Project Management: Don’t check it at the door at work!

The reason for the overview of my last post was to set the stage for additional posts on project management, team work, and leadership. Today’s focus will be on the elements of project management that went into the remodel in terms of the planning, surprises (scope creep) along the way, and some lessons learned after the project was complete.

PLANNING

First of all, a quick before and after shot:

Before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first, and I believe most important, point to make about the project is that it took two years to think about and plan. Show me a successful project and I’ll show you one that has been well deliberated upon. Where do you want to experience the pain? On the front end, where there is lots of thinking, planning on paper, phone calls to contractors, material list planning, etc. etc. or on the back end where there is frustration, rework, poor results, and more rework, fights about change orders, conflict and even things like arbitration and settling disputes in court. (No thanks!)

 

Where do you want to experience the pain?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Given the choice, and the luxury of time, I’ll take pain on the front end any day.

 

You must plan until it feels like there is nothing left to plan about and then plan some more. There will be lots of details you have not yet thought through. As I was planning, this went from a simple replace the roof project, to a roof and dormers project (because we had to replace flashing between roof and walls, and the siding need to be replaced anyway), to a roof/dormers/insulation project, to a roof/dormers/insulation/overhangs/aluminum wrap project. Yes, it became a big project. But imagine trying to do the project in chunks instead of all at once. In the long run, it’s much more efficient and cost effective to do it all while the ladders are out and the roof is off rather than trying to piece everything together later. Does it make for a long and anxiety-filled two weeks during the project? Of course. But when it’s done, you’re done for a lonnnnnng time, and you have a much healthier and happier home when complete.

 

Speaking of planning, did I mention I set up a paint station in the garage and PRE-PAINTED the siding before it was hung? Much easier and safer to do it that way rather than trying to hang from the dormers to get some paint up there. Plus I was able to put on three coats in the garage instead of one and a half hanging from the dormers.

 

In the final analysis, think of the planning element this way: where are you willing to sacrifice your time on the golf course: now while everything is being done properly and for the long haul? or later while you’re doing the project in 5 stages with lots and lots of rework and frustrations?? I’ll see you on the golf course.

 

 

SURPRISES

Given two years worth of planning, you wouldn’t think there would be any surprises, would you? Of course, you’d be wrong! The biggest surprise was the number of times I went on material runs. I thought I had a relatively complete material list. Nevertheless, the number of time I found myself going to the home improvement store, hareware store or lumberyard was staggering. Generally for small orders or things we had run out of, but occasionally for changes in approach (scope) as well.

The biggest such scope change is when Tony and I were sitting around chatting at the end of one day. Tony asked me what I was going to do with my back porch roof which was currently flat pitched requiring a rubber membrane or metal roof due to its flatness. After studying on it for a while, Tony suggested raising it up and putting the same shingles on it as the roof had. This was an incredible solution, and took me totally by surprise. It was a definite change in scope, but certainly nothing Tony and the Boys couldn’t handle, and it rendered the final phase of the project – the porch roof – unnecessary because we could roll it right into this project. Perhaps I should make customer service another post in this series. Tony did us a great service with that suggestion. The porch roof is without a doubt the most satisfying deliverable on the project.

Porch roof - notice how it joins the house UNDER the top floor

 

 

 

 

 

 

Increase pitch & use same shingles - for approx. same cost as metal roof installed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final form. Nice suggestion Tony!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LESSONS LEARNED

• Even with over two years of planning, the biggest lesson learned is that I could have benefitted from more of it. There were more surprises-in-process than I would have liked. A little more planning would have corrected some of it. My relative inexperience in the construction trades shows as well. It would have been beneficial to sit down with an experienced trades person and really talk it through. The upside is with each project, I learn a little more, and will do the next project even better.
• Weather is a bugger. Overall, we really lucked out with the rain thing. The roof has never been more tight, and we did it without so much as a sprinkle while we were in process. But wind was a HUGE factor while we were spraying insulation – a process much like painting, where residue can fly for blocks with the right wind. Our window for insulation was also very small, so we had to battle wind and darkness to get it done. Hat tip to my insulators for pulling in off in difficult conditions and short notice.
• The painting approach worked so well, I will do it that way again next time. Not only could I put three coats of paint on in my paint station, I could also clean the siding meticulously before painting – something I probably would have not done up on the dormers.
• Even with all the planning, don’t forget to rely on your intuition in the midst of a project. I would have never found Tony and the Boys if I had not. Even one month prior to project start, I was not feeling good about my choice of contractors. So I made another trip to my local home improvement center for referrals which eventually led me to T & B. After the deconstruction was over and the contruction started, it became clear that we were very lucky that we had a professional, highly qualified, highly attentive to detail crew on our hands. It is by far the best crew I have ever worked with. It is without a doubt the crew I will call on all future projects, and save a lot of anxiety and hand-wringing in the process. Imaging getting to start a new project COMPLETELY CONFIDENT in the compentence and cost-effectiveness of the crew at the outset.

That settles it, I WILL build in a post on customer service into this series.