I want to finish a room in my house . All it needs it sheetrock/paint, electrical outlets, HVAC and carpet. No plumbing or exterior windows or anything like that.
The reason for this is my dumb town says I cannot hire the guy I want because he does mostly small jobs and he’s not a GC so he can’t hire subs. Here in NC if you do jobs below $30k you don’t need to be a licensed GC. But my town disagrees.
How much work do I need to put in to manage these subs since the guy I want cannot legally do it?
Probably depends on how skilled you are and what equipment you have. My husband is sheetrocking our entire interior, and he had to buy a drywall lift, because without one it’s not a one-man job. Cost about $100. He already had the saws, drills, etc. I don’t know jack about the rest of it, just that the drywall process is a PITA: hanging, taping, mudding, sanding, priming, painting… takes forever, is very messy, requires a good bit of accuracy if you want everything to be even when you’re done. But much cheaper than having a contractor, if you know what you’re doing. If you don’t, it could well look like crap.
Good luck with your project!
When I read your title, it sounded like a terrible idea but your requirements sound pretty modest and can be done in stages. People have each of those pieces done themselves all the time. The only problem I can see is if North Carolina requires some strict building permits or inspections after the work is done. You may not have the experience to deal with that but it sounds like none of the work is structural. Sheetrock and paint can be done by anybody with a tiny bit of experience but it is pain in the ass work (heavy and dirty) and laying carpet is a no-brainer for carpet companies. You just order it and they take care of it in a couple of hours. You need to make sure your HVAC and electrician are qualified however but you just have to ask around for the right ones. It sounds pretty easy to me and we spent 7 years completely restoring a circa 1760 house.
I have no tools and no skills so I cannot do the job myself.
The guy who I was going to hire is going to let me use all the subs he uses so I know they are good.
I should add that you should consult with your HVAC person and your electrician before you do anything. They may have requirements they need for the rest of the work. Everything else is just superficial and you can do it yourself or have it done anyway you want to.
I should add that you should consult with your HVAC person and your electrician before you do anything. They may have requirements they need for the rest of the work once the walls are opened up. Everything else is just superficial and you can do it yourself or have it done anyway you want to. We always did the painting ourselves just because it saves money and requires no skills other than attention to detail. One strong tip is to pick your color and then get small sample cans in the general spectrum of that color. Paint hardly ever looks the same on your walls as it does in the store. You just need to make a series of stripes close to one another and pick the best one before you buy your real cans. It makes all the difference in the world.
I just want white paint so that is real easy. Hopefully that looks the same in my room. 
It sounds easy but I still recommend sample cans. There are gloss, semi-gloss, and flat versions of white and they vary a little between manufacturers. It seems easy but sample cans are cheap and you are already going to a lot of trouble so you might as get it as perfect as possible. We had to repaint an entire room because our perfect shade of blue in the store turned out to look more like it belonged in the Caribbean rather than an antique New England house. Ralf Lauren makes some really beautiful paints. Painting is so trivial but so superficially important that it can make a huge difference in your satisfaction of the project. The cost is trivial in the overall scheme of things as well.
White is white is white to me. This is an extra room that nobody will see but my family. I guess they don’t sell Ralph Lauren paint at Target do they?
They sell it at Lowes and Home Depot. You don’t have to take my advise but the extra effort is minimal and can make a big difference. You will see the room all the time and that is what is important.
If you knew about my lifestyle you would know that the idea of me paying extra for “designer” paint is hilarious. I basically hate the whole idea of “designer” anything - clothes, sheets, towels, and so on. The whole idea is just a giant ripoff/scam to me.
My house is “circa” 1995 and it’s just like 50 million other homes in the US. I certainly don’t have anything in it that is even remotely special or expensive.
Will your guy help manage the subcontractors but let you be the official GC? You do the hiring and final inspections (with him present) but he manages everything in between?
Because acting as your own GC when you don’t know anything about what the subcontractors are doing is a good way to get into trouble.
I hope that is the case - I am the GC on paper, but the guy helps me out. A real GC doesn’t want to mess with a small job like this, not even when times are tough like now.
I really don’t want to be a GC, but the morons who run my town give me little choice. I could give you 10 other reasons they are morons but I won’t bore you.