Start with a GC (How not to Ready, Fire, Aim!)

You'd think they'd teach this in schools, but I guess they're busy with all the reading and geometry. Well let me read you the hypote-news then: you should hire a general contractor before you start picking out china patterns with your excavator and septic designer and god knows who else.

Unless you're going to be your own GC, and in that case, you probably shouldn't. Be your own GC, that is. (Faithful readers may remember that time Dick talked me down from my innate cheapness.)

Why hire the GC first? Well it may be obvious to you. Maybe even so obvious you wouldn't post this on your blog - and to you I offer my sincere congratulations on your maturity - but it's because of relationships. Your GC is local to the area. They'll know everyone and their reputations, and they'll know how to put together a good team who works well together.

Well, I didn't do that - because I needed to assess buildability before I closed on the land for this cabin, I started asking tradespeople to get involved and help me check the water table and pit test and opine on the general difficulty of putting up a cabin. And after asking for favors like that, it doesn't seem right to give the work to someone else.

Originally I thought that would be fine - I'd handle the lot plan and, clearing, and septic design conversations and the GC I hired would just.. *waves hands* build a house. And now, given I'm on a different continent and due to the whole global pandemic sitch, I've realized that I need a GC who handles the whole thing.

And I think I've found one - and this guy is hot stuff! Everyone loves him -  but he's got his own preferred subcontractors and has never worked with some of my folks before. So now I will have to have some conversations and potentially let down people who have spent time on my project - or pressure my GC to take on subcontractors he didn't choose. So either way no great outcome.

Lesson learned.