goals are to put a "price check" on all the subs, and secondarily, to remove financial risk from the PM/GC so that he doesn't need to put in extra layers to protect himself. We'll be funding the project with cash and don't need to move into the house in a hurry.
So my question to the good folks here is, has anyone tried this approach before? Any advice for us on
1. things we should be concerned about or aware of
2. things we should do to make sure that the project runs smoothly
3. where/how do we find quality subs?
4. is this overall approach a good idea or bad idea?
We'll ask the PM/GC and architect to provide some sub references, but we'd also like to find our own subs to bid for each function as well, to make sure everyone stays honest.
Thanks everyone!!!
PP
We're about to begin a fairly major remodeling job (5000sf house). We have the architectural drawings done, but had a hard time finding a GC with terms/prices we like. The GCs that bid on our project gave us fairly detailed breakouts of the subs' bids, but they were just all over the place. For example, one GC would quote $75k for painting while another guy would quote $40k. But the guy with the cheaper painter would quote $75k for electricals while the other guy would quote $50k for electricals. All the GC's claim they're using the best subs out there - I just wish I could mix & match them and that alone would drop the pricetag by 30%. Anyway, you get the drift.
So we were thinking - if we got to pick the subs ourselves we can probably save quite a bit of money. But neither of us have done a renovation in the past, so the task is a bit daunting. Someone suggested to us that maybe we could run the project with a Project Manager that gets paid a straight fee (flat fee, % or hourly), and his entire job is to act as a GC would normally act, with the main exceptions being that we have final say on which subs to hire, and he doesn't have to take any financial risk.
Now, we know we're not qualified to manage the project ourselves so we have no interest in GC-ing this puppy. We are very organized and good with #s. Our goals are to put a "price check" on all the subs, and secondarily, to remove financial risk from the PM/GC so that he doesn't need to put in extra layers to protect himself. We'll be funding the project with cash and don't need to move into the house in a hurry.
So my question to the good folks here is, has anyone tried this approach before? Any advice for us on
1. things we should be concerned about or aware of
2. things we should do to make sure that the project runs smoothly
3. where/how do we find quality subs?
4. is this overall approach a good idea or bad idea?
We'll ask the PM/GC and architect to provide some sub references, but we'd also like to find our own subs to bid for each function as well, to make sure everyone stays honest.
Thanks everyone!!!
PP