Owner to Project manage?

[LevenRiver]

Hi all

We are in the early stages of a renno, adding about 80sqm (of which half is a garage).

Adding a new garage, kitchen and lounge. Turning existing lounge into a bedroom

I understand that if I project manage it myself, I can save significant amounts

I have little experience at renovations, but do have the time and general PM experience in the IT industry.

What do you all think - is this something I should take on? I will not be working during the build time.

[eri]

it all depends on your ability to manage projects, tradesmen, budgets, timelines i guess

start googling "construction project management problem nightmare" etc

[Marej]

I would talk to someone who has been through a renovation. I paid a fee for project management to the architect, and the renvoation was not manageed at all. Break things down, do what you can yourself and get help when you are out of your depth. You will save cash, and be more in control.

[LevenRiver]

Thanks Marej, have you got any practical tips/tricks on this? How would you manage - a spreadsheet to break things down

Would you recommend daily meetings?

[Bob Kane]

Would you recommend daily meetings?

Um, an alarm bell just went off.
You're going to have daily meetings with the builder, plumber, electrician, kitchen installer, plasterer..?

[Marej]

Daily meetings are not required. I would sugget weekly, but be present on site much more regularly. Weekly meeting to get state of play, what is being held up, why, whose responsible to resolve - it could be a decision you need to make, so make sure you are available as the PM and the owner of the house. Be prepared to mix it up as well - at certain points you might be required to have an ad-hoc meeting in between your weeklys, and sometimes it may be not be necessary - just a catch up.

[Tan]

If you get a good builder, they will help with the project management. It's a matter of getting the right tradeys on site at the right time with the right materials and right attitude. Keep them on your side and willing to go the extra mile.

I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole - have you ever watched the mess created on those building/renovating programs on TV? That is actually what happens, and it happened to me and also several people I know who have industry experience & lots of patience, with varying consequences.

However - if you can get it right it will be cheaper and will feel great

[eri]

reminds me of the joke...

over the summer holidays a house was being built next door to house with a mum with a new baby and a little girl

the 8yo was very interested in watching the builders and eventually as the foreman was so nice and she was so busy with the baby mum let the daughter sit in the porta-cabin with the foreman and watch it all happen from the doorway

eventually she would run little errands like taking a thermos to the crew or messages from the foreman

near the end of the build, and the holidays, mum was invited to a little ceremony on payday lunchtime

the foreman presented the girl with her own little pay-packet

there was a round of applause from the builders and the foreman asked

"well, do you think we'll finish on time next week?"

the little girl replied

"we will if those f#$king sparkies move their a$$es and get the wiring done."

[twoandcounting]

When you are selecting tradesmen, you should get a couple of quotes (usually around 3) and compare not only prices, but how they communicate, and what previous customers say about them. The same applies when selecting a project manager. I would recommend you speak to a couple, ask what they can do for you, and the costs, and then see if you think they will add value. Good luck.

[Traff]

For a price of a coffee and if your in Auckland I can help you decide if you are capable of manageing multiple contractors , timelines , schedules , cost control and all of the other aspects involved. Let me know.

Regards

Mark Trafford

[Stickman]

Hi all

We are in the early stages of a renno, adding about 80sqm (of which half is a garage).

Adding a new garage, kitchen and lounge. Turning existing lounge into a bedroom

I understand that if I project manage it myself, I can save significant amounts

I have little experience at renovations, but do have the time and general PM experience in the IT industry.

What do you all think - is this something I should take on? I will not be working during the build time.

Mate, there are a lot of pitfalls for the unwary in construction. Your savings can evaporate very quickly through a few unexpected glitches. However, the savings are worth it if you have the abilities. You will only make significant savings if you can get good rates from suppliers and subbies
Even on multi million $$ commercial buildings I only held site meetings bi-weekly at most. However, swinging by site unannounced every so often helps keep everyone on their toes, also don't forget that you will be responsible for quality control and ensuring that necessary inspections etc are carried out when they are needed. (Know of one guy who poured all his foundations without getting any council inspections, whole slab had to be ripped up and redone at a cost of $50k)

Cost control, I always use a good excel template to track and manage costs.

Where abouts are you building?

[LevenRiver]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I've decided to manage this reno myself.

This website alone has a great community of people who are willing to share advice and learnings

Cheers

[eri]

great!

hope you keep us informed as you go

warts and all;o)

certainly something we can all learn from

[Meehole]

My husband has just jumped through hoops to get his Licenced Building Practioners Site 2 (Project Management) accreditation and honey believe me you may be experienced at producing gantt charts with your IT experience but Construction Project Management is not about running some software it's about managing and overseeing the subbies and their work. If you don't know a sledge hammer from a claw hammer leave it alone!
Don't get sucked into believing that your builder can PM, if he's a builder that is what he does, fullstop!
Google builder/project management, there may be someone there that can take on your reno for a very resonable fee. That fee would include his time to be on site DAILY to inspect the work and follow up on getting the next lot of trades and materials to site. No reason why you can't do the costings and be responsible for all payments to the contractors and suppliers, that would save you a few dollars. As long as the PM gets to sign off on the invoices etc for you.

[Marej]

So how do certain scenarios get managed by an accredited building PM -

builders not showing up
not completing the progress per the agreed date thus pushing out subbies due in to do follow up work
mistakes/rework - who would bear the cost
builders going to other work
council inspection failures

In the end is it the homeowner that bears the consequence and the cost, or since the project was being project management, does the PM take some hit, since it could be said that when these things occur the job hasnt been project managed.