Home Improvement Contractor - Licensed Contractors
what is the difference between a general contractor and a contruction coordinator?
My house was damaged by fire and needs to be rebuilt. The general contractor giving the estimate stated that he would prefer to be the construction coordinator which also gives him a 12% of the total cost of the rebuild. Is there a large difference in responsiblity or is it just a way for him to obtain a larger profit?
Public Comments
- In short...no..and yes....get quotes
- A general contractor (GC) will do the actual work and build the house.A construction coordinator (CC) is nothing more than a guy that basically finds someone else to do it instead of you. A CC will contact a GC and take bids, he will go through the bids and pick one. And unless you trust him there is no reason he wouldn't take a higher bid if he gets a percentage. A CC does nothing you can't do, just get a few bids and pick one from a contractor you are comfortable with. If I was you I would check with the BBB (better business bureau) on anyone you choose. A GC who has been in business longer just may be worth a few extra dollars and a lot less headaches
- A general contractor is the person who builds(owns the business), he may hire sub-contractors to do the work. The construction coordinator is the person who puts it all together, house(shows you many blueprints), sets up closing, any changes you make, helps you with those changes, etc. The construction coordinator usually works for the general contractor. After you've moved in, any problems, contact the coordinator.
- It sounds like your General Contractor is trying to get more money out of you on this job. I am a General Contractor also for 30 yrs. I have done remodeling jobs up to $400,000 without a construction coordinator. I am the Construction coordinator. On those larger jobs I always work with an Architect, but no coordinator. On commercial jobs if we are the General Contractor we are also the coordinator on the job. That is up to about $2,000,000 job, then often there are what is called in Indiana, Construction Management companies and often the Larger General Contractor is also the Construction Manager, but not always. Whatever you do, get several bids on this fire remodeling job and don't agree to pay for a construction coordinator as a good General Contractor will not try to add that uneeded fake job title to this job. It is not hard to coordinate a job you already are doing as a General Contractor- this guy is just trying to add money to the job.
