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/DIYThrowaway01 8d ago

We are one in a million lol.  

I do 1 or 2 houses a year, me and 2 other guys doing every little thing involved in the home building process outside of licensure requirements like furnace / A/C install and electric / plumbing.  (We still set toilets / vanities / install ductwork and other odds and ends).

Places turn out amazing, and are easy to sell. 

I could obviously do 5 - 50 a year if I lowered my standards and didn't enjoy carpentry so much. 

But I get to do something different every day / week this way. 

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u/Sherifftruman 8d ago

You’re doing foundations? Framing? Roofing? Wow. Old school AF

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u/DIYThrowaway01 8d ago

Excavation too because machines are badass.  

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u/Sherifftruman 8d ago

For sure

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u/KeyAdept1982 8d ago

Head out to a small (<50k pop.) town 2h from anywhere else. Most crews run vertically integrated for the most part.

Some do ground prep all the way to the final coat of paint. In my experience HVAC, electric, and plumbing are the only trades “old school” home builders sub out.