Acting as your own contractor

I've acted as my own GC on four separate remodels, one of them a whole-house remodel, but never for an addition or new construction. I don't know Walton County rules but I don't believe they differ dramatically from those in my portion of the state, though there are slightly different standards and building codes everywhere.

For our whole-house remodel, which involved plumbing, structural and electrical changes, I had to have the entire project approved on my own; I stood in line, met with planners, came back with new solutions to their concerns, and paid for and pulled the permit on my own. (I do not believe there were residency requirements; I just had to be the owner of the property.) That permit covered whomever I hired for structural changes -- the guy I used for those alterations worked for a contractor friend of mine and was not licensed on his own; however we followed the inspection schedule and I oversaw every single decision that was made. It worked out well, but in hindsight given that he did not have his own license or insurance, it probably wasn't the smartest thing and I don't think I'd do it again, now that I'm about 5 years wiser. 😀

The electrician and plumber I would never compromise on -- they were licensed in the state of Florida (and county) and fully insured, etc. I believe that they pulled their own permits for their work because they were the ones who scheduled their inspections; though I was present for every one since I was staying at home with my toddler.

With a roofer it would have been the same situation -- I would have expected them to do their own permitting and inspections, though when I have had a re-roofing done I went up on the roof with the county inspector and looked at the flaws in the job myself.

In short, I am anal and I was there every day, and I could not have been successful otherwise. Given my experience -- I did projects for eight years -- I would never, ever try to build my primary residence while living out of town, even with a general contractor, because I know what can go wrong. I would certainly not attempt to serve as GC while living anywhere but a few blocks away. Also that kind of thing depends on steady labor, and labor in Walton County is hard to come by. Not to mention materials. Sorry to be so negative about the possibilities, but I think unless you have a lot of experience and know details about the ability and availability of local subs, you might do better in the long run finding a contractor to build for you. I don't know the ins and outs of the Miami-Dade coastal building standards, but I imagine their existence would not make things much easier.

Maybe others here can offer some better local perspective. I bet Camp Creek Kid knows a bunch of stuff I don't. 😀

When I built my home 2 1/2 years ago, I found a contractor who worked on a cost + basis. I was involved in every decision, selected all materials used, and signed off on checks when invoices were paid. The contractor had his own subs he worked with regularly and this helped keep the job on schedule. The contractor pulled all the permits and carried all the insurances needed until a C.O. was issued. It worked well for me, but I was right here every day to make sure things were done the way I expected. The results are the home referenced in the thread titled "What Makes This Home For Sale Different". I am extremely happy with the result of that effort...but it was a year long effort.
Good luck in whatever you decide...and welcome to South Walton County.:welcome:

Pattiw, pulling a permit from afar is the least of your worries if you are acting as your own GC. If you are not on site during most of the building process, you are either crazy or crazy, and building your house may cost more than having a GC oversee it. Good luck!

Good post TFT - WOW - it sounds like acting as your own GC is fraught with way more headaches and hassles :bang: than the $$ savings are worth :blink:

We have contracted with several developers in multiple projects, and I have never wanted to deal with City Hall on that level. I leave that to the experts who have built relationships in the right departments ;-)

Best of luck to you pattiw.

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There's a sign in Defuniak Springs right as you make the turn at US 331/90 that says that it is against Florida law to be a contractor without a license. So I guess pattiw needs to have a license?

There's a sign in Defuniak Springs right as you make the turn at US 331/90 that says that it is against Florida law to be a contractor without a license. So I guess pattiw needs to have a license?

The key to that Florida law -- and I don't know it by heart or anything, but I think I understand the spirit of it -- is that if you are the owner of the property you can pull permits for just about anything. The work is legal if you a) do the roofing, electrical and plumbing or HVAC yourself and then pass inspection. You cannot hire someone unlicensed to do that work for you and then pass it off as your own. I think with structural there is more wiggle room. The structural changes in our remodel did not need to be overseen by a structural engineer; we just moved a wall and added a support beam. I had the permit for that and called in the inspections but had an experienced carpenter do the work for me. He was not licensed but he worked for a general contractor that I knew well, so the setup was legal. (My dad is an architect and would never have let me get away with anything sketchy.) The rules are pretty complex. You're not even supposed to hire an unlicensed exterior painter in Florida, though people do it all the time.

There's a sign in Defuniak Springs right as you make the turn at US 331/90 that says that it is against Florida law to be a contractor without a license. So I guess pattiw needs to have a license?

No, she doesn't. I believe non-licensed individuals are allowed to build one house for themselves every three years. Those signs were erected after the storms to help keep out the crooks and thieves pretending to be licensed contractors, who would take cash up front for work, then leave the homeowners high and dry.

Good post TFT - WOW - it sounds like acting as your own GC is fraught with way more headaches and hassles :bang: than the $$ savings are worth :blink:

I'm not sure there is a lot of savings in the long run. It is probably as cost-effective to do your homework and wait as long as you need to to get on board with an excellent and fair contractor. Cost-plus has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on whom you are dealing with. It sounds like Donna had an excellent experience. I know another couple up there who had the same arrangement and it worked out well for them. But in that case it also helps to be detail-oriented.

My main reason for doing it was savings, but also I was remodeling 80-year-old homes and I was very particular about the finished product being consistent with the house itself. At the time there weren't a lot of builders with that kind of historical bent, so it was just as easy for me to do the research and figure out on my own exactly what I needed. But most people aren't like that. (probably a good thing ;-)) And of course new construction is a different ball game in so many ways.

No, she doesn't. I believe non-licensed individuals are allowed to build one house for themselves every three years. Those signs were erected after the storms to help keep out the crooks and thieves pretending to be licensed contractors, who would take cash up front for work, then leave the homeowners high and dry.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes..._Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0489/PART01.HTM has the rules.

Good find, BR. Here is a quote from it regarding being your own contractor:

"[size=-1] To qualify for exemption under this subsection, an owner must personally appear and sign the building permit application."[/size]

Good find, BR. Here is a quote from it regarding being your own contractor:

"[size=-1] To qualify for exemption under this subsection, an owner must personally appear and sign the building permit application."[/size]

Thanks BR. I was wrong about the electrical, plumbing, roofing, HVAC. I guess owners can hire unlicensed subs for those jobs too as long as the owner takes responsibility for and supervises the work and inspections. It would scare me though. :blink:

Good find, BR.

Thanks. I'm just interested in this because my husband is already thinking about what he's going to do when he's forced to retire at 65. He's not the type that can just sit around and do nothing. Night, weekends, at the beach, etc., he's constantly either working via email and phone or doing projects around the house. He is considering becoming a contractor in the Panhandle when he retires. He has a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and among other things has been responsible for supervising the construction of many major manufacturing facilities. He was essentially the contractor for our house in GA because he micro-managed every aspect of its construction. He taught himself how to use AutoCAD and SketchUp (that's the software used by the architecture department at MIT) just for fun. He designed our FL house using those applications as a starting point for the architect and was on site every other week to oversee its construction as well.

So I've been meaning to look up the Florida laws for becoming licensed as a contractor; this thread was just a good excuse to do so.

There's a place in one of the strip malls by Best Buy in Destin that claims they'll help you save money by helping you act as your own GC. So it's possible in theory. But I'll agree with others and say that I couldn't imagine trying to hire subs if you aren't already down here to make sure they show up and build to code as they're supposed to.

Also, Florida generally does not have reciprical construction licensing agreements with other states unless we're in emergency conditions because of concerns that the out of staters won't do an adequate job of building to Florida codes. And even under emergency conditions, there are still some types of licenses that won't be honored here. (ie. roofing)

The liability is way to high. I have always been advised, by inspectors, NOT to act as my own GC.

Plus, you have no recourse if anything should go wrong with the house during the first year or so.

I believe it is the law in Florida that a GC has to give you at least a year's builder's warranty.

From personal experience, I am glad I didn't assume the liability because something DID go wrong with my home and am now in a situation where my builder is going to fix it many years after I purchased it. He has insurance to cover the problem because it was a construction defect.

We acted as our own GC on our beach house. I?m not sure if we?d do it again, but it did work out well for us. We finished the house for about 2/3 of the lowest bid that we received from a GC.

We were in no hurry and we live fairly close to Old Seagrove where we built, so we were able to be on-site a lot. All of our subcontractors were licensed in Florida and we required proof of insurance from anyone setting foot on the construction site. We also had a very experienced licensed framing contractor who helped us tremendously (for a reasonable fee).

We had a professional engineer sign off on every phase of the construction, along with the county building inspectors.

If you use a GC you?ll want to make sure that the funds that you pay to him find their way to his subcontractors. You might want to consider paying his subs directly.

Pattiw. There?s one thing that I forgot to mention. Regardless of who builds your beach house, please be sure that STAINLESS STEEL nails, deck screws, etc. are used on all exposed surfaces. Don?t let anyone tell you that galvanized are just as good ? they aren?t! If you aren?t careful, your house could look like a rusting WWII battleship in a couple of years. 😀

The advantage I have is that my family is in the business of home building and are licensed in Kansas, Missouri and Florida. Even if I use them for just the mechanical parts of construction, seems like I could save a considerable amount. Maybe I could find someone there to act as GC that would work with me based on this.

The advantage I have is that my family is in the business of home building and are licensed in Kansas, Missouri and Florida. Even if I use them for just the mechanical parts of construction, seems like I could save a considerable amount. Maybe I could find someone there to act as GC that would work with me based on this.

You mean for a discount? I don't understand what you are saying or asking. My family is in construction here at the beach, and I am still not crazy enough to take on being my own GC. Not to mention that the banks don't like giving loans for a project without having hired a licensed GC. Sure, I could have a permit pulled by a GC and do the work, but I not that crazy, even though I considered it many times.

Would you do your own dental work in Florida if your brother was a dentist in Kansas?

You mean for a discount? I don't understand what you are saying or asking. My family is in construction here at the beach, and I am still not crazy enough to take on being my own GC. Not to mention that the banks don't like giving loans for a project without having hired a licensed GC. Sure, I could have a permit pulled by a GC and do the work, but I not that crazy, even though I considered it many times.

Would you do your own dental work in Florida if your brother was a dentist in Kansas?

Would this be analogous to the favorite slogan of the legal profession: 'anyone who attampts to defend himself in a court of law has a fool for a client' ?

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