· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Contractor
The saving from managing a renovation yourself is the general contractor’s margin, which is real. What you take on in exchange is sequencing, coordination, liability and the consequences of getting the order wrong.
What does a general contractor actually do?
Sequences the trades, which is the hard part. On our jobs the electrician finishes before insulation goes in, insulation before drywall, and cabinets before anyone templates the worktops. Get one out of order and somebody comes back at your expense.
The county sets an order of its own. Metro Codes’ building permit process page says a checklist of required inspections is issued with the permit, that the trade permits can be pulled by licensed subcontractors after the building permit is issued, and that collecting every signoff is the permit holder’s job. Our post on how permits and inspections actually work walks through that sequence.
They also carry the insurance. The Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors requires a license for projects of $25,000 or more, general liability coverage sized to the license’s monetary limit, and workers’ compensation unless the contractor shows proof of exemption. When a sub fails to turn up, the lost days are the contractor’s problem to solve rather than yours.
What does managing your own renovation involve?
Finding and vetting each trade, scheduling them against each other, ordering materials to arrive at the right time, pulling the permit as owner, and being reachable on weekdays. Inspections are a big part of that last one: according to Metro Codes’ page on requesting an inspection, online scheduling is only open to registered licensed contractors, so an owner calls the inspection line with the permit number between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Vetting means checking licenses as well as references. In Davidson, Rutherford and Robertson counties, among the nine the state names, the Board’s Home Improvement license page says a remodeler needs that license for residential jobs from $3,000 to $24,999. Our guide to checking a contractor before you sign covers how to look one up.
It works best on a project with few trades and a flexible timeline, and worst on a kitchen, a bathroom or a custom home, where the sequence is tight.
- Few trades and a flexible schedule: self-managing is realistic
- Kitchens, bathrooms and additions: sequence is tight, GC earns their margin
- You need to be reachable on weekdays for inspections
- Owner-pulled permits make you the responsible party
- Verify insurance for every sub individually
Liability
A general contractor carries liability and workers’ compensation covering their people. Tennessee requires every construction employer with one or more employees to insure them, and the Department of Labor’s construction coverage page tells contractors to use only subcontractors who comply, pointing to a coverage verification tool and an exemption registry. Manage the job yourself and that check is yours, one sub at a time. The same page warns that an owner’s exemption covers only the person named on it, not the crew who come with them.
The permit puts the code on you as well. Metro’s residential building permits page lets an owner who lives in a single-family home, or plans to, pull a self permit after signing two notarized affidavits, and the owner then assumes all responsibility for the work meeting zoning, building and trade codes. If the house is held in an LLC or a trust, Metro’s single-family renovation page limits a self permit to work under $25,000.
What happens if an uninsured worker is hurt on your property is a question for your homeowner’s insurance agent, and one to ask before the first trade arrives. In our experience it is the question owners skip, and it is an expensive one to get wrong.
The middle path
Hiring a general contractor for the structural and sequenced portion and handling finishes yourself, such as painting, fixtures and landscaping, keeps part of the saving while the permit, the inspections and the trades’ insurance stay with the contractor.
It is the split we suggest when an owner wants to keep some of the work. If you are weighing it on a house in Nashville or nearby, ask us for a free estimate and we will mark where the line falls.
Sources
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, Contractor license — License required for projects of $25,000 or more; general liability by monetary limit; workers’ compensation unless proof of exemption
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, Home Improvement license — Home Improvement license for residential remodeling from $3,000 to $24,999 in nine counties, Davidson, Rutherford and Robertson among them
- Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Who Must Carry Insurance: Construction — Construction employers with one or more employees must carry workers’ compensation; use compliant subs; verification tool and exemption registry; an exemption covers only the named individual
- Metro Nashville Codes, Residential Building Permits — Owner-occupant self permit; owner assumes all responsibility for code compliance; notarized affidavits
- Metro Nashville Codes, Renovate Single-Family Residence — LLC or trust ownership limits a self permit to work under $25,000
- Metro Nashville Codes, Building Permit Process — Inspection checklist issued with the permit; trade permits by licensed subcontractors after the building permit; permit holder collects signoffs
- Metro Nashville Codes, Requesting an Inspection — Online scheduling for registered licensed contractors only; phone scheduling 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday
FAQ
Hiring a General Contractor or Managing It Yourself — questions
How much does a general contractor add to a project?
Their margin covers coordination, insurance, warranty and the risk they absorb, and it varies with project type and size. The useful question is what it buys. In our view, on a tightly sequenced job like a kitchen, the coordination usually pays for itself in mistakes avoided.
Can I be my own general contractor in Tennessee?
In Nashville, an owner who lives in, or will live in, a single-family home can pull a self permit by signing notarized affidavits, and then takes responsibility for code compliance. A home held in an LLC or trust is limited to work under $25,000. The practical constraints are being reachable on weekdays for inspections, sequencing the trades correctly, and verifying insurance for every subcontractor individually.
What goes wrong when homeowners manage their own renovation?
Sequencing is a common problem: a trade arriving before the one it depends on, or a material selection made too late. Gaps in a subcontractor’s insurance are another, and so is getting a subcontractor to return for a small correction once they have moved on to their next job.
Is being an owner-builder worth it?
On a small job, it can be. Running the work yourself saves the general contractor’s margin and suits a project with few trades and room in the schedule. On a kitchen, a bathroom or a custom home, the tight sequencing usually makes a general contractor worth paying, and the finishes can still stay with you.