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A general contractor is a contractor who handles all aspects of a construction process either by directly managing their own crews to cover the individual projects within a site or by subcontracting out to other specialist contractors. The general contractor takes on the responsibility of managing all the finer points within a construction project to ensure that their crews work seamlessly with one another to create a masterfully crafted project.

With OCC Construction as your general contractor, your primary role is to communicate your vision to us. Our team will be responsible for handling and supplying all the resources, materials, tools and labor to make your dream a reality.

Benefit #1 – An Experienced Eye for Project Specifics

General contractors typically develop respect and appreciation for subcontractors that deliver quality work and they’ll continue to work with those subcontractors.

Trying to go it alone, you have to judge the work of the specialist. If you have no knowledge of the work being done, there’s no way for you to ensure that it was actually done properly without having the work inspected which results in another costly investment.

As your general contractor, OCC Construction can ensure that the work is done right every time by every individual involved in your project.

Benefit #2 – Better Rates  

Working with individual contractors can and often does cost more than hiring a general contractor. This is because general contractors have built solid working relationships with their subcontractors allowing them to negotiate special rates for each project.

Specialists know that the contractor is feeding them work, and they’ll often accept reduced amounts to work with that contractor. Those savings of course are passed on to you in the bulk cost of your project

Managing the project yourself, you could expect to pay upwards of 20% more for a completed project and that doesn’t include the cost of wasted time from delays between contractors, material deliver, phone calls, coordination and other aspects you need to manage.

Over the years, OCC Construction has cultivated solid relationships with quality subcontractors based on trust and open communication. This has always ensured a successful and cost-effective project.

Benefit #3 – Minimizing  Costly Errors

It’s thrilling to handle a project on your own. Some of us just love DIY projects and walking through a Home Depot store can really get the creative juices flowing.

It’s entirely ok to dive into projects if you have the experience and tools to manage the job. There isn’t always a need to swoop right into hiring a specialist or bringing on the services of a general contractor.

But how do you handle mistakes?

They can pretty costly depending on the occurrence and it’s not something that you want to tangle with if you’re on a limited budget. A bad measurement, a broken tool, cracked and broken materials, poor handling of resources or downright breaking something in your house (broken pipe = potential flooding damage) can all become a huge expense.

Why take the risk? Hire OCC Construction as your general contractor and eliminate your headache. With us, you will get more options, more value and more predictable results from start to finish.

This is one of the most misunderstood topics in the construction industry. Some contractors try to confuse clients by telling them that employees are always better than subcontractors or vice verse. In our experience, the best General Contractor for you will be one who has a work force comprised of expert workmen who each specialize in one area.

We have found that having a team of reliable subcontractors is the most cost-efficient way to provide true expert workmanship for our projects. That means we do not use jack-of-all-trades. Our plumbers are expert in plumbing because it is all they do every day. The same goes for our carpenters, electricians, painters, etc. This is one way that we are able to give you beautiful work that is done right the first time! Beware of the handyman who tells you he is an “expert” at just about everything. The handyman is usually good at one thing but lack experience in every other area. How many times have you talked to friends after their project and heard them complain that the one thing was good but most everything else was disappointing?

It is very likely that you will. Only very basic projects do not require a permit. Many homeowners and businessmen wish to avoid the permitting process because they feel that the permit is directly linked with the tax assessor’s office. That may be, but the disadvantages and delays caused from forging ahead with no permit can be costly, time consuming and frustrating.

A professional builder is accustomed to working with the Building Department and has established a good relationship with its officials. These inspections are ultimately to protect you from con-artists and unqualified craftsmen. Check with a Building Official when in doubt. They work for you.

Proper licensing and insurance protects you the consumer. Under California law, anyone who contracts for or bids on a construction project valued at $500 or more (total labor and materials) must be licensed by the California State License Board (CSLB). All licensed contractors must carry a contractor’s license bond of $12,500. This bond is written to cover any project the contractor agrees to perform.

According to CSLB, unlicensed contracting is part of California’s estimated annual $60 to $140 billion dollar underground economy. These individuals do not pay taxes, have insurance or bonds. It is not unusual for them to be involved in other illegal activities as well.

Owners are often unaware of the consequences of hiring unlicensed contractors. Besides the obvious lack of professional ethics and not abiding by California’s legal standards, unlicensed contractors often generate inferior work products and services and subject homeowners to financial exposure if an injury occurs.

We encourage you to be a savvy consumer. Remember that with unlicensed contractors there’s no license that the state can yank to threaten their livelihood. If you complain, they will just change the name they do business under. You can’t tap into their insurance policy because they don’t have one. Even suing an unlicensed contractor — and winning — is often futile, because unlicensed contractors don’t have deep pockets.

Make the right choice and hire a licensed and insured contractor.

OCC Construction is fully insured and licensed. Our license number is clearly displayed on our contracts, website, business card and advertisements. You can check the license status online via the Contractor State License Board at http://www.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicense/LicenseRequest.asp or call 1-800-321-CSLB (2752).

Every project we do has a specific warranty that is laid out in detail with the projects contract.

The OCC team will be personally involved in the construction of your home. That’s important to us, because each completed project stands as evidence of the quality of craftsmanship and workmanship OCC Construction provides.

Your day-to-day contact will be with a project manager, who will work with you on all technical and building specific questions, keep you up-to-date on the home’s progress, and work with you in scheduling and selecting design details.

Our design/build approach is ideal for you. Design build involves collaboration between Architect and Builder from the very start of the project. This differs from traditional Design/Bid work where the design is done first and then put out to bid in hopes that it will be within budget. We’ll work directly with you and a skilled architect to create a one-of-a kind design tailored specifically to your lifestyle and needs. We’ll enter into a fee agreement with you that covers the draftsman’s time and the involvement of our team . That fee will include up to two revisions of the design.

Design/Build has several advantages over traditional Design/Bid Work. Since the builder and the architect work together there is less confusion or misinterpretation of the plans. Problems that do arise can be solved quickly and efficiently since everyone is on the same team. Most importantly for the owner there is a single point of contact. The design-build approach means tighter schedules, a competitive, cost-efficient facility, and a fully-informed owner throughout the entire construction and development process.

We’ll be happy to sit down with you, look at your blueprints, and share our thoughts and any concerns about the function and the value of the design. Our years of experience have taught us that some design approaches may detract from a client’s satisfaction with the finished home, so we want to make sure that you’re not being set up to be disappointed. When we sit down with you, we’ll also work to develop a better understanding of your needs and goals, so we can help you evaluate the design more objectively. If your blueprints prove to be a good fit for you, and we believe that they meet our standards, we’ll be happy to develop an estimate of building costs. If they don’t appear to be right for both of us, we’ll offer suggestions for steps you can take, whether you choose to build with us or someone else.

That’s not unusual. After all, seeing a project on paper is very different once you begin to see it going up in three dimensions. We’ve been there, and we understand.

When you ask us to make a change, we’ll draft and submit a change order form that details your request, how it differs in price, the revised contract amount, and when the change order expires. If you decide to proceed with the change, simply sign the change order and pay any additional amount for the change. We’ll then handle all of the modifications to the trade contractors’ contract specifications.

This is a difficult thing to judge. We can guarantee that you will find no comfort in collecting a slew of different bids, as those prices will inevitably be all over the board. This leaves you with, trust. At OCC Construction, we don’t just build projects, we develop long-standing client relationships. Time and again, our commitment to quality has helped our clients turn their vision into reality. We want you to reap the greatest value by providing expertise throughout the construction process. No matter the size, every project is given our full and complete attention. We believe we deserve your trust because we stand behind what we build and you deserve nothing less.