New Construction Service Work Reference

Why this matters

New construction work differs from service: tract builders, custom builds, additions, remodels. Volume often high; margins lower; competition intense. The tech who handles new construction well builds significant B2B revenue. This is the field card.

New construction landscape

Types:

• Tract / production builders: high volume, standardized
• Custom builders: single home, specific design
• Spec builders: built without buyer; sold completed
• Renovations / additions: existing structure modified
• Multi-family: apartments, condos, townhomes

Each has different dynamics.

Builder relationship

Builder typically:

• Coordinates multiple trades
• Pays subs
• Manages customer relationship
• Schedules
• Sets specifications

Your role:

• Specific trade scope
• Within builder's timeline
• Quality + speed
• Coordination with other trades

Differences from service

Service:

• Customer is occupant
• Direct relationship
• Higher margin
• Quality differentiation matters
• Reputation built per customer

New construction:

• Customer is builder
• Indirect to occupant
• Lower margin (volume)
• Speed + reliability matter
• Reputation built per builder

Bid + contract

For builder work:

Bid process:

• Builder requests pricing
• Specific scope
• Per square foot OR per house
• Standardized for tract

Contract terms:

• Pricing
• Scope
• Schedule
• Payment terms
• Warranty
• Insurance requirements

Master contract:

• Sometimes for ongoing
• Covers multiple homes
• Per-house orders separate

Volume + pricing

Tract builders:

• High volume
• Standardized plan
• Lower pricing
• Faster work expected

Custom:

• Lower volume
• Variable scope
• Higher pricing per job
• More attention per job

Find your spot:

• Some companies specialize
• Some mix
• Margin vs volume tradeoff

Sequencing on new construction

Typical sequence (residential):

1. Site work (clearing, excavation, foundation)
2. Foundation (footings, walls, slab)
3. Framing (floor, walls, roof)
4. Mechanical rough-in:
   • HVAC (ductwork)
   • Plumbing (supply + drain rough)
   • Electrical (panel + circuits + boxes)
5. Insulation
6. Drywall (hang, tape, finish)
7. Paint
8. Trim work (cabinets, doors, trim)
9. Flooring
10. Mechanical finish:
    • HVAC (equipment, registers)
    • Plumbing (fixtures)
    • Electrical (devices, fixtures)
11. Final inspection
12. Closing / occupancy

Your work fits within sequence.

Coordination

Pre-construction meeting:

• All trades present
• Schedule reviewed
• Conflicts identified
• Customer expectations

Weekly progress:

• Update on schedule
• Issues raised
• Coordination needed

Per-trade meetings:

• Issue-specific
• Direct coordination

Drawings + specifications

Provided to subs:

• Full set of drawings
• Specifications document
• Equipment schedules
• Engineering details

You're responsible for:

• Knowing your scope from drawings
• Asking questions (RFI)
• Coordinating with other trades

Scheduling

You're "pulled" when ready:

• Builder notifies when site ready
• You schedule promptly
• Don't show before site ready

You're "released" when done:

• Builder confirms work complete
• Inspection cleared
• Move to next site

Inspections

Each phase has inspection:

• Rough-in inspections
• Final inspections
• Building inspector
• Trade-specific

Your responsibility:

• Work passes inspection
• Address corrections promptly
• Schedule inspection (sometimes; builder usually)

Coordination with other trades

Common conflicts:

Plumbing wants this wall; HVAC also:

• Coordinate routes
• Often plumbing first (more restrictive)

Electrical box conflicts with plumbing:

• Adjust
• Coordinate before either commits

HVAC return conflicts with electrical chase:

• Reroute
• Discuss before completion

Quality vs speed

Builder pressure:

• Speed essential
• Margin tight
• Multiple subs

Don't sacrifice quality:

• Builder respects quality
• Code compliance non-negotiable
• Callbacks during warranty cost everyone

Balance: efficient quality work.

Materials handling

For builder work:

• Often builder supplies materials
• OR you supply per agreement
• Delivery + staging coordination
• Theft / damage prevention

Site organization:

• Don't store excessive material
• Don't block work areas
• Move when needed

Payment terms

Builder payment typically:

• Net 30 from invoice
• Per-house OR per-trade payment
• Sometimes draws (initial, progress, final)
• Sometimes lien waivers required

Cash flow management:

• Builder pays after you complete
• Multiple builders + projects = cash flow planning
• Track receivables religiously

Lien rights

For unpaid work:

• Mechanic's lien against property
• State-specific notice + filing
• Important leverage
• Common in commercial / new construction

Insurance + bonding

Builder requires:

• Liability insurance
• Workers' comp
• Bond (sometimes)
• Certificate of insurance (COI)
• Additional insured designation

Without these: builder can't legally use you.

Permit + license

Subs responsible:

• Trade-specific permits
• Licensed for trade
• Inspections coordinated

Builder pulls:

• Building permit
• Overall coordination

Documentation

For each new construction job:

• Signed contract
• Drawings (your copy with notes)
• Change orders
• Inspections records
• Photos of work
• Invoices
• Customer signature (final acceptance)

Punch list

End of project:

• Builder + customer walkthrough
• Outstanding items identified
• Per-trade items addressed
• Sign-off

You return to address punch items.

Warranty

Builder warranty:

• Typically 1 year on workmanship
• Manufacturer warranties on equipment

Your warranty:

• Per your trade's standard
• Matches OR exceeds builder warranty
• Define in contract

Specific trade considerations

HVAC:

• Manual J calculations
• Equipment sizing
• Ductwork rough-in
• Equipment install (final)
• Commissioning

Plumbing:

• Underground (slab homes) before pour
• In-wall rough
• Fixture install final
• Test all systems

Electrical:

• Service entry
• Panel install
• Rough-in (boxes + wire)
• Finish (devices + fixtures)
• Test all circuits

Roofing:

• Decking inspection
• Underlayment
• Shingles
• Flashing
• Final inspection

Common new-construction mistakes

• Showing up before site ready
• Working before drawings finalized
• Damaging other trades' work
• Skipping inspection step
• Not coordinating with builder
• Slow communication
• Surprises late in project
• Forgetting to register warranties

Builder relationship building

For long-term:

• Reliable scheduling
• Quality work
• Fair pricing
• Communication
• Punch list completion
• Warranty response

Reliable subs become preferred subs.

When builder is wrong

It happens. The builder directs something that conflicts with code, with the manufacturer's listed installation, with the engineered drawings, or with your contract scope. Handle it early and on paper, because the inspector and the homeowner will hold the licensed trade responsible, not the person who gave the instruction.

Sort what kind of wrong it is first:

• Code or listing violation. You do not install it. There is no version of this where "the builder told me to" protects your license or your insurance. Say no on site, then send it in writing the same day.
• Conflicts with the drawings or the engineer's detail. Not yours to resolve. Submit an RFI to the architect or engineer and let the answer come back in writing.
• Technically legal but a bad idea (undersized return, no service access, equipment where it will fail early). Say so once, clearly, with the consequence named, then do it their way if they insist and document that you flagged it.
• Scope creep. Not a correctness problem, a money problem. Change order before the work, every time.

How to raise it. Go to the superintendent first, in person, on the spot. Lead with the constraint, not the complaint: "This vent cannot terminate there, the clearance rule puts it a set distance from that window. Here are two spots that work." A tech who arrives with the fix gets treated as an asset. A tech who only announces a problem gets treated as a delay.

Put it in writing, without heat. Short email, that day: what was directed, why it does not work, what you propose, and what you need decided to keep moving. No blame language. That email is the record that saves you at the final inspection or three years later when something fails.

Escalate only when it is not moving. Super, then the project manager, then the builder's owner. Skipping levels burns the relationship. Involving the homeowner directly on a builder job is almost always a mistake and in many contracts a violation.

Know your walk-away line. If a builder insists on non-compliant work, you decline that scope in writing and, if it persists, you stop working for that builder. A builder who pressures trades into shortcuts will do it on every house, and the callbacks and liability land on you long after the check clears.

When you are the one who is wrong, own it fast and fix it on your dime. That single behavior does more for repeat work than any bid number.

References

• IBC / IRC building codes
• AGC (Associated General Contractors)
• NAHB (National Association of Home Builders)
• State contractor licensing
• Manuall internal: Working With General Contractors, Multi-Trade Remodel Coordination