Hiring your own subs with a general contractor

[Britt Wilson]

Hi all,

I am in the very beginning stages of building a home. I don't have a large budget but have read many ways to reduce costs on home building. My husband is in the construction industry (electrician) and he has many friends who do construction work (foundation, painters, drywall, etc.). We want to hire a general contractor as we wouldn't be able to be on site each day but want to be able to cut back on costs with friends help. 

Can we hire a general contractor and then decide who does what work? 

Ex. We have a friend who does foundation work and he's an inspector. He would cut costs for us significantly and we'd rather him do the work than someone we don't know. Also my husband is an electrician and he'd rather do the electrical than hire someone (to save cost).

Thanks in advance, 

Britt

[Gary Siver]

@Britt Wilson If you have friends(tradesmen) that can do all the work. What is the need for a Gc?  All he does is bring everyone together and make sure all the subs are doing there job. Before anyone replies to the statement I know there is more to a Gc than that.  Being that you know everyone and they know how to do there job you should haven’t to go to the job site that often. They should be able to communicate pretty easily since they are friends.  Since your husband is in that line of work then he probably also knows a Gc that would give him a deal for doing the job.