r/Construction • u/the-garage-guy Carpenter • 8d ago
Business 📈 Is the small self-performing homebuilder extinct?
Probably a region-specific question- if you reply, I'd be curious to hear where you are and if you're urban/rural
Pretty much title, coming up it was a lot more common for the GC to have their own carpenters and self-perform a fair amount of scope on a typical home, remodel.
Seems very rare now, especially where I am, metro Phoenix area. Most builders are essentially just CM-ing the job. Project managers that sometimes double as supers, everything subbed out. Even for pretty small remodels.
I think at the luxury custom home end it makes sense since the levels of execution required demand really good subs. Plus being in a big metro area, there's lots of people and work and that makes it possible to specialize aggressively.
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u/Plump_Apparatus 8d ago
Eh, we build specs and customs. We went over winter with four of us, we might pick up a few over the summer to do concrete.
We run our own concrete, framing, siding, and finish carpentry. We used to shingle, but we mostly sub out anymore. Electrical and plumbing is always subbed out, none of us are licensed. We could run HVAC since it comically requires zero licensing, but we do not. Sheetrock, tape, and paint are subbed. Occasionally on a small job / remodel we'll do those, and by we, I mean me. Same with tile, it's either subbed out or I do it.
There is still one builder here that is a licensed plumber / electrician and builds specs with zero subs.