Planning for an outdoor entertainment area at your home? Should you hire a General Contractor? No. Should you take on the entire outdoor entertainment area project by yourself? Probably not. Of course, it depends on the extent and depth of your project. How much time can you personally allot to the project? Are you fully knowledgeable of all aspects of the project? There’s nothing worse than attempting to manage a project yourself to cut costs, only to find out several tasks got missed or you hired a shady subcontractor. Most of these projects involve a surprising number of different subcontractors to cover all aspects of the job. Isn’t that exactly what a General Contractor does manage subcontractors? Yes, but for outdoor entertainment areas, we have a great tip for you to not only save big but get the best possible professional advice & knowhow!

So what’s the “great tip”? Hire a reputable landscaping company as your General Contractor. There is a big difference in a landscaping company that does nothing but mow lawns and a company that specializes in custom outdoor entertainment areas. Finding a landscaping contractor that truly knows how to build a custom outdoor entertainment area can be a challenge. There are even fewer companies that can handle both the specialized portion of the landscaping AND be an organized General Contractor. Luckily for those of us living in the Portland Metro area, there are a few companies out there that can handle your entire project and are licensed to do so!

Planning for an outdoor entertainment area at your home. Why is a landscaper instead of a General Contractor for your outdoor entertainment area a better idea? A General Contractor makes his entire earnings off the job by organizing the subcontractors and meeting with you, the paying homeowner. You won’t see a General Contractor with a shovel in his hand, or actually designing your dream backyard, or really doing much of anything other than introducing you to the subcontractors actually doing the work. Having someone reputable in charge of the project is always a good idea. Many times with a good contractors business connections and knowledge, you’ll save more money in the long run than running yourself ragged trying to manage your project alone. A reputable landscaping contractor will have done many of these projects and will be able to keep things running smoothly and make deadlines. They will have their own reputable subcontractors they know & trust, eliminating the chance of a shady subcontractor performing sub-par or even unsafe work in your dream backyard.

Check out the images here to see a local project we did with a reputable landscaping contractor acting as a general contractor.