Renovation project manager, whether it’s renovating your kitchen, converting the floor for a home office into a master suite, or adding a family room, Pillar Build Group has some advice on the matter. We have some advice on why you need an active project management component made into the fabric of the design and renovation process if your home renovation project succeeds.
In simple terms, one can apply a few approaches to starting a home renovation project. The differences concern only the structure of the renovation process and the arrangement of the design and renovation team around it.
Difference between a Renovation Project Manager and a Contractor for a Renovation
These contractors range from independent general contractors who act as everything in small firms to large architecture firms that engage in interior design, custom building, and remodelling.
While not every contractor is a project manager, a good contractor will employ qualified, experienced renovation project managers. Project managers act as team leaders and serve as the lead contact for clients, working exclusively on the running of one project at a time. A good project manager will be a core leader on both sides: on behalf of both the general contractor and the client. He will ensure attention focused on client satisfaction and details, along with coordination in general.
The Project Management Institute explains project management as the art of directing and coordinating resources involved in a project from start to finish. Depending on the size and nature of a project, a professional organization determines whether a lead renovation project manager is required.
Do I Need a Renovation Project Manager for My Home?
Some home owners may believe they can do it themselves. Still, they often have no experience with renovation processes or clarity about how much time and emotional energy is needed to pull it off successfully—especially with the size of projects. This is a full-time job. According to Pillar Build Group, leading a project independently without the necessary relationships and expertise can be a major roadblock to success.
The home renovation project manager kept the project on course. A reputable general contractor with dedicated project managers ensures the project meets or exceeds the client’s expectations and is delivered to high-quality standards.
The really good design-build contractors will have great relationships with their tradespeople and subcontractors. These relationships help home renovation projects run smoothly. When independent homeowners attempt to manage their own projects, they lack these relationships, which becomes a large barrier to the project’s overall success.
It’s also not uncommon for layoffs who have managed projects in other capacities to think, “How hard can it be?” Just because you’re a renovation project manager for another industry doesn’t give you the skill set of a dedicated construction project manager. Construction projects are one of the most complex and high-risk jobs to project manage. The bottom line is that project management across industries is not the same. For instance, you might be a musician, but can you conduct an entire orchestra—coordination of the right timing, volume, and tempo? Being an avid DIY-er doesn’t mean you can construct your own home renovation and direct plumbers, electricians, HVAC, etc.
These remodelling projects are multifaceted, and the importance of coordination has to be absolutely spot-on over a long period. It’s about completing the project rather than really completing a project, which means being on budget, on time, and with good quality.
Three Approaches to Home Renovation & Project Management
The first is to hire an architect to develop design concepts and create a set of construction drawings needed to price the job. Once that is done, the architect may help you solicit bids from builders. Once a builder is chosen, the architect hands off the project to the builder, and you part ways. Or the architect may continue on as construction manager. In this optional scenario, the architect continues in a leadership role, checking job progress periodically while allowing the builder’s lead carpenter to run the job daily.
The potential downside of this approach–known as “architect-bid-build”- is that there is no guarantee that conversations between the builder and client or between the architect and client will be accurately and promptly transmitted up the chain of command.
The second is to hire a general contractor who will directly provide you with an estimate of the cost of the job, again based on construction drawings provided by an architect. In this case, you deal regularly with the GC or lead carpenter, a renovation project manager.
One downside to this approach is that general contractors focus on “getting the job done,” which makes the approach very tight, leaving little room for variation. Similarly, project management and client communication standards can vary greatly depending on the general contractor chosen for the work.
A third approach is to work with a design-build firm that has architects, designers, lead carpenters, and project managers on staff. This approach ensures that all of the renovation team members work off of the same playbook. Project management is built into the system and informs the work of specialists in each of the core areas: architectural design, interior design, construction, and construction administration.
In this streamlined approach, communication between the different departments is ongoing, leaving less room for errors and omissions. The design-build approach to renovation and project management is flexible and responsive to the client’s needs and the project’s requirements.
What Does a Project Manager Do for Home Renovation?
Your home renovation Project Manager is responsible for understanding the complete scope of work and keeps your house renovation project on track. The project managers at Pillar Build Group Builders set key objectives to complete your project on time and within budget, in compliance with all building permit codes, while meeting or bettering your expectations. Their job is the commitment of time and efforts to you and your project, both on-site and off.
Quality general contractors will be the first to tell you that a walk-through of your project plan, an overview of the process, and a detailed, step-by-step guide before the home renovation begins really saves you time in the long run. One of our mottos at Better Builders is the 5 Ps: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. While getting off to a slow start isn’t very exciting, it will indeed lower a lot of those very problems, like unexpected costs and delays that come with renovations.
Some of the basic Project Management tasks include:
Safety Management
The renovation project managers will take charge of the logistical safety of the work being performed and the safety of the non-toxic products being used. Most consider safety regarding people, pets, homeowners, and workers. A good design-build contractor will also include the safety of the homeowner’s existing spaces, furniture, flooring, and salvageable items that shall be re-used.
Time Management
This will ensure no downtime during the home improvement project by letting the project managers coordinate material lead times to minimize the time between the product being delivered and when it is installed. They will also manage the remodelling process, including sequencing of the project phases, to ensure work is being installed in the correct order to eliminate rework or going backwards.
Project Cost Management
High-quality renovation project managers will fully understand the project budget and reconcile actual costs vs. budgeted costs. For example, is the tile order to the specified specification and at or under the budgeted amount for the project?
Quality Management
Quality management is the process of ensuring that the final product will meet or exceed the client’s plans. In this regard, a quality design-build contractor with individual project managers assigned to specific jobs has those project managers on site regularly to ensure that the work performed meets only the highest standards.
A reputable design-build contractor will have a quality control checklist, which he will use as his quality standard for the life of the project. Further, the top-of-the-line design-build contractor will associate only with reputable subcontractors and tradespeople to ensure that their work measures up to the contractor’s and client’s standards.
