Owners rarely think about it, but the quality of a building depends on which subcontractors bid it. The best trades in Arizona are busy and they choose their GCs. We asked ours what makes the list.
Pay in 30 days
The first thing every one of them said. A GC that pays in 30 days gets the sub's best crew. One that pays in 90 gets whoever is available.
Scoped bid packages
A clear scope with the drawings, the schedule and the exclusions listed. Subs price uncertainty; a vague package gets a padded number, which the owner pays.
A superintendent who coordinates
Trades stacked on each other, no layout, no sequence: the sub loses money and the quality drops. A superintendent who runs a real coordination meeting is worth money to every trade on the job.
No bid shopping
Taking a sub's number to their competitor to beat it. Subs remember. The GC who does it ends up with the subs nobody else wanted.
Why this matters to the owner
The owner never sees the ITB list. But the owner lives with the building the subs built. A GC the best trades want to work for is building a better building for the same money.
CM at risk, design-build or general contract: which one fits your project
Three ways to hire a general contractor, what each one does to cost, schedule and control, and how we help owners choose.
Why preconstruction estimates miss, and how to tell if yours will
Square-foot history, missing scope and optimism. The three reasons a number fails, and the questions an owner can ask at the first meeting.
Building inside an occupied hospital: what the facility director needs to see from the contractor
ICRA, ILSM, shutdowns and the conversation with nursing. What separates a contractor who has done it from one who says they have.
Tell us about the project.
A project executive replies the same business day. Conceptual estimates within two weeks of the information we need.