How to project manage a house renovation
If you’re thinking about renovating your property and it’s your first time, then you’re likely on the lookout for as much information as possible. Renovating your own home can be seen either as a daunting journey ahead or a really exciting experience you’re about to embark on. However, what is clear is that no one renovates a property half-heartedly. Home renovations shouldn’t be taken lightly. If you’re up for it, we can help you understand how to project manage a house renovation.
Ensuring your project runs as smoothly as possible will be important. So, if you’re determined to give your home the renovation it deserves, and you believe you can go the distance, then here’s our guide to ensure you have all the useful information you’ll need to make your home renovation a success.
Project Manage - Plan your entire project
Research, research and again do more research. Planning your entire project before you begin any actual work will be key to a successful project. Take as much time as you need when planning, think about:
Budgets
Designs
Structural Work
Materials
Labour
Overall Quality
Local authority approvals
Insurance
Risks ahead
And think about your neighbours
As you can see from that list, there are a few areas that need planning. If you’re to ensure the project is a success, then you’ll need to plan every element accurately and ahead of time.
What is the day to day role of a project manager on a home renovation?
Organisation is very important as you’ll need to take control and responsibility for ensuring contractors are scheduled in across your projection, so they arrive on site when required. So, it’s crucial you have the time to organise and be available for when contractors arrive. It’s also critical that if you are supplying a lot of the items for the contractor that the orders have been placed in time so the goods arrive on site at the right time for the contractor. There’s nothing worse than the plumber coming to site to do the mechanical install and none of the sanitaryware items are there. If you’re planning on project managing your renovation around a career then it’s definitely going to be challenging depending on the scope of your project however, you do have mornings, evenings and weekends for doing most of your planning.
Project Management – Plan your renovation budget
If you’re going to deliver a successful home renovation, then you’re going to need to wear your project management hat. Successful home renovations require exceptional programming skills as well as an element of cost management or in other terms budgeting. It is really important, as whatever you plan to create has costs for supplies, materials and labour. Planning your procurement and costs, will ensure your vision can be completed and that you have the budget to fund your vision.
It’s additionally important, when budgeting for your renovation you ensure you have a 10% contingency budget to cover any unseen issues that may arise. Certainly, don’t ignore the contingency budget as running out of money is one of the easiest ways to not complete your project. As much as coming in under budget sounds fantastic, even professional quantity surveyors and project managers don’t always come in on budget and projects can cost more, so it’s important it’s thought of and set in place and the design expectations meet this.
Will you need contractors for your renovation?
This will ultimately depend on what you are trying to achieve and how much of it you can actually do yourself.
If your renovation requires a complete overhaul of the internal casing of your property with no structural changes, then you’re well positioned to do the majority of the work yourself, leaning on professionals for the labour when particular tasks require specialists. If, structural changes are likely to be considered and carried out, for example you’re adding an extension, loft conversion or moving around walls, then you will most certainly require a professional contractor and a structural engineer to come in and assist you with such tasks. This will also require building control sign off.
This is why planning is extremely important. If you are able to plan ahead what it is you specifically need, you can factor in the various consultants and contractors required and where their input will be needed in the overall process.
However, looking for contractors is no easy process. You need to ensure you complete your due diligence and check their reviews, as well as ask for references which actually need to be completed. This will ensure you set yourselves up for success by ensuring you’ve hired a great team to help you complete your home improvements.
Checking their references is one thing and receiving a quote is another. Check references to ensure the contractors are experienced and professional enough to complete the work you need completed. Once you feel you fully trust they can carry out the work, then ask for quotes. You need to be extremely cautious and tentative to how contractors deliver you their quotes, ideally you want fixed costs for the entire project or at least a list of broken down tasks that need to be carried out with an estimated timeframe and sum. Timeframes tend to take longer than anticipated so take this into consideration.
To ensure you get the best possible quote, give contractors such as builders, painters, plasterers, electricians, plumbers and so on as much information as possible, that’s accurate. Again, planning accurately comes into play and full scope of works would be advised.
Ensure you round up a few contractors for your specific project tasks, so you have comparable quotes from a few vendors who are happy to tackle the renovation for you.
Do all these things accurately and I’m sure you will be able to find and handpick the best contractors who have a brilliant reputation so you can put your project in the hands of professionals ready to deliver your dream.
Think about your neighbours when project managing a home renovation
An area a lot of individuals tend to forget about. If you’re planning on embarking on a rather intensive renovation, that’s going to create a lot of noise and dust, it’s important that you let your local residents know. The last thing you want to do is upset your neighbours you have a good relationship with, or worst case upset neighbours you’re yet to meet as you’re new to the area. Definitely ensure they are aware of your project and when the work is likely to be carried out in a day and when it is likely to stop.
This will make your life so much easier so you can focus on the design and project management of your home.
Conclusion
Project managing your own home renovation is completely doable when you put a lot of focus into the planning. Planning will ensure you deliver a successful project. If you find yourself overwhelmed by the task in hand then you can always lean on a professional interior design project manager who can take your concept and ensure your vision is fully delivered.
Click here to find out more about how SP3 London can support you and your home renovation.