What Does a Contractor Do?

A contractor will perform building and renovation services on a construction project. These types of projects might include roads, office buildings, shopping centers, and schools.

Even though some of them also do some work on the multiple unit residential projects, most housing work is done by a housing contractor. Due to differences when it comes to skills, construction methods and materials needed, there usually aren’t any companies that do both.

There are a lot of contractor types and each one will play a unique role when it comes to construction. Usually when it comes to a commercial contractor you’ll use a general contractor. They’re responsible for a project’s construction from its beginning to its finish, from its planning and its scheduling through its successful completion. These types of companies have many different clients, such as municipalities, developers, and owners. When the contract’s signed, the contractor will act in the best interest of the owner so that the project’s completed to their specifications.

Many times general contractors will use subcontractors for successful completion. These are also commercial contractors who are specialists in certain activities and tasks. There can be many different subcontractors that are working on the site, such as plumbers, electricians, excavators, and others. Even though there are general contractors who have their own carpenters for the smaller tasks, this isn’t common.

So they can build a project, a general contractor is going to review the plans the architect created. Usually the owner met with this architect before they hired their general contractor, so when the contractor’s on board, the documents are already completed or almost completed. The contractor then will familiarize themselves with the drawings and create a schedule based on the owner’s needs and the project’s logical sequence. A contractor may also have to secure the necessary permits.

They then have to hire the necessary subcontractors for performing the different tasks the projects needs. Usually they will write out the scopes of the work. These are the task lists that have to be done each subcontractor. When they use this list, it helps each subcontractor price out the job and helps it stay clean through the process of construction who’s doing each task. T

he next step is to hire subcontractors to perform the various tasks on the project. Most commercial contractors start by writing scopes of work. These are lists of the specific tasks that are to be completed by each individual subcontractor. They usually will bid on the job and based on that a subcontractor is chosen, although sometimes general contractors choose a company they know well rather than going for the cheapest offer.