General Contractor vs Subcontractor. What’s the difference?
If you’re new to the construction industry you may have heard the terms GCs (general contractor) and Subs (subcontractor). But what do they mean and what do they?
What’s what
To start, let’s define what a GC and Sub are. GC (general contractor) is the main or prime contractor and is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of a building project. Sub (subcontractor) is a person/ company who is hired by a general contractor to perform a specific task as part of the overall project.They are sometimes referred to as a trade contractor.
What they do
General contractors are responsible for finding work from businesses (commercial) and homeowners (residential). A general contractor is typically not the one doing the work of the project. They are more focused on the logistics and face-to-face interaction with clients. A GC is usually working on generating leads, getting referrals and following up with clients. They handle the legal paperwork (i.e contracts) with the construction project they are being hired for. They will usually sub out the project.
A subcontractor is hired to finish whatever project a GC has for them. Subcontractors are more focused on finding a network of general contractors who have work for them. They also spend time finding qualified workers as they usually have their own team of skilled laborers to manage.
How GCs and Subs work together
Construction projects get completed because GCs and Subs work together. General contractors are great project managers and communicators. They keep the client upto date on their project. While assuring the Subcontractor and his crew has the materials and information needed to accomplish their projects.
In our next article we’ll dive deeper in the pros and cons of being a GC vs Sub. We’ll be launching a mini guide on how to succeed in the near future. Stay tuned for that.
