Five years ago,  I built my own new home with the able assistance of Bryan Samples of Sample's Construction Co., Cumming Georgia.  Bryan's company is well known in the North Georgia area and builds "up market" homes in various subdivisions in the area.   Bryan secured "his best available" subcontractors for me and I supervised construction with Bryan's advice and assistance.  Since that time,  I have built two additional buildings on the property using the same architect for the design,  but by using various sources for subcontractors.

I was attempting to build a home with "higher quality standards" than those nominally available in the industry.  Generally,  I was successful due to the subcontractor recommendations of others,  careful attention to written specifications and drawings for the work, and CONTINUOUS MONITORING of the work.  Careful discussions of the work,  workmanship desired, and costs with the subcontractor BEFORE THE WORK BEGINS are ESSENTIAL to achieving quality workmanship at reasonable prices.  A >WRITTEN< work statement and contract with each subcontractor is the only way you can work and avoid grief.  After discussion of the quality of work I required,  more than one subcontractor who had already agreed to do the work,  excused himself and left me to find a better qualified subcontractor.   I "fired" three subcontractors after they began work because they proved unable (or unwilling) to do high quality work.  Unless you have a high quality builder assist you in subcontractor selection,  I believe it is almost impossible to identify (up front) subcontractors who can and will do high quality work.  (Generally,  I think all of the really good subcontractors constantly enjoy more work than they can handle.  So the people an individual can get on his own are at BEST the "best of the worst" even with careful selection.  For this reason,  and assuming high quality construction is one of your goals,  I believe hiring a high quality builder as a consultant is necessary just so you have access to his subcontractors.)

On the main house project,  I hired an experienced full time site manager with both home and commercial building experience and between the two of us,  we were able to execute a pretty good building program.  The buildings are far from perfection,  but the overall quality is far better than the typical <rather shoddy> workmanship that you find on many projects today.  I thought that some people in the North Atlanta Georgia area might benefit from my experiences in selection of various subcontractors.  A few we had were EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD.  Most somewhere in the middle.  A few were a disaster.  Becoming your own building contractor on your own home is a trying experience,  but if you have a basic technical knowledge of construction,  are willing to take a good course in "How to build your own home",  listen to good advice,  find a cooperative builder you can hire to give you advice and leads on good subcontractors,  you can end up with a higher quality product than is generally available.

Exceptionally Qualified Subcontractors and Vendors

ArtCraft Concrete Company:  Concrete Slabs,  driveways,  curbs and similar.  Ray Pritchett owns this company and usually has 2 or three pouring crews.  PROPERLY SUPERVISED,  his men can do excellent work at reasonable prices.  Left on their own,  they will tend to add too much water to the mix.  Always do a written contract and detail the quality of work you expect.