In many cases, a construction project will be carried out by a single company. This company may be headed by a general contractor. Some companies have an extensive range of services that they offer, so they may be able to do the entire job from beginning to end.
But in other cases, the general contractor will take the project and coordinate everything, but they then bring on subcontractors. These are smaller companies or individuals who will perform a specific type of work.
For example, say that a general contractor is building a new residential home. They can do almost everything, but once the structure is in place, they bring on subcontractors to run plumbing lines and electrical lines. These are more specialized services, and they are very important to the completion of the job. Subcontractors may also be used to pour a foundation, put on a new roof, address issues with the property itself – such as the grade of the land – and more.
The potential for disputes
One of the potential problems with using subcontractors is that a dispute could arise. Say that a subcontractor offers a poor quality of workmanship that is not up to what the client or the general contractor expected. Or perhaps there are significant defects caused by a subcontractor that are expensive and time-consuming to fix. Speaking of time, disputes could arise if subcontractors are late or delay the project. In many cases, they need to finish their portion of the job before the rest of the project can move forward.
When these types of disputes arise, the parties involved need to know exactly what legal options they have and how to proceed.
