A No-Nonsense Way To Manage Your Home Construction Project

By Triana Griffith

Associate Interior Designer

Read Time: 4 Minutes

Imagining your dream home is fun; building it is not. As an interior designer with a background in project management, I know just how intimidating it is for homeowners to face a new home build or home renovation with all the decisions, timelines, and the bottom line hanging in the balance. Whether you want to avoid design choices you’ll regret or costly fixes near the end of construction, your project should start with a way to stay on track without fear. 

How To Stay In Control Of Your Home Building Project

Keeping track of your project doesn’t have to take control of your life. Our Home Build & Renovation Planning Tool is a checklist that provides a home base for your project from start to finish.

You can review the work to be done and check it off as it’s completed. As part of a larger set of documents including contracts and schematics, this tool can help you keep a lookout for potential roadblocks along the way and add a sense of relief to the overwhelming decisions that need to be made. Here is a tool to help you feel more confident managing your next home renovation or new build. 

How To Set Up Your Project Spreadsheet

The first pages of our Home Build & Renovation Planning Tool are dedicated to each level of the home and all of the spaces that will be affected, including hallways and closets.

For every room, there is a cell for flooring, paint, cabinetry, counters, and special applications. These are the most common considerations, but don’t hesitate to adjust the list to reflect the details of your project. Setting your spreadsheet up like this isolates your thoughts to a single room at a time.

View fullsize

Now, when you go for walk-throughs of your project you have a checklist to make sure your plans are being executed correctly.

Starting with flooring and working your way to special applications like back splashes, fill in the material specified for each cell. I recommend listing the brand, model or material, and finish where applicable. The more detailed you can be the better.

Be Stress-Free During The Building Process

Now, when you go for walk-throughs of your project you have a checklist to make sure your plans are being executed correctly. For materials like paints and stains, bring samples with you to compare what you’re seeing to what you’ve selected. 

This tool also enables you to see at a glance what still needs to be accomplished.  Highlight cells to easily note decisions that still need to be made. You can color code the cells to note which elements have yet to be executed or need to be reselected. Once you start to fill in each cell and the process gets underway, different questions might come up for your builder or subcontractors. The page at the back of the Home Build & Renovation Planning Tool is a great place to collect all the questions that come up between meetings with your builder.  

View fullsize

The Benefits Of Your Home Build & Renovation Planning Spreadsheet

By far the best part about this tool is that it empowers you in decision making and communicating your dream to your builder. You remain in control of the choices for every aspect of your new build or remodel even when the unexpected strikes. And if there is anything guaranteed in home construction or renovation, it is the unexpected.

You’ll also feel better knowing you’re protecting your bottom line. Not only will you mitigate the chance of rushing to make a choice you might regret, but you’ll reduce the cost of fixing errors due to miscommunication. 

Remain in control of the choices for every aspect of your project, even when the unexpected strikes.

This tool is even useful after your renovation or build, offering a place to note changes that may occur later, like the color of a child’s room when they enter high school.  It also helps make repairs and maintenance easier.

The last thing you want to search for after you’ve moved into your newly completed home, is the name of the foyer paint when the wall gets its first chip. Was it Gray Owl or Grey Cloud?

View fullsize

While there is space by each material choice for cost, you may want to add a separate sheet for overall remodel or build cost. It is important to note fixed costs and any allowances you’ll need to keep in mind. Knowing which items are factored in, typically interior wall color for instance, and which have an allowance can clue you into where thoughtful choices will need to be made in the scope of the project.

Pro tip: If you are good with spreadsheets, you can even make the cells calculate changes to your overall costs on the separate budget page if you adjust what you spend in each allowance category. This makes it just a little easier to keep an eye on the big picture. You might also want to add a page dedicated to your timeline.

You can adapt this for a six month kitchen renovation or a year long new home construction project. You’ll want to work backwards from the builder’s suggested completion date and add deadlines for your selections and orders. 

Manage Your Project Fearlessly

Once you’ve set your eyes on your dream home plan, the gravity of how to make it happen sets in. My hope is our tool will empower you to tackle any unforeseen circumstances that should arise.

For most people building the perfect custom home is a once in a lifetime undertaking. Don’t leave the results up to chance, get your copy of our free Home Build & Renovation Planning Tool sent directly to your inbox.

---

More Resources:

A Home With Good Bones : Construction

Busting 5 Design Myths

Design Process Video

If you are interested in our design services, please tell us about your project!