There are many trades involved in the custom building of your home. Each one has their specific area of expertise from electrician to drywaller.
The list of subs you may have to include are listed here.
Your agreement with your custom home builder will state who is responsible for overseeing the hiring of all the subcontractors and trades and scheduling the tasks that need to be done throughout the building process. It is best in most cases if you are NOT the one doing this. This is not a job for the faint of heart and without experience too many things can go wrong.
Your custom home builder should have been chosen partly for their excellent working relationship with the other trades and the suppliers. Let them handle the job. They will know from experience which subs in the area have a reputation for doing good work.
If they have worked with your builder in the past they probably have a working relationship that both are comfortable with which means that you benefit from the fact that they work well together.
The responsibilities involved will include the scheduling of subcontractors from the different trades in regards to all of their various schedules. Since they are usually working several jobs at a time this can be a very confusing if you are not in the business.
Ask for references and background information on all the subs that will be working on your home and actually contact those references to get first hand opinions of other home owners so you are comfortable accepting your builders recommendations.
Ask how easy it is to reach the subs if necessary once they have started the job and once they are finished. It is not a good idea to have anyone that is not easily reached or willing to return for repairs no matter how highly recommended they are.
As discussed elsewhere in this information you will have payment schedules for each step of the custom home building process. Make sure that you adhere to this regardless of what is requested.
Pay only a percentage as initially agreed upon after rough in , after finish work is complete and withhold ten percent for several weeks in case something shows up that needs fixing. Once you have paid in full it will be next to impossible to get them to return so make sure everything is to your satisfaction before the final payment is made. Pay what you promise and pay on time. This keeps the subs happy and they will be more inclined to treat you well.
All subs should supply there own tools and equipment and this is to be clearly stated in the paperwork from the beginning. You will liable for injury or damage caused by anything you provide that is defective, such as sawhorses or scaffolding. It should be understood that they are to bring there own equipment with them, not use your materials to build them on site.
If it is not in writing, you will not get it. Be sure that detailed specifications are in writing for all work to be done. You are paying the bill.
All subs have there own way of doing things, so it is important that there is a clear understanding that things will be done your way.
The jobs on a site are usually overlapped. One trade might complete a portion of their work and another come in behind them to do their part before the first returns to finish. This all needs to be coordinated with suppliers as well.
Supervision on the job is provided by the custom home builder or a superintendent hired by the builder. He will make sure work is completed correctly and on time. The custom builder acts as the mediator and resolves disputes between the subcontractors.