A homeowner who has some experience with DIY and other home improvement projects may wonder if hiring a general contractor is necessary. This could be because they don't know the full extent of the work that a general contractor can handle to ensure the project goes smoothly.

Here are some of the tasks a general contractor will typically handle for your home construction or improvement project.

1. Delegating to subcontractors

Delegation is an important part of a contractor's job. And this often means hiring subcontractors. The more experience your general contractor has, the more likely they are to have great subcontractors already lined up that they've personally worked with before. This means you won't have to find the subcontractors yourself and put in the work to compare prices, ratings, online reviews, and other details when choosing each subcontractor.

2. Organizing and scheduling

Your project likely has many different steps, some of which depend on others to be completed first. For example, you can't start building on a foundation until after the concrete has had enough time to cure, so scheduling the concrete pouring far enough in advance is an important step.

Your general contractor will use the project details and requirements to work out when each type of work should be scheduled for, how to make sure each stage of the process proceeds on schedule, and other important aspects of the project.

3. Planning and permitting

Before the project commences, your general contractor will talk to you about your goals and priorities for the project, any specific design components you require, and other aspects of the situation. They'll then work with you and any subcontractors needed (such as a draftsperson) to create plans such as blueprints for the project.

Since the contractor has experience with many projects that are likely similar to yours, they can help ensure the plans are likely to be approved by permitting authorities. Once the plans are complete, they can help you handle the permit application process and schedule any inspections needed to get approval.

4. Overseeing the project

Your general contractor is in charge of making sure work is completed well and the project stays on schedule. So they'll need to spend a lot of time at the construction site during the process, working with employees, subcontractors, and other personnel to keep everyone on task and working together well and efficiently. 

5. Handling cleanup

Once the project starts to wrap up, your general contractor can make sure all the workers remove excess materials, debris, tools, and other items from the site. They may rent a dumpster to help dispose of any debris or may have an employee haul debris to the local landfill.

As you can see, hiring a good general contractor has a lot to do with how your construction project turns out. Get in touch with a local general contractor today to learn more about the process for whatever construction or home improvement project you have in mind.