Project managers - top tips please!

[anonymousbird]

Bring me your top tips please for keeping on top of things generally!

About to project manage my own extension/renovation. Using a main contractor for bulk of the works. Finishing eg. floors, decoration and fitting kitchen likely to use specialist contractors. All in estimating this will take 6 months. We are moving out for this period.

I am fairly organised as a rule, but never done anything quite like this before. I have 2 DC, both in full time school so that will help immensely with finding some time each day to visit the site and talk to contractor/ be around to check on things/ make decisions/ be consulted etc.

My contractor is going to bill me monthly in arrears for work done. We will of course, go through all this carefully to check that it has in fact been done/ matches the budget/schedule of works etc. DH and I will jointly handle this. Day to day, however, I am the one who is "around".

I have two site meetings to go before main work starts two weeks today - one today with the "estimator" ie the man putting the job schedule and pricing together, to finalise some last details and changes, and one with the Job Foreman/Manager next week.

Anything at all I should be doing NOW, or on an ongoing basis once job starts that you did/wished you did/someone did for you (if you appointed a project manager) PLEASE pass on useful info.

I am a combination of excited and utterly petrified and have two more weeks to get my head around this and get good processes in place to ensure, I hope, that the job goes smoothly or if there any problems, these are caught early and nipped in bud and not allowed to escalate.

WHAT ELSE?!?!?!?!?!

Thanks. (I am all 3!)

Bump!!

TIA

You're going to have busy time, but it will without doubt be worth it. Depending on how professional your main contractor is some of this may not be relevant, but here are a few things to think about:

Make sure you are 100% familiar with every aspect of the work being done as defined by the drawings & specifications you (should) have and NOT just how you want it to look. Make sure you understand all the drawings - if you don't understand them, get the relevant contractor to explain them.

Having got familiar with the scope of work make sure that you know exactly who is responsible for getting it all done. Be aware that where there is an interface between a specialist contractor and the main contractor nobody but you is going to make sure that things go smoothly (unless you have a uniquely brilliant main contractor). (For instance making sure that the electrician puts sockets in the right place for the kitchen supplier.)

Make sure you have some sort of programme agreed in writing in advance. This may just mean that you record a conversation in writing and send it to the main contractor.

Be prepared to be super cooperative some of the time and awkward some of the time. There will be occasions when the contractor will talk to you and say that you have to decide about something on the spot or all manner of consequences will arise. This is generally not the case so don't be bullied. There will, however, be other times when decisions do have to be made speedily and you won't have weeks to figure things out. Again, familiarity with the scope is key - look at what they are doing, find out what they are going to do next and try to anticipate what they will be asking. Try to fix a regular meeting with whoever is in charge for, say, Friday morning so that you can go through what's been done and get an idea of what's going to happen during the next week.

Be on site every day if you can, and not always at the same time. That said, if everything is going well don't get in the way. And bear in mind that this project is your PFB (presumably) but it's not theirs, so in the interests of getting on with the job they may not treat the house quite as tenderly as you would.

You will almost certainly change your mind about some things during the works. This doesn't mean you've screwed up, so don't beat yourself up, it just means that you are now looking at things in a different context. When this happens try to flag it up as early as possible but expect it to cost you money.

Builders are (mostly) human and often have to do a hard job in difficult circumstances. You are paying them to work for you and not trying to find new friends, but be nice to them. Things such as donuts on a Friday morning can help. That probably sounds stupid, but if everyone is on good terms it makes it easier when things get tricky, which they almost certainly will do at some point.

Communicate communicate communicate.

I project managed a complete refurb including gutting bathroom and kitchen, rewiring, redecorating, building fitted wardrobes, smashing out an old chimney, installation of gas fire, moving a boiler, redecorating, recarpetting and building an extension in seven weeks.

I used builders and contractors I knew and I was on site everyday. I followed everything up and wrote everything down in my diary.

"you said on Monday that the plasterer would be here today" type stuff.

I also made sure I kept it jovial. Gave them a beer each at 4.30pm on a Friday afternoon and NEVER EVER lost my temper in front of them, even when things went wrong.

Wasn't nearly as stressful as I expected and I would do it all again tomorrow!

Thank you to you both SO MUCH. I cannot tell you how helpful both your posts are to me.

I have written down a list of key points/rules (for me, not them!) at the front of my Work Book to really help clarify my thoughts. It will serve as a reminder, especially at the beginning of the project - keep calm, keep on top of things, keep a record etc etc...

Brilliant, just the kind of stuff I was after!

Thanks.