Why & When to Use Subcontractors

As a general contractor, you don't do everything yourself — you hire subcontractors for specialized trades and overflow.

Self-perform vs. sub

• Self-perform the work you do best and most profitably.
• Sub out specialized trades (electrical, plumbing, HVAC), work outside your expertise, or overflow when you're at capacity.

The relationship

Subs are independent businesses you hire under a contract — not your employees. Good subs are partners who make you look good; bad ones can sink your project. Choosing and managing them well is a core GC skill.

Going Deeper (Intermediate)

Subcontractors let you offer more scope without carrying all the labor, overhead, and risk — and bring specialized expertise (electrical, mechanical, etc.) you may not self-perform. The trade-off: self-performing gives you control and margin; subbing gives flexibility and risk transfer.

Advanced / Pro-Level

The GC model is essentially managing subs:

• Subs carry their own labor, insurance, and warranty — risk transfers down (but you remain responsible to the owner for their work).
• Self-perform your core competency (where you have control and margin); sub the rest and trades you can't do safely/efficiently.
• Subbing lets you scale capacity up and down with the workload instead of carrying idle crews.
• The skill becomes selecting, contracting, scheduling, and coordinating subs — your profit increasingly comes from managing the gaps between trades, not from the tools.

Practice Challenge

You're great at framing but need electrical, plumbing, and HVAC on a job. What's the smart self-perform vs. sub split, and what risk remains? (Answer: self-perform framing (your margin/control) and sub the licensed MEP trades; but you stay responsible to the owner for the subs' work, so vetting and coordinating them well is now your real job.)

In Practice

A GC tries to self-perform electrical they're not licensed for — a costly mistake. Subbing specialized trades to qualified pros is smarter and safer.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Self-performing work outside your expertise
• Treating subs like employees
• Not knowing when to sub vs. self-perform

Takeaway: Self-perform what you do best and sub out the rest — subs are independent partners, and managing them well is a core GC skill.

Educational content — follow tool manufacturer instructions and have subcontracts reviewed by an attorney.