One of the benefits of owner-building is assembling a team of outstanding subs of your own choosing. To do that you will need to start with a list of candidate subs for your project. Here is where the buyer must beware. You will want to deal with reputable subs who have something to contribute. There is a risk that you might wind up with a very bad apple.

Your job is to pre-select candidates for each of the team members you will need. Depending on your design, you will use a few or many of the team members on this list:

1. Attorney

2. Lender

3. Independent inspector

4. Insurance agent

5. Realtor

6. Appraiser

7. House designer or architect

8. Surveyor

9. Excavator

10. Footing contractor

11. Foundation contractor

12. Concrete flatwork finisher

13. Framer

14. Waterproofing contractor

15. Brick, siding, or stucco contractor

16. Electrician

17. Sound, alarm, and video contractor

18. Whole house vacuum installer

19. Plumber

20. HVAC contractor

21. Roofer

22. Insulator

23. Drywall hanger

24. Drywall finisher

25. Painter

26. Carpet and linoleum contractor

27. Hardwood flooring contractor

28. Cabinet installer

29. Finish carpenter

30. Countertop contractor

31. Ceramic tiler

32. Construction clean-up

33. Asphalt contractor

34. Sprinkler and landscape contractor

35. Gutter and downspout contractor

36. Foundation plasterer

37. Trash hauler

38. Portable restroom vendor

39. Security service

40. Fencing contractor

41. Window well contractor

42. Structural engineer

43. Concrete sawing

44. Water well or geothermal driller

45. Septic system installer

46. Landscape designer

You may also wish to include an interior decorator on your team. You may have specialty trades like ceiling specialties, stained glass, wrought iron, conveying systems, custom stair rail installer, steel erection, lighting or low voltage system design, and others.

Suggestions for Finding Subs

1. Do not use the Yellow Pages.

2. Drive around to subdivisions near where you want to build, go in and ask who did any job you like. You find small builders very willing to lend out their subs. That way they keep the sub busy, because you are only doing one house.

3. Attend home and garden shows where you may meet subs that impress you. Some have booths at shows, particularly if they are pushing a new product.

4. Ask people whose houses are recent and exemplary who performed the trades.

5. Ask owner-builders in your community which subs they respect.

6. Join the local Home Builders Association as an associate member. Attend HBA functions. Ask generals who they recommend. Get acquainted with subs who participate in the HBA. If you don't join, use the Association directory of members.

7. Seek out the subs who did the work on "Parade of Homes" houses you liked. Their names may be listed in the "Parade" program. You can also call the general contractors who entered the "Parade", and ask for the participating subs.

8. Ask the salespeople at the local lumberyard which tradesmen have good reputations.

9. Ask each reputable sub you talk to who he respects in the other trades. Framers know good foundation people. Footing guys know good excavators. Finish guys know good framers and so on.

10. Check your names with your state's registrar of contractors and the Better Business Bureau. Begin with several names and find the complaints lodged against them. They all have them. Pre-select the ones with the fewest complaints per year of operation.

How to Interview Subs

Before you lock in your plans, it is good to have input from the subs you interview. This helps as a "reality check" on your plans and sometimes introduces you to new ideas and technologies. At the same time, you prepare the groundwork for selecting the subs who will bid your work.

To interview subs, I recommend using a computer with word processing capability so you can capture ideas and phone numbers easily and move those ideas to other files as needed to keep your project organized. I interviewed over the phone and used a speakerphone so that I could type. Later I bought an inexpensive telephone headset at an office supply store for convenience. I surprised the people I interviewed by faxing them a copy of their interview direct from the computer after we finished. None of them forgot me, and we both had a confirming record of their suggestions.

Don't be afraid to interview subs in advance, they are going to become like employees to you, and they know that. It is free marketing to them when someone calls in. Your call serves them notice that you are a conscientious builder. At the same time, feel free to admit your ignorance to a knowledgeable pro. Subs appreciate that, and you will grow in your ability to make educated decisions.

Detailed, Accurate Bidding

Make sure you allow time after you get your home plans to get detailed, accurate bids from subs. With your plans, specs, and room by room and trade by trade descriptions, you will make it easy for the subs to bid. The subs can see just exactly what it will take to do your job. They won't have to pad their prices for uncertainties.

You will ask for detailed bids that provide breakdowns of approaches, materials, and labor steps involved. You want this kind of detail so that you can compare one sub to another. If two subs come back with one sentence bids that say "Concrete: $3,200", you don't have much to go on when you make your choice. You want to know how many yards of concrete at what price are included. You want to know how they are going to form the concrete, what reinforcing is included, and how long it will take. Will they commit to a start date?

Ask the subs if they usually supply the materials. Then have them make estimates with materials and labor broken out separately. You need to compare their material costs with what you can get them for yourself. You have to be careful of what they are including, and what level of quality each component is.

You ask for further suggestions. This allows you to turn up those that really want work, and those willing to work for O-B's. You can isolate those who are willing to do labor-only deals. You can ask them some of the things you asked in the interview, such as, who do they recommend for other subs, and particularly who would they prefer to work with that affects their trade. Are there alternate approaches, new technologies, ways to save time or money they might suggest?

Give them lots of time to prepare detailed bids, you get the benefit of their thoughtful consideration this way. Allow yourself plenty of time so you can follow-up with them and continue refining your plans and tightening your budget: "Why are you approaching it this way?" "Why are you charging so much more for this item than the other sub?" "Can you suggest a place to get good prices on this or that?" "If I pay you quickly can I get a discount on your bid?"

You want detailed, specific bids. This makes them think, which you want, and it reduces your vulnerability to change orders because of items they have forgotten or you haven't considered in the beginning.