Contractors Explained: As I See Fit

8/13/20

I wanted to write a little something that I feel might be helpful in understanding Oregon Contractors. I’m sure I will start this with all the right intentions of it being short and sweet but I will likely drone on after pointing out some various facts eventually digressing to my opinion of contractors on the whole and how I personally feel it should work. Lets get into this.

First things first it is important to know that in Oregon there are only a few variations of contractor licenses. Residential, commercial and builder/developer pretty much cover the building trades. There are requirements to be a contractor for other duties such as home inspections but are not relevant to this post. To break it down a bit a residential contractor, such as myself, can work on any site-built home and we can do commercial work with a cap on how large the contract total can be. I wont quote it because things change and I don’t want to have to come back here for an edit I wont remember in a year, but it is a fair amount in case you need me to build your parking lot. Commercial contractors obviously only do commercial work and builders/developers are who make sub-divisions and communities but also build on-site homes just like a GC would.

I intend to keep my focus on residential work because it is what I do. And from here forward pretty much consider a GC and a builder as the same since they virtually are when it comes to on-site construction, yet a builder license is different, confusing isn’t it. So, there are 3 different levels of a residential contractor license that are simply made by how much we are willing to shell out for insurance, we all take the same test. A GC (general contractor) is of course the top tier where they can perform any task they like and can have as many sub-contractors working under them as they need and those sub-contracts have no price cap. Side note, here in Oregon it takes a GC or builder in most cases where a construction loan is involved to meet bank requirements making them an over the top necessity for most builds. A specialty contractor such as myself can do what we do and only have up to 3 subs work for them on any one project, and those contracts have a cap currently set at $2500. Then there are limited contractors which are pretty much a licensed handyman or someone that does very specialty work not exceeding 5k in any single contract. Of all this the moral of the story is I could pay more for a larger insurance policy and bond and be a GC with a simple phone call to my insurance agent, so lets not get too excited about how highly many of them feel about themselves.

That was the short breakdown of how our licenses work and you should ALWAYS LOOK UP A CONTRACTOR BEFORE SIGNING ANYTHING OR GIVING OUT MONEY. This link will take you to the Oregon Contractors Board website where you can read what they have on us. CCB-LICENSE-SEARCH

An important side note detail; being a licensed contractor has literately nothing to do with ones ability to build anything. It is all about being able to write, perform and follow rules of contract law. We are not tested and re-tested to make sure we know shit-all about how to operate machinery, install a door plumb or build a wall, just if we can follow the rules set forth by the Oregon Construction Contractors Board and write a contract that will hold up in court if need be. I know that is not comforting but it is a fact and ultimately stupid. A few simple rules of thumb would be that most specialty contractors, such as myself, will know our trade as described and are usually subs to a GC or builder. GC’s are most commonly born from framing leading them to believe they have learned every step of the building process because framing is the backbone of a structure and takes so long to complete they are often there to see the rest of the trades at work. Builders will either have big business backgrounds allowing them to hire contractors that are hopefully qualified or they will have been architects, GC’s or a have a past partnership of the two. It’s not my intention to say that no GC or builder is actually qualified for the position they have put themselves in, but try to keep in mind that a lot of them don’t. If I were to up and decide to become a GC and sell myself to you as someone who knows every aspect of your project it would be a lie. I know quite a bit but you would likely notice I know nothing about finish work when you see your paint job.

In example, I get this question quite often when I am estimating septic systems, “can I GC your job”? Well obviously no since I am a specialty contractor and don’t know shit about roofing. But I can however oversee the few contractors it takes to go from undeveloped land to a foundation. Actually I kind of prefer to be the one that chooses the electrician and plumber to bring power and water on to the property and if I can get your foundation to fit in under the ever too low cap on my license I prefer to oversee that too. Excavation in residential work often means I am also the surveyor, so while you have your ideal spot in mind for your house,I will be the one that figures out how to put it there and get everything to and from it. The bulk of the work I do is based on a loose drawing called a plot plan and a single page showing the foundation footprint so it falls to me to put in proper trenching, decide on foundation steps, meet all underground codes and even figure out the finish elevation of your garage slab so your driveway has drainage. So yep, I like being in direct control of those subs so I can explain to them in great detail what is expected of them. A GC is kind of a middle man for me that somehow manages to get some of the details or timing wrong no matter how good they are at their jobs thus leaving me out to dry for costly periods of time. And just so you know, you can request of your GC to have excavation oversee these steps. Just because the bank is likely requiring a GC for the construction loan it does not mean subs cannot hire subs, food for thought.

Before I derail completely I want to mention the few of us that actually have to know our trades to have one or more of our licenses. Electricians, plumbers, HVAC installers and septic installers for instance all actually have to be trained, tested and know our trades. I happen to be a licensed septic installer and to get and maintain that license means I have to know alot about excavation and crap processing. If all trades were treated this way I doubt as many people would get screwed by contractor. But hey, how hard could it be to build an entire house! I’m really going to digress from here so read at your own risk.

Lets talk about general contractors for a minute since they are where most of the problem in the system are. Like I said above, a GC is just a boost in insurance and bonding, it does not mean they know anything special so picking one that is good at their job is quite daunting. In my many years I have found that a good GC will not be the easiest to work with but will have answers when you ask them. They should exude a certain confidence in their ability to build your dream without fault yet be humble enough to not try and oversell themselves. The over-sellers are the ones that give you that used car salesman feeling and trust me that’s where they belong. They should be able to knock off some price tags on the fly without always saying “I will look into that” but should never just quote you prices based on no details. A good one will know where to take you shopping for your cabinets and flooring, they will ask questions about your lumber quality expectations and want to know what type of roofing you might like before they start throwing you estimates. Beware the GC that does not care about those things, it will likely lead to you paying more for less and it will definitely lead to your job taking longer than expected costing you more money. And if you are simply shopping price you will probably regret it when you end up paying them way more than estimated. The rule of thumb in the word estimation is that its meaningless to the lowest bidder, its an estimate, not a bid.

So, here are some helpful hints on how to pick a good GC (or builder since they are just less personal versions of GC’s). First thing is you should like them, spend some time getting to know them personally, you will be giving them ALL your money so its worth the effort. Second, ask them to show you some of their work. I’m not talking a few pictures either. A good GC will have built a reputation with some of their past clients that will allow them to show off what they built for them. Its not a guarantee that every GC will be able to traipse you through a house they finished last year but at the very least they should be able to give you a drive by. Be a bit of a nosy nelly and try to get an invite to their home. Most seasoned GC’s will have built their own home and its a good way to see how they live which may change your mind on weather or not you want them in charge of your money. LOOK THEM UP WITH THE CCB and make sure there is nothing in their file that stands out as a bad deal. Read this with an open mind though, many homeowners file erroneous complaints that go nowhere but they were pissed about something and it has to go on file. Check to see if it was resolved and if the GC was found at fault. Above all, don’t just keep pushing for some sort of finished price tag before the thousands of details it takes to build something has all been laid out. If you push a good GC they will throw out a number that is higher than what you thought was possible, its a defense mechanism every human has when pushed for an answer they don’t have and it will insure you will not bother them again. Try to keep in mind that a GC worth hiring likely does not NEED your job as bad as you need a good GC, and they know it, which circles us back to that exuding a certain confidence level thing I mentioned above. Think of picking your GC like you would a mate, trust your gut, they are not so good looking you need to be willing to overlook the obvious to get in their pants.

Ok, since I apparently have no real point to make here and I am just throwing out my opinion I want to take it a step further. In general I do not believe building things that cost money bring out the best in people. The old saying “dog eat dog” comes to mind on nearly every project. Homeowners are in a constant state of denial that they need to pay top dollar for the best quality, or at least mid dollar for some semblance of quality. Sorry to pan on you since I make my living off of you but its true. Most people want the best they can get but rarely want to pay proper for it. I can’t even explain in a thousand words or less how easy it is to make a shit quality home “look” nice and if that is what your after go ahead and price hire. But if you have ever said “boy, they sure don’t build things the way they used to” then accept the fact that you want higher quality and it WILL COST MORE. GC’s make their living by attempting to estimate an entire project then make it fit into the budget they set by being the lowest bidder. There is so much wrong with that sentence its hard to read but the worst of it is that, most likely, less than half the GC’s out there have a clue as to what they are doing. Odds are they will cut corners to make money, make mistakes and come to the homeowner for more money, devour time like its free and hire subs the same way you hired them, lowest bid. Subs, or specialty contractors if you prefer, are often over booked, slow, have less care about quality than time, don’t communicate well, have six weeks experience and think they know everything, make messes they never clean up and constantly are in the way of each other. Yes, you hired a GC to control these issues but do yourself a favor and vet the subs your GC is hiring, be prepared to pay a bit more to replace the ones you cannot even find a touch of info on, but do your best to not let these asshats on your project. They are fucking frustrating for everyone around them, especially to me. Its hard enough to maneuver equipment and materials around without wrecking things but stack a bunch of framing waste in the way and it gets impossible.

Well, I knew I would head off the deep end when I started this, sorry. I do hope there was something here that helps you though. Building is a crap shoot, however, you can increase your odds by paying attention to some details.Good luck out there and if you have any questions about any thing I post in my blog, feel free to email them. Thanks

Patrick Sink