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A general contractor is an organization or individual
that
contracts with another organization or individual (the
owner) for the construction of a building, road or other
facility. A general contractor is defined as such if it is the
signatory as the builder of the prime construction contract for
the project. A general contractor is responsible for the means
and methods to be used in the construction of the project in
accordance with the contract documents. Said contract documents
usually include the contract agreement including budget, the
general and special conditions and the plans and specification
of the project that are prepared by a design professional. A
general contractor usually is responsible for the supplying of
all material, labor equipment and services necessary for the
construction of the project. To do this it is common for the
general contractor to subcontract part of the work to other
persons and companies that specialize in these types of work.
These are called
subcontractors.
General contractors conducting work for government agencies are typically referred to as prime contractors. The responsibilities of a prime contractors working under a contract are essentially identical to those outline above. In many cases, prime contractors will delegate portions of the contract work to subcontractors.
As a serviceThere are many services available to the business and private sectors. Usually, when an entity wishes to have a building constructed, they are first put in touch with a general contractor. In many cases, the entity commissioning the construction never deals directly with the subcontractors. As an ownerMany times the entity commissioning the construction of the building chooses to act as the general contractor. In such cases, they work directly with the subcontractors and take care of the administration and organization of the various subcontractors. General contractor exampleIn Atlanta, for example, a real estate developer (someone who has relationships with banks and sources of real estate for community development) would select a plot of land and then hire a general contractor to actually build the buildings. The developer and general contractor work closely together to meet deadlines and budget. The general contractor then works with subcontractors to ensure quality standards in addition to timeline and budget. See alsoExternal Links:
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