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A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of the construction site, and management of vendors and trades. In addition, keep communication between the general contractor and the involved parties open and clear through out the course of project. Before starting a job, the general contractor must first visit and then assess the site. As a result of this, a price also called an ‘’estimate’’. The general contractor considers the cost of materials, equipment as well as the cost of labor to provide the owner with an approximate price for the project. In these contract documents, the contract agreement includes budget, the general and special conditions and the plans and specification of the project that are prepared by a design professional such as an architect. A general contractor is responsible for providing all of the material, labor, equipment, (engineering vehicles and tools) and services necessary for the construction of the project. In order to get these tasks done, the general contractor hires more specialized subcontractors to perform portions or all of the construction work. Depending on the size of a project, responsibilities may include: • Filing for building permits, • Securing the property, • Providing temporary utilities on site • Managing personnel on site • Providing site surveying and engineering • Disposing/Recycling of construction waste • Monitoring schedules and cash flows • Maintaining accurate records as construction progress An owner or real estate developer would develop a program of their needs and select a site (often with an architect). The Architect assembles a design team of consulting engineers and other experts to design the building and specify the building systems to meet those needs. Today contractors frequently participate in the design team effort by providing pre-design services where they will help in providing more accurate estimation of budget and scheduling during design to improve the over all economy of the project. Otherwise the general contractor is hired just to build the building(s) at the close of the design phase. The owner, architect, and general contractor work closely together to meet deadlines and budget. The general contractor then works with subcontractors to ensure quality standards in addition to timeline and budget. Often there will be disagreements between the contractor and the architect over style vs. function. These arguments may lead to lawsuits which can potentially prolong or even stop a project. 
Some of Denver’s multi-storey buildings. .jpg)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : Specialized construction work |
