Section 2 Planning the Project

A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination
and usually the best way to get therea
~ H. Stanley Judd ~

 

The Importance of Planning:
The plan is your road map to success. Planning is the principle of principles. It’s the best way to avoid the common pitfalls and keep you on track toward your goal. Plans are not fool-proof and there will be the unexpected, but a plan will give you the best return on energy. A good plan   keeps you on track, building confidence, reducing stress and anxiety. Excellent time management and a sense of security are benefits of a good plan. Just the fact that you purchased this planner demonstrates you understand the importance of planning.

An article titled “Remodeling – 14 Houses Later” helps illustrate the fact that we need to learn to be better planners Quote “We started working on our first house, a “handy man special”, in 1966. We did everything ourselves. With the clearest of hindsight, we can see the mistakes we’ve made and how they have changed how we work on a house today. Where we used to plunge head first into a task and learn by doing, today we are likely to spend almost as much time planning a project as we do working on it” End Quote.

It can not be emphasized enough to take the time to make a good plan even though you can’t plan for the unexpected things a renovation reveals. If you surf the web you will quickly see that everybody advises you to plan and I congratulate you for using this tool to ensure your success.

 

Pre-planning Work Stages:
Planning:
The idea is to plan the work and work the plan. Being thorough on the plan will be sure to save time, money and all kinds of stress that can come from home improvements. Part of the planning may be to contact several of the key associations from the resource section. (Sec. 7) Find out well in advance if there are any work shops, seminars or trade shows taking place for you to get new information about products, services and meet professional people. Reading through magazines, articles and web sites can give you valuable ideas in choosing colors, styles and fixtures you may want to use.

 

Goal Setting:
Begin with the end in mind. You want to develop a clear picture in your mind of your project and then start gathering information to feed into your plan. You should be able to answer the basic questions, who, what, when, why, where and how. The specifications sheet (sample in Sec. 3 and blank sheet in last section) helps you to list exactly what materials or fixtures that you want to use.  Then you will take the specification sheet and get a few quotes from pre-qualified contractors if you intend to hire  professionals or the sales persons of the companies whose products you wish to use. In choosing materials and especially contractors use the decision making process to make solid choices. (see 1-2-3 steps in making wise decisions section 4) When setting the goals, you will also determine who gets what permits for the work to be done which is also mentioned in the next choosing a contractor. Licensing and permit guidelines are briefly mentioned in section seven.

 

Advice:
At this stage, you may want to seek counsel on the plan up to this point. If you are not certain that everything is to your liking then visit some experts. Call a radio program or two. Talk to as many professionals as it takes until you are completely satisfied with your choice of materials and contractors that you are going to purchase and or hire. Remember you get advice from professionals. Avoid getting advice from Joe handy man down the street who is probably not up to date on the latest materials and processes.

 

Choosing a contractor: (Section 4)
Once you have decided to hire be sure to fill out the contract with as much information is necessary so that all parties are clear on who is doing what, when and for how much. Most renovation companies will have their own contract with good detail, don¡¯t be shy to take the contract away for a day or two to think through it and check that it has everything as you want it. If you hire a contractor t is usually best to let them take over at this point to get necessary permits, plan, materials, etc. If you are doing most or all of the coordinating then you will want to pick up the necessary permits, materials and move to the next stages. Licensing and permit guidelines are briefly mentioned in section seven.

 

Time Management: (Section 5)
What stages are going to be done when? Plan out the project in the stages. Project at a glance  shows the basic stages in a chart and below the stages are described in a little more detail. I suggest to post or give a copy of the schedule to each of the trades so they can be best prepared for the job. Make sure to confirm their scheduled appointment a day or two in advance. Sometimes a trade may have some requests for the trade before them, to have things left a certain way. Example: The electrician or plumber may need to do some work before the dry wall work in complete. You may want to paint before the kitchen cabinets go in, etc.

 

Delegation:
Who is going to be doing what at what stage? Don’t forget that you are the client and they are there to serve you but you don’t want to be a tyrant. Make things as clear as possible and it is often a good idea to get them to repeat back to you what you said to be sure they understood you crectly. (Refer to the part in section 3 How to get the most from your trades ersons.