GENERAL BUILDING CONTRACTORS

Equity for the general contractor in his business dealings, wherever they may be,
so as to provide the public and private client with a quality product at a competitive price.
 

A  general building contractor is a general contractor whose principal contracting business is in connection with any structure built, being built, or to be built, for the support, shelter, and enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, or movable property of any kind, requiring in its construction the use of at least two unrelated building trades or crafts, or to do or superintend the whole or any part thereof.

This does not include anyone who merely furnishes materials or supplies under Section 7045 without fabricating them into, or consuming them in the performance of the work of the general building contractor.

A general building contractor may take a prime contract or a subcontract for a framing or carpentry project. However, a general building contractor shall not take a prime contract for any project involving trades other than framing or carpentry unless the prime contract requires at least two unrelated building trades or crafts other than framing or carpentry, or unless the general building contractor holds the appropriate specialty license or subcontracts with an appropriately licensed specialty contractor to perform the work. A general building contractor shall not take a subcontract involving trades other than framing or carpentry, unless the subcontract requires at least two unrelated trades or crafts other than framing or carpentry, or unless the general building contractor holds the required specialty license. The general building contractor may not count framing or carpentry in calculating the two unrelated trades necessary in order for the general building contractor to be able to take a prime contract or subcontract for a project involving other trades.

No general building contractor shall contract for any project that includes the "C-16" Fire Protection classification as provided for in Section 7026.12 or the "C-57" Well Drilling classification as provided for in Section 13750.5 of the Water Code, unless the general building contractor holds the specialty license, or subcontracts with the appropriately licensed specialty general contractor.

Important Issue: General Building Contractors Background Check
Screening Contractors / Handymen / Home Repair Workers is one way you can protect yourself from unlicensed General Building Contractors. Each year unlicensed General Building  Contractors cause major headaches for homeowners and state and local investigators. If the General Contractor is not insured or his/her insurance is not active you could face huge bills if a worker is injured on the job and chooses to sue. Your safety may be at stake if the General Building  Contractor has a criminal record. References do not always give a true picture as they can be biased. To save money and for your safety you can start by getting a thorough background check.

Screen General Building Contractors, Background Check Reports provide you with.
Credentials of the General Building Contractor
Status of his License.
Status of his Insurance.
Liens, Judgments and Bankruptcies Check
Any complaints filed against the General Building  Contractors
Any awards or Rumors
Basic State Criminal Record Search
20 Year Address History

According to the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators (NACAA) and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), General Building  Contractors garnered the second highest number of consumer complaints. Dealings with Contractors have been a sore point for consumers, whether because of a failure to use a written contract, abandonment or refusal to complete work, poor workmanship and non compliance with building code requirements

Contracts with General Building Contractors
When it's time to sign on the dotted line, most General Building  Contractors will present you with a boilerplate agreement based on one created by the some Institute of Architects. It lays out the job's details, including its scope, materials used and, of course, a payment schedule. Some General Contractors will set up a payment schedule that lets your money get ahead of the work. "When [a General Building  Contractor] has received 50% of the money for 25% of the work, that's when he stops showing up as often.

Cutting corners by Contractors
Unless you have X-ray vision or the time to spend entire workdays watching your General Building  Contractors in action, all you may ever know about your job is whether it looks good. The popular way that contractors can cut corners without your knowing it include skimping on insulation, but packing it in with care so that it looks filled in; leaving out plumbing lines and pumps that give you hot water fast; and using lower-quality wood, but laying it beautifully so that you don't notice. "In situations where homeowners aren't likely to ask what's going on, General Building  Contractors use subpart materials." Or just do a sub par job. Mark Herr (a customer) recounts the tale of a family that wanted their kitchen redone in time for Easter. One night before the holiday, a General Building Contractor was sweating to install the garbage disposal. When asked why the job was giving him so much trouble, the worker replied, "When they showed me this morning at Home Depot, I thought I understood."

Can General Building  Contractors hold your house hostage?
The number of Building  Improvement projects in the U.S. has risen 25% in the past five years, according to Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. That means General Building  Contractors are busier than ever — and because they're juggling so much work, you can pretty much expect that the schedule for completing your job will go out the window.