Plan, Plan, Plan, Start

  Today my boss David and I met at a local restaurant in Tulsa for some breakfast and to have a project planning meeting.  David has been hard at work bidding and closing new projects.  Since last week he has successfully signed 6 new remodels up for us to place into our production schedule. Its one thing to get a couple of remodels signed up at one time, but to receive 6 in one week is just C.R.A.Z.Y. So, when this happens there is only one thing to do.....plan, plan, plan, plan and then some more planning.
  I know, I know, you're saying, "Duh, everyone knows that you have to plan before you start", right?  You'd be really surprised on the true number of people in this world who jump into all kinds of things without a proper plan before starting.  Planning for a construction project is no different than planning for a wedding, birthday party or marriage.  The more you plan before you start, the better and more smooth the wedding, birthday party, marriage or construction project will run. The smoother a project runs, the more enjoyable it will be to everyone involved as well.
   After David and I finished breakfast and discussing the new projects we headed out to one of the new projects to perform a pre-construction walk-through with the owners.  Like I have started before, we discussed with the homeowners all the details of their remodel and listened to them tell us about their concerns and expectations. I take down a lot (A WHOLE LOT!!!!) of notes during these meetings and then later I will type them up and place them into the project production folder.  I find that the older I get the easier it is for me to remember something, especially when I write it down.
  Its during these initial meetings with the homeowner that I feel it is important to let them know there is no good substitution for good planning.  I let them know when, why and how I will be scheduling out their homes remodel and what they should expect next from us.  There needs to be ample amount of time provided to the client to absorb all the information coming at them and I find that its always a good idea to follow up all client meetings with an e-mail reviewing what was discussed during the meeting.  The e-mail is also a great opportunity to provide the client with information on locations for then to select finishes (I.E., counter-tops, plumbing fixtures, lighting, etc...) for their particular project.
  Now that our new client has a grasp on how the project will be scheduled, what they need to select and where they can make selections, they need to go ahead and complete a good portion of their "homework" prior to me actually scheduling their project completely.  This way we will know if something has to be "special ordered" or if some important piece of the puzzle is "out-of-stock" and won't be available for 5 to 6 weeks.  How would you like not to have a bathroom because it was demo'd to make room for the new bath and your contractor just told you its going to take 3 weeks to get that "special ordered" floor tile you wanted in.  At that point you have two choices, chose something else (not getting what you wanted and having to compromise) or wait on the correct floor tile to come in and be with only one bathroom for your family of 5 to use for the next 6-8 weeks!!!  Plan, Plan, Plan.  I'm not saying all the material has to be sitting in your garage, I'm just saying you need to know if it is available and how long will it take to get onto the project.