Why Do I Need a General Contractor for My Project?

We get this question a lot – as many landlords and commercial property owners don’t really know the value of a General Contractor. Here is a handy reference that you can use to help make your next project a complete success.

What Is a General Contractor?

A General Contractor is a professional construction expert that takes ownership of a construction project. Think of them as the project orchestrator and watchman, bringing critical expertise and a network of vetted resources to bear on your project. A General Contractor puts a talented team of architects, engineers and subcontractors together to design and build the construction goals of their client. From permit to construction, to final occupancy, a General Contractor is a one-stop partner that takes responsibility for getting the project done successfully, on-time, and within budget.

Why Hire a General Contractor?

A General Contractor will make your construction or remodeling project a success.  This way, you do not have to manage dozens of different trades.  Instead, the General Contractor is the main point of contact making the process much easier and far less stressful.

Some people may think that hiring a General Contractor is not necessary for their new office buildout, warehouse renovation, or commercial construction project.  And you certainly CAN manage your own commercial project, but without the expertise of a GC, you’ll be learning it all the hard way.  Whether it is accurate permit lead times, finding reliable and knowledgeable subcontractors, to filling out the appropriate paperwork, a skilled General Contractor will make the process so much smoother and will alleviate all of the headaches you face without that bank of knowledge.

If you think about it, we have professionals that plan weddings, do our taxes, and provide legal advice, as these are tasks most of us don’t do on a regular basis. General Contractors are no exception.

Benefits of Hiring a General Contractor:

• Planning/Paperwork – A General Contractor has a large network of architects, engineers, and experts to assist in the design of the project and to make the permit process is as seamless as possible. The design process is critical to satisfying the village inspectors for code requirements and it requires expert-level responses to village inquiries.
• Cost Savings – One of the biggest mistakes we see as General Contractors is when a client hires an architect and engineering firm with no feedback on the design from a General Contractor. We have seen many projects that have to be re-designed more than once since costs were never part of the initial design process. A General Contractor’s input helps to eliminate this error. We also have a large network of subcontractors and can get multiple bids to ensure the best pricing available.
• Coordination– General Contractors oversee the design process, permitting, construction, village inspections, and final occupancy of our clients. Some projects require the coordination of dozens of different trades to complete the job and we make sure the timing and scheduling of the work is done efficiently and correctly.

• Quality of Work – General Contractors have the knowledge and experience to make sure the work performed by subcontractors is done correctly and supervised throughout the entire construction process. We can identify any work that needs to be corrected to ensure a quality product by all subcontractors.
•  Insurance Coverage – We coordinate all the paperwork and insurance certificates from all subcontractors that are part of the construction project. All subcontractors need to have insurance to make sure their work is guaranteed. This protects our clients and makes sure all workers are properly insured and ultimately, we will provide proper lien waivers at the end of the project.

Learn more about Iris Construction and how we can help you, or get inspiration from some of our recent projects.

We would love to help you with your next project.  Contact us today at 847-310-4202 or send us an email at sales@iris-construction.com.