A renovation project is a big expense and hiring a home renovation project manager might seem like an unnecessary additional cost. However, they can save you time, money and stress in the long run. When planning a home renovation project, the best thing you can do is to find a building company that includes a project manager in their process.

What Is a Home Renovation Project Manager?

A home renovation project manager is responsible for overseeing a home renovation from start to finish. A good construction company will include a project manager in your overall project.

Before the job, project managers draw up a work schedule, get quotes, negotiate prices, find and hire workers, check insurances and permissions and place orders. Next, they set up the site, liaise with scaffolders, induct workers and schedule different jobs and deliveries. It’s also their job to oversee health and safety, control costs, deal with any issues that arise and check work is done to the agreed standards and specifications. 

A project manager needs to have a good working knowledge of construction processes and finances, as well as excellent planning, organisational, time management and problem-solving skills. They should also be a good communicator and keep you informed of progress or any issues that may arise. 

There are a lot of things to keep on top of so a good project manager will use a management tool or platform to do this. If they can give you access, you can also use it to communicate and follow progress. 

At JM Construction, all of our clients get to work with a home renovation project manager. Experience has taught us that it’s simply more efficient and easier for everyone. After all, you wouldn’t send an orchestra on stage without a conductor, would you?  

Benefits of a Home Renovation Project Manager 

A home renovation project manager’s job is to streamline things, save you work and take the stress out of a home renovation. A good one will earn their fee because: 

1. They keep things running on time

A home renovation project manager is responsible for making sure everything and everyone is where they’re supposed to be at the right time. They will ensure each separate job and stage is completed in order so work can progress. And, as they are masterminding the whole operation, they can also help you understand timelines and due dates. 

Good planning also prevents delays, which saves money since anything that causes work to stop on the site is chargeable time. Therefore, a good project manager will schedule subcontractors, workers and deliveries to avoid this. They are also experienced at spotting issues early on and resolving them. Or, better yet, planning for eventualities so problems won’t arise.  

2. They can save you money in the long run 

A home renovation is a complex project with lots of different people and stages involved. Trying to handle it all yourself means a lot of wasted time going back and forth liaising with people, trying to schedule things and dealing with issues. A home renovation project manager’s fee can seem expensive, until you learn that 90% of unmanaged renovations go over budget by up to 20%, compared to the 5-10% that project management implies. 

As well as saving time, a project manager has budgeting and negotiating skills which they put to work to save you money. 

If your builder works with a project manager as standard, the fee should be incorporated into the overall budget, rather than coming as a nasty surprise later. 

3. They act as a liaison between your project and other workers 

As well as being your sole point of contact, the project manager takes care of planning permissions and building regulations and liaises with architects, engineers, tradesmen, suppliers, utility providers, surveyors and specialists. They can also come in handy for mediating with neighbours. 

A home renovation project manager may be a dedicated professional or a builder, surveyor or architect. Each has their pros and cons. For example, an architect knows their plans best but may not be experienced in all stages of construction. By contrast, a builder knows their workers and materials but has to juggle keeping everyone happy, not just you. Whoever you hire, make sure to check out their previous work and meet them a few times to check you have a good rapport and they understand your needs.