Know your role.
Build with clarity.
Your custom home, together
You make the decisions that shape your home. Your build team turns those decisions into a coordinated project. Here’s who does what—and what changes if you act as your own GC.
✳ One shared goal: clear decisions, clear ownership, and fewer surprises along the way.
01 / The team
Four roles. One project.
Each person contributes in a different way. Knowing the handoffs keeps decisions moving and work on track.
Guides
Builder’s Rep
Your BuildAngel contact helps explain options, organize information, track decisions, and surface open questions.
Builds
Subcontractors
Perform their trades to the agreed scope, coordinate with the GC, and correct issues in their work.
Coordinates
General contractor
Hires and directs trades, manages scope, site, schedule and cost, coordinates inspections, and delivers the work.
Decides
Homeowner
Sets goals and budget, chooses design and finishes, approves changes and payments, and raises concerns early.
02 / Your part
Five ways to keep your build moving.
You don’t need to know how to build the house. You do need to give the team direction when your input is needed.
1 / Share your priorities.
Tell the team your must-haves, budget target, and where you can be flexible.
2 / Choose by the decision date.
Selections can affect pricing, ordering, and the schedule.
3 / Approve changes in writing.
Review the scope, price, and timing before changed work starts.
4 / Review costs and payment requests.
Ask about allowances, contingency, and completed work.
5 / Speak up early.
Share concerns through the GC and Builder’s Rep so the right person can act.
03 / A different path
Acting as your own GC?
You still make all the homeowner decisions. You also take responsibility for turning plans into a finished home: hiring trades, sequencing work, managing the site, and resolving problems.
This is a demanding construction management role. BuildAngel’s Rep can guide and organize information within the agreed service scope, but is not a substitute for a GC.
Your added GC responsibilities
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Define trade scopes, vet trades, and sign contracts.
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Sequence work and resolve conflicts between trades.
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Arrange permits, inspections, and site access.
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Track commitments, invoices, draws, and cash needs.
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Address site control, safety, corrections, and warranty follow-through.
Before you choose this path
Are you ready to manage the build?
Acting as GC takes more than finding good subcontractors. You need enough knowledge and regular availability to spot gaps, make informed calls, and keep multiple trades working toward the same plans.
01 / PLANS
Read construction documents
Understand plans, specifications, code questions, and when to bring an architect or engineer back in.
04 / FIELD JUDGMENT
Recognize problems early
Check work against the plans, identify conflicts, and get qualified help before mistakes are covered up.
02 / SEQUENCING
Know what happens next
Coordinate dependencies, lead times, site readiness, and inspections before they hold up the next trade.
05 / MONEY & RECORDS
Control the budget
Track committed costs, changes, invoices, lien paperwork, cash needs, and lender draw requirements.
03 / TRADE SCOPES
Find the gaps in bids
Compare exclusions and allowances, verify qualifications and coverage, and write clear contracts.
06 / TIME & SITE
Be consistently available
Answer weekday calls, visit the site, solve trade conflicts, and coordinate safety and access.
Pause if several of these are unfamiliar.
Consider hiring an experienced GC or a qualified construction manager with clearly contracted duties. Before committing to owner-builder, confirm local permit and licensing rules, insurance, and whether your lender permits this arrangement. The homeowner can remain responsible for gaps even when individual trades are licensed.
How a decision moves
One request.
A clear path.
If you want a change, start with the GC and Builder’s Rep. The GC works through the trade details; the Rep keeps the question and answer visible; you authorize the decision.
Keep site directions in this path so everyone works from the same approved scope.
1 / Homeowner requests a change
Describe the outcome you want.
2 / GC checks options with trades
Scope, cost, timing, and feasibility.
3 / Builder’s Rep tracks the answer
Open questions stay visible.
4 / Homeowner approves in writing
Then the GC coordinates the changed work.
Reference / Responsibility chart
Who owns each step?
For a project with a hired GC. If you are the GC, you take on both the Homeowner and GC columns.
A Accountable · R Does the work
C Consulted · I Informed
Activity | Homeowner Role | General Contractor Role | Subcontractors Role | Builder’s Representative Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Coordinate closeout and corrections | C | A | R | C |
Authorize owner payments | A/R | C | I | C |
Approve scope and price changes | A/R | C | I | C |
Price and schedule a proposed change | C | A/R | C | C |
Perform and correct trade work | I | A | R | I |
Plan site work and manage safety* | I | A | R | I |
Coordinate permits and inspections* | C | A/R | C | I |
Hire and coordinate trades | I | A/R | R | C |
Develop scopes, budget, and schedule | C | A/R | C | C |
Organize decision list and owner updates | C | C | I | A/R |
Set goals, budget, and design choices | A/R | C | I | C |
* Contracts and local requirements determine formal duties. Each trade has its own safety obligations. Design professionals, lenders, and building officials have separate roles.