My "usual" GC - I now refuse to work with him - got his experience pouring concrete sidewalks. Many of his electrical 'innovations' have been the subject of picture threads. On our last job, he somehow found an unlicensed, illegal alien (Eastern European) hack to do the refrigeration work.
Cement work to HVAC ... that's quite a jump.
By contrast, on another job was the 'other kind' of GC. Toilet maintained, lifts provided, trades coordinated (for the most part), communication with the customer and the numerous inspecting groups kept flowing.
Whenever these threads get going, every GC claims attributes near sainthood. Such has most definitely NOT been my experience. A typical example: on a major job, I was awaiting final payment. The GC wanted the subs to release him before paying them - so he could, in turn, get paid by the customer.
Alas, this is exactly the opposite of standard practice, as well as Nevada contracting law. That is, both the law, and AIA contracts, specify that the subs get paid FIRST, before the GC gets paid. In this case, the customer made inquiries.
The GC was telling the subs that he was waiting to get paid.
The GC told the customer that the subs still had paperwork outstanding (his release).
The customer made it clear - pay the subs FIRST, if you want your final payment, as called for in the contracts. The whole purpose of that 'hold back' was to ensure that the subs got paid, to prevent the GC from taking the money and running.
(Now, this may seem backwards - until you realize that every sub can lien the property if he's not paid. The customer simply doesn't want to get stuck paying twice!)
Amazingly enough, the only constant in dealing with GC's has been this: if the GC makes promises of future work, or expounds on how large he is .... you know you're in for a tough time.
