The top 3 questions you should ask your tradie

Thinking of renovating? If you want to get it right the first time and avoid costly mistakes then it’s important to plan your renovation with precision. The easiest way to keep a renovation on track is to make sure all the tradespeople do their work in the right order. 

I recommend that you keep a spreadsheet to schedule the works. When you have the times and sequence you put that information into your spreadsheet to give you a renovation timetable. For example, the carpet goes down after the painters are finished. If you do it the other way, the painters have to use drop sheets to protect the carpet which adds to the time and cost.

When sourcing quotes, it’s important to ask all tradies the following three questions:

1. How long will you take?
2. Which trades do you follow?
3. Which trades follow you?

Remember some tradies such as electricians and plumbers may have to come several different times at different stages of a building project and that these return visits need to be factored in to the planning. It’s also wise to add a buffer of a day or so around each tradie into your planning in case of unforeseen delays.

If someone finishes early you can always ring the next tradie and ask them if they want to start early. If someone goes a day over and there is no buffer then it can potentially blow the entire timetable.

As soon as you’re ready to start you need to phone all your tradies and book them in for the dates you’ve worked out in your timetable. When each tradie starts you’ll have to show up and brief them. With tilers, carpet layers and painters make sure they know which tile, floor covering and paint colour goes where.

Always remember that as the project manager you have ultimate responsibility for the outcome so never assume anything.  When it comes to renovating and delegating jobs my favourite saying is ‘The palest ink is better than the strongest memory’.