What is a main contractor on a self-build?

How it works in Ireland

The alternative to a main contractor is direct labour, where you hire each trade yourself. With a main contractor you deal with one party, who hires and manages the subcontractors, orders materials and sequences the work. You pay the contractor in agreed stages and the contractor pays the trades.

A fixed-price offer is not the same as a fixed final cost. Check exclusions, provisional sums and price-adjustment clauses: the contract decides which risks the builder carries. A contract can cover the whole house, a shell only (the main structure, usually walls and roof), or a ready-to-move-in finish. Write down exactly which items each label includes.

Insurance follows the contract. Ask who arranges contract works insurance, whose interests it protects and whether you and the contractor must both be named as insured. Ask to see the contractor’s liability cover. A certificate alone does not establish that every activity is covered.

Some things stay with you on either route. You obtain planning permission, appoint the design team and name the builder in the commencement documents. A competent main contractor can accept the role of project supervisor for the construction stage, but does not take it on automatically, so agree that in writing. Under statutory certification you also appoint an assigned certifier, unless an eligible single dwelling opts out.

Agree the contract before work starts. Payment tied to certified stages and an agreed retention give you leverage to get defects fixed.

A common mistake

Choosing the cheapest quote when the quotes are not on the same drawings and specification. A low price with important omissions will not stay low. Get at least three prices on identical documents, check references and insurance, and use a written contract rather than a quote and a handshake.