What Does a General Contractor Actually Do? Roles, Fees & How to Verify One in Washington

The short answer: a GC owns the whole job

A general contractor plans, prices, permits, schedules, builds, inspects, and warranties a construction project as a single point of responsibility. On a kitchen remodel, that means the GC — not you — hires and sequences the demolition crew, plumber, electrician, drywaller, tile setter, cabinet installer, countertop fabricator, and painter; orders materials so they arrive before the trade that needs them; pulls the permits and meets the inspectors; and fixes anything that goes wrong between trades. You get one contract, one schedule, one phone number, and one party accountable for the result.

What a general contractor does, step by step

Before construction: site visit and scope definition, a written estimate or fixed-price proposal, design coordination (with your architect or designer, or in-house on a design-build project), permit applications, and a construction schedule. During construction: daily supervision, hiring and paying licensed subcontractors, ordering and receiving materials, quality control, inspections, change orders when scope changes, and keeping the site safe and clean. After construction: final inspection and closeout, a punch list of corrections, lien releases from every sub and supplier, and the warranty. If a tile cracks six months later, you call the GC — not the tile setter you never met.

General contractor vs. handyman vs. subcontractor vs. design-build

A handyman does small, single-trade repairs; in Washington, anyone doing construction work for pay still has to be registered as a contractor, but a handyman is not set up to manage permits or multiple trades. A subcontractor is a specialist (electrician, plumber, roofer) who works under the GC's contract — you can hire specialists directly, but then you become the coordinator. A design-build firm is a GC that also handles design under the same contract; we compared the two models in our design-build vs. architect guide. The rule of thumb: if a project touches more than one trade, needs a permit, or changes anything structural, you want a general contractor.

How much does a general contractor charge in Washington?

Most residential GCs in the Seattle area price one of two ways. Fixed price (lump sum): one number for the defined scope, labor and materials included; the contractor's overhead and profit are built in and you get cost certainty. Cost-plus: you pay actual labor and material costs plus a management fee, typically 10–20% of project cost and up to about 25% on complex or custom work. Either way, the GC's margin covers supervision, scheduling, insurance, bonding, warranty reserve, and the office that keeps your job moving — not just the owner's paycheck. Consultation and estimates on straightforward remodels are usually free; large custom projects sometimes carry a paid pre-construction phase. Our guide on how to read a remodeling bid shows where that markup appears and how to compare apples to apples. Blue Lake Construction works on fixed-price contracts, so the number you sign is the number you pay unless you change the scope.

How to verify a general contractor in Washington (takes five minutes)

Washington makes this easy. Every contractor must be registered with the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). Search the company name or license number in L&I's Verify a Contractor tool and confirm three things: the registration is active, a surety bond is on file (currently $30,000 for general contractors), and general liability insurance is current. The same page shows lawsuits against the bond and L&I infractions — read it. Then ask the contractor directly for a certificate of insurance naming you as certificate holder, confirm workers' compensation coverage for their employees, and ask who pulls the permit (it should be the contractor, under their license, never the homeowner on the contractor's behalf). Blue Lake Construction's license is BLUELLC760C3, and it is linked on our licenses page so you can check it yourself.

Questions worth asking before you sign

Who will be on site every day, and how do I reach them? Which trades are your own crews and which are subcontracted? How are change orders priced and approved? What is the payment schedule, and is it tied to milestones? What does the warranty cover and for how long? Can I see two completed projects like mine and talk to those owners? Good contractors answer all of these without hesitation; our guide to choosing the right contractor digs into the red flags.

When you do not need a GC

Replacing a faucet, painting a bedroom, or swapping a light fixture is a single-trade job — hire the specialist directly. The moment the work involves moving walls, plumbing or electrical rough-in, a permit, or three or more trades that have to happen in order, the coordination is the hard part, and that is exactly what a general contractor is for. Our remodel order-of-operations guide shows how much sequencing a mid-size remodel actually involves.

Talk to a licensed Bellevue general contractor

Blue Lake Construction is a licensed, bonded and insured general contractor (BLUELLC760C3) serving Bellevue, Seattle, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, Issaquah, Renton, Mercer Island, Kent and the greater Eastside. We handle kitchens, bathrooms, whole-home remodels, ADUs, additions, insurance restoration and commercial tenant improvements on fixed-price contracts. Request a free consultation or call (206) 786-5988.