How Should an Owner Choose a General Contractor?

How you choose a contractor depends on when you bring one in. Under design-bid-build, the design is finished first and contractors bid it, so price carries most of the weight. Under construction manager at risk or progressive design-build, you choose the contractor before the design is done, so you choose mostly on qualifications and the fee, and the full price comes later. The trade-offs are in design-bid-build vs design-build vs CM at risk.

The Construction Management Association of America's owner's guide says fixed-price contracts "are almost always based on a completed design", which "creates a linear approach to project delivery" and gives the owner the most control in exchange for speed. Federal agencies show the qualifications-first route in their two-phase design-build rules (FAR subpart 36.3): phase one rates technical approach, qualifications and past performance with no price, and generally no more than five firms go on to price in phase two.

A private owner isn't bound by federal rules, but the government's test of a "responsible" contractor (FAR 9.104-1) is a good checklist: adequate financial resources, the ability to meet the schedule given its other commitments, a satisfactory performance record, integrity and business ethics, the organization, experience, controls and technical skills (including quality and safety programs), and the equipment and facilities, or the ability to get them. Turn those into questions you can score.

On federal work, the Miller Act (40 U.S.C. §3131) requires a performance bond and a payment bond before a construction contract above the threshold is awarded; FAR 28.102-1 states it as $150,000. State and local public work has its own bond laws, and a private owner can require bonds in the contract. Either way, a surety's letter is a check on financial strength that you don't have to do yourself.

A made-up owner, Harlow Clinics, is building a 24,000-square-foot outpatient clinic under design-bid-build. Seven contractors answered its request for qualifications. Its project manager scores each against weights the owner set before reading any of them, and invites the top three to bid.

Notice that Brightwater has the strongest bonding score but a thin team: the scorecard keeps one strength from hiding a weakness. Once bids are in, the owner levels them the way the next guide shows.

Call references yourself and ask the owners specific questions: did the job finish on the date in the contract, how were change orders priced, was the punch list closed quickly, and would they hire the same superintendent again.

• Inviting ten bidders. Pricing a job costs each contractor real money, and the best firms decline long lists.
• Taking the low number without leveling. A low bid with exclusions can cost more than the next one up.
• Choosing the company and forgetting the people. Name the project manager and superintendent in the contract, with your approval needed to change them.
• Skipping the contract terms until after award. Send your draft contract with the bid documents, so prices reflect your terms, including retainage (see how retainage is calculated).

Decide how you will deliver the job, write down what matters and how much, shortlist on qualifications, verify bonding, license and references yourself, and compare price only when every proposal covers the same scope.

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1. FAR 9.104-1, General standards (contractor responsibility) — Acquisition.gov (U.S. General Services Administration). Read October 16, 2026.
2. FAR subpart 36.3, Two-Phase Design-Build Selection Procedures — Acquisition.gov (U.S. General Services Administration). Read October 16, 2026.
3. FAR 28.102-1, Bonds and other financial protections: General — Acquisition.gov (U.S. General Services Administration). Read October 16, 2026.
4. 40 U.S. Code §3131, Bonds of contractors of public buildings or works — U.S. Government Publishing Office. Read October 17, 2026.
5. An Owner's Guide to Construction and Program Management (2011) — Construction Management Association of America. Read October 16, 2026.