Who does what on a construction project
Owner, general contractor, architect, engineer, subs, suppliers, inspector — who is responsible for what, and who to ask when something goes wrong.
Knowing who is responsible for what is the difference between a question that gets answered in a day and one that circulates for three weeks. Here is the cast on a typical residential project.
The owner
You. Responsible for decisions, selections, payments, and access — and, in practice, for how quickly those happen. A surprising share of delays trace back to a decision nobody chased. You approve change orders and you sign off the punch list.
The general contractor
Responsible for building it: hiring and coordinating the trades, sequencing the work, site safety, and delivering to the contract. They raise RFIs when the drawings are unclear and change orders when the scope moves. On most residential jobs they are your single point of contact and the only party with a full picture.
The architect
Responsible for the design and the drawings, and usually for answering questions about design intent. On larger jobs they administer the contract and certify payments. When an RFI asks "what did you mean here?", the architect answers.
The engineer
Structural, mechanical, electrical or civil. Responsible for the parts that have to be calculated rather than drawn: whether the beam carries the load, whether the system is sized right. A structural question goes to the structural engineer, not the architect — sending it to the wrong one is a common cause of a slow answer.
The subcontractors
Framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, tile, roofing and the rest. Each responsible for their own trade and normally contracted to the general contractor, not to you. Which matters: on most projects you should raise issues through the GC rather than instructing a sub directly, or you risk taking on responsibility for the coordination — and, occasionally, for the cost.
Suppliers and the inspector
Suppliers provide materials and equipment, and appear in your paperwork through submittals and lien waivers. The building inspector works for the jurisdiction, not for you or the contractor, and their sign-off is what closes the permit. Do not make final payment before every permit is closed.
Before asking anything, ask who owns the answer. Design intent is the architect. Load and sizing is the engineer. Sequencing and coordination is the general contractor. Whether it is covered is the carrier. Getting this right the first time routinely saves a week.
Why writing it down matters
Three months later, "Dave said it was fine" is worthless — nobody remembers which Dave or what exactly was fine. A question recorded with the company it went to, the date, and the answer that came back is a fact. This is exactly why an RFI register carries a ball-in-court rather than just a list of questions.
Common questions
Should I talk to subcontractors directly?
Generally raise things through the general contractor. Instructing a sub directly can shift responsibility for coordination — and sometimes cost — onto you.
What is the difference between an architect and an engineer?
The architect is responsible for design and drawings; the engineer for what has to be calculated — structure, mechanical, electrical loads and sizing.
Who does the building inspector work for?
The jurisdiction, not you or the contractor. Their sign-off closes the permit, which is why open permits must be resolved before final payment.
Keep all of this in one place
Punchlist360 is the punch list, the photographs, the budget and the insurance claim file for your build — so the record exists as a by-product of doing the work. $9.99 a month, cancel any time. Contractors you invite are free.
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What is a punch list, and how do you run one properly?A punch list is the record of everything still unfinished or wrong at the end of a job. Here is how to build one that actually gets the work finished.
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