Builder vs contractor in Chennai — who should build your house?

A builder or construction company designs, builds and hands over the house under one contract, usually at a rate per square foot. It is the simplest arrangement: one point of contact and one party responsible.

The catch is that the builder also checks its own work. Its engineers are paid by the builder, so the quality of the steel, the cover to the reinforcement and the quantities behind each bill are verified by the same side that profits from them. Read the specification sheet closely — brand, grade and finish are where a per-square-foot price is quietly balanced.

A civil or labour contractor builds from drawings you supply, and you buy or approve materials. It usually costs less than a builder and gives you more control over brands and finishes.

It also gives you more work. Someone has to check each stage before it is covered, measure the work before each bill is paid, and follow up the schedule. If you are not on site every day and not from construction, nobody independent is doing that.

Here you keep the contractor's price, and add a civil engineer who works only for you. The contractor builds; your engineer checks the work against the drawings, inspects steel, cover and shuttering before every pour, re-measures every bill before you pay, and reports to you every day.

Because the engineer is paid by you and holds no contract, buys no material and touches none of your money, there is nothing for them to gain from a bill going unchecked. That independence is the whole point.

• Visit at least one house they finished and one they are building now — and talk to those owners
• Ask for a line-item BOQ, not just a rate per square foot, so quotes can be compared item by item
• Ask who checks quality on site, how often, and what you will receive in writing
• Tie every payment to a stage that has been inspected and measured — and see how they react to that
• Get the brands and grades of steel, cement and finishes written into the agreement

• Want one contract and little involvement — a builder, but read the specification and ask who checks quality
• Already have an architect and will be on site yourself — a contractor, with stage-wise inspection at the critical stages
• Working full-time, living away, or don't know the trade — a contractor with your own engineer on site daily
• Whichever you pick, insist on a line-item BOQ before you sign, and pay only against stages that have been checked