Title: What does a subcontractor do? | Cercha
Description: Follow a subcontractor’s work on a new home, from scope review and site readiness to installation, inspections, return visits, and final punch work.
Canonical: https://cercha.pages.dev/guides/what-does-a-subcontractor-do/
# What does a subcontractor do on a new home?
Residential construction roles
A subcontractor delivers the agreed trade package, coordinates its interfaces, and completes the assigned checks and return visits.
You are setting up a trade package on a new home and need to know what the sub should handle. A subcontractor performs the work in its agreement. The scope may include materials as well as installation. [Wex definition](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/subcontractor), [Census specialty trade description](https://www.census.gov/naics/reference_files_tools/2022_NAICS_Manual.pdf).
Review the package from start to finish. Ask what must be ready before the crew starts and what it will install. Then ask what it will test or document and what it must leave ready for the next trade.
## Start with the actual scope
Subcontracting links a defined portion of work to another contractor's agreement. Restrictions in the governing contracts can affect further subcontracting. [Cornell Wex explains both points](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/subcontractor). Before assigning a task, confirm which company has that scope and who can commit its crew.
For your scope review, list the work by location and stage. Identify the drawing set and product selections. Ask the bidder to separate labor, materials, equipment, and delivery responsibilities. Record exclusions beside the work they affect instead of leaving them at the end of a general note.
Check these items before agreeing to the package:
- Design information and approved details used for pricing.
- Work included at the first installation visit.
- Materials and equipment supplied by each party.
- Readiness checks before mobilization.
- Tests, records, and inspection coordination assigned to the trade.
- Return visits, adjustments, and completion conditions.
For example, on a framing subcontract, ask who provides lumber, hardware, lifting equipment, and layout information. Ask who receives delivered components. Have the builder and framing business resolve omissions before dispatching the crew.
## How many trades touch a house
Do not plan crews around a fixed number of subs per house. The Census taxonomy separates businesses by specialty, while the GCBA homebuilding overview emphasizes differences in systems, site, design, and finishes. Neither supplies a required count for your house. [Census manual](https://www.census.gov/naics/reference_files_tools/2022_NAICS_Manual.pdf), [GCBA overview](https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB/advocacy/docs/industry-issues/disaster-resources/home-building-overview.pdf?rev=6f76493d1a3e493fb717f52f0fa47d7e).
Count the scopes on your drawings instead. Ask whether one qualified company will handle several packages or separate companies will do the work. Track each package's responsible company, even when one company appears several times. Keep your scope count separate from the number of individual workers arriving.
Start your scope list with sitework, foundation, shell, building systems, interior finishes, exterior completion, and closeout. Add or split packages based on the actual documents. Ask the builder to identify unassigned work before treating that list as complete.
## When the trades arrive
The GCBA presentation places site and foundation before the shell, then rough-ins and finishes, followed by final sitework and closeout. It treats the sequence as a typical overview with project-specific variation. [See the source presentation](https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB/advocacy/docs/industry-issues/disaster-resources/home-building-overview.pdf?rev=6f76493d1a3e493fb717f52f0fa47d7e).
Use this table to plan the work. Confirm the schedule and responsible companies for your house:
| Stage to review | Scopes to identify | Readiness conversation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Site and foundation | Site preparation, excavation, foundation, underground services | Which layout, access, and approvals must be ready? |
| Shell | Framing, roof dry-in, weather protection, windows and doors | Which details and materials govern the work? |
| Rough-ins | Plumbing, HVAC, electrical, low-voltage work | Which routes, openings, and inspections need coordination? |
| Covering and finishes | Insulation, drywall, paint, cabinetry, flooring, trim, fixtures | Which approvals and surface conditions release the next scope? |
| Completion | Final sitework, adjustments, cleaning, punch work | Which items remain and who confirms each one? |
Ask each trade for all required visits. Do not mark the scope complete just because the crew has left. Record return visits with the scope so purchasing and site staff can see what remains.
## Agree on what each trade leaves ready
Before handing off from plumbing to cabinets, compare utility locations with the cabinet details. Ask who resolves a conflict and which detail controls. Request a decision before concealing or installing work affected by that conflict. Keep the request tied to the room and drawing revision.
Use the [home-building sequence](/guides/home-building-sequence/) to discuss the next trade's needs. Record unresolved work in the [punch list](/guides/punch-list/).
Before handing off from drywall to painting, agree how to check the surface. Ask who records an unacceptable condition and who authorizes correction. Clarify protection and cleanup responsibilities before bringing the next crew into the room.
Give material handoffs their own check. Before installing a finish, for example, compare the delivered product with the approved details. Ask who receives a shortage or damage report and who decides whether installation can proceed.
Record which area remains available for other work. Request an updated instruction from the authorized contact instead of substituting a product on your own.
Use a short written readiness note. State what was checked, what remains open, who handles it, and what decision is needed. Tell the incoming trade whom to contact if the area is not ready.
## Who checks the subcontractor's work
O*NET lists inspecting progress against specifications, coordinating work, and resolving problems among construction-management tasks. It also assigns work-progress and specification checks to first-line construction supervisors. Confirm who performs those functions on your project. [Construction managers](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9021.00), [first-line supervisors](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/47-1011.00).
Have the trade's responsible person check the package before the builder reviews it. Walk the work against the agreed documents. Record visible unfinished items. Ask how the builder accepts completed work as well as which inspections are required.
Raleigh's residential inspection instructions identify stage-specific conditions. Concealed underground electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work must remain available for inspection before covering. The city also lists separate rough-in and final checks. Use the local authority's instructions for the actual address. [Raleigh Residential Inspections](https://raleighnc.gov/permits/services/residential-inspections).
Keep the inspection result with the scope record. If a correction is required, identify the responsible company and request a return plan. Ask who calls for reinspection. Name who will resolve an open correction before the next trade starts.
## Get approval for extra work and record punch items
When someone requests work outside the package, identify the request precisely. Record the location, requested change, and effect on unfinished work. Send it to the person authorized under your agreement. Ask who approves the price, timing, and revised detail.
For example, if the cabinet layout changes after rough-in, identify the installed work it affects. Ask who approves the revised drawing. Ask who instructs the affected trades and who buys any replacement material. Keep those answers together before treating the new layout as an instruction.
At closeout, use the agreed scope and approved changes as your checklist. Record remaining items by location. Name who will finish each item and who will check it. Request any documents the package requires before marking the record complete.
Use [the subcontracting contract-chain guide](/guides/what-is-subcontracting/) to map who buys each scope and who receives the handoff.
## Where Cercha fits
Cercha portfolios and Gallery let a trade show project photos, while Messages supports direct conversations with another member. Use the displayed work to begin a discussion about comparable scope. [Ask about the Cercha beta](/beta/), then confirm readiness, responsibilities, and completion outside that introduction.
Published 2026.10.14. Updated 2026.10.14.
[More guides: Subcontractor basics]()
## Related guides
- [What is a subcontractor in construction?]()
- [What is subcontracting? How it works on a house]()
- [What a construction superintendent does]()
- [Trade partner: what builders mean by it]()
## Build your connections
[Ask about the Cercha beta]()
## Sources
1. Wex Definitions Team. (2025, July). *subcontractor*. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/subcontractor
2. U.S. Census Bureau. (2022). *North American Industry Classification System, United States, 2022*. https://www.census.gov/naics/reference_files_tools/2022_NAICS_Manual.pdf
3. Grand County Builders’ Association. (2021, May 18). *Overview to the custom homebuilding process*. National Association of Home Builders. https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB/advocacy/docs/industry-issues/disaster-resources/home-building-overview.pdf?rev=6f76493d1a3e493fb717f52f0fa47d7e
4. National Center for O*NET Development. (2026). *Construction Managers*. O*NET OnLine. https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9021.00
5. National Center for O*NET Development. (2026). *First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers*. O*NET OnLine. https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/47-1011.00
6. City of Raleigh. (2026, October 12). *Residential Inspections*. https://raleighnc.gov/permits/services/residential-inspections