n recent years, general contractors have increasingly relied on subcontractors. Now GCs are subbing out not only specialty trades, such as plumbing, drywall, and tile work; they are subcontracting even carpentry work, from foundations through finish. Most striking, the heavy use of “trade partners”—as subs are now sometimes called, thereby giving them their due respect—is prevalent not only for large projects but also for small jobs, like kitchen and bath remodels. I know builders who do work at both ends of the spectrum. The only work they kept in-house on recent projects was project management, pick-up (aka “completion”) work, and site cleanup.
When I began my building career a few decades back, the sub-everything model hardly existed outside the world of large-scale development. Small-volume builders and remodelers who used it were scorned as mere “paper contractors.” They had a hard time getting insurance because their heavy use of subs was taken as a sign that they did not know how to build.
That might have been true then. In some cases, it’s true now. However, there are powerful forces driving the move to building with trade partners.
Complexity. Each of the trades has become increasingly complex. Each makes use of an ever-expanding array of tools to install an ever-growing array of materials. Each deals with more complex specifications. A building shell once involved merely sheets of plywood, wood planks or shingles, or lathe with plaster attached to the studs over a layer of felt. Now it can involve shear panel, numerous hardware items, water resistant barriers, staggered layers of insulation, rainscreens, cladding, special water management details, and ... well, you fill in the blanks for items I have left out.
Labor challenges. A shortage of skilled labor plagues much of the construction industry. With a variety of factors having sharply reduced the number of skilled tradespeople available for hire in the U.S., building a crew that can handle all phases of carpentry, never mind other trades as well, is especially hard. It’s tempting to off-load the recruiting and hiring struggles to trade partners.
Scope of estimates. With the ever-increasing complexity of work, more and more items must be captured in an estimate. But, as I learned when I did the research for my new book, Nail Your Numbers: A Path to Skilled Construction Estimating and Bidding, even many experienced builders struggle with estimating. So, again, it’s tempting to off-load the responsibility and let your trade partners crunch the numbers and take on the challenge of trying to nail down on-site production costs.
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