Subcontractor

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A contractor hired by another contractor to do part of a job, like the electrician on a remodel run by a general contractor.

A sub works for the contractor, not the customer. The general contractor prices the sub's work into the bid with a markup, schedules them, and is responsible to the customer for what they do. The sub bids the general, not the homeowner.

For a one-truck contractor, the sub relationship goes both ways: you sub out the electrical on your remodel, and you are the sub when a general calls you for the plumbing on theirs. Both need a written scope and price.

Related: General contractor · Markup

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