DIY Planning for Home and Garden Projects

What is Project Planning and how does it apply to me? Below is a crash course in Project Planning at its most basic level outlining how it can be applied to a Project such as renovating your old kitchen. The three elements that affects the level of success or failure of your Project are:

1. Time
2. Quality
3. Cost.

To determine likely cost do your research e.g. price up the cost of all the material you are likely to need such as nails, wood, tiles, bricks and mortar etc., and any accessories like screws, glue, paint and any tools you may need to buy or hire. In other words make a comprehensive list of everything you are likely to buy, including quantities, delivery times and delivery costs, and price it all up e.g. go window shopping, and get quotes and estimates. Also, where work must be done by qualified professionals get full free quotes well in advance with likely start dates and estimated completion dates.

Then add some Tolerance into the costs e.g. add a little more onto the costs in the event of price changes, increased labour costs etc., also set aside additional funds in your budget for Contingency to mitigate against any risks that could have an impact on costs e.g. the price of wood increases or a particular product becomes unavailable (out of stock, end of line etc.) and the alternative costs more, or due to a last minute change in your plan you need more wood or cement than you originally calculated.

Quality will determine cost, and may have an impact on time, so when doing your initial research e.g. window shopping and getting quotes for work to be carried out also evaluate the quality of goods and services. For example if you're on a tight budget you may decide to buy untreated wood that rots within a few years or you may decide to buy treated wood and save money by laying cheaper patio slabs or spend less on decorating etc.

When doing your initial research also gather information on the delivery times for any ordered goods, when building works should start and finish for jobs that are required to be done by professionals e.g. plumbers and electricians, and where planning permission is required how long that may take etc.

There are always risks e.g. an elderly or sick relative may need looking after; delivery of goods might be delayed, builders might start late or take longer than expected, or goods might not be of the expected quality. Therefore make a list off all the probable risks that you can think of and mitigate for them; guess their probability and likely impact in the event of them happening e.g. allow extra time to do a job, add some contingency to your budget, enlist the help of a friend if needed etc.

After completing your research then by applying Project Planning, in its simplest form, pull together all the information you've gathered (as described above):-

Allow additional time for each task (all jobs take much longer than you think),

Add additional costs for tolerance (things always work out more expensive than you think) and

Plan your contingencies to mitigate against risks e.g. put aside additional funds and time to cover for any risks that may occur during your Project.

Once the project has started monitor its progresses regularly amending the plan as appropriate; MS Project is ideal for this but for most of us who don't have this software then a simple spreadsheet or a program like Excel can be effective e.g. it can be used to list the start date and duration of each task to help you plan each phase to ensure tasks are done in a logical order and that any task dependant on the completion of other tasks aren't started too soon e.g. you can't fit decking until the base frame is laid and you can't lay the base frame until the ground is prepared and supports for the frame is put in place, and you can't install the frame supports until you have the materials (wood or brick) to make them is delivered etc.

Check with your local authority for any planning permission you may need, can include garden fences and walls if for example they are over 1m in the front of the property or above 2m in your back garden. Planning Consent may also be required if your project affects the street scene or affects the privacy of your neighbours or a structure blocks their natural light or view etc. Also check whether any part of your project needs to meet building regulations, and if so what you are required to do to comply with them. This may include 'structural work', electrical work, gas fittings etc; electrical work and gas fittings. In England gas and electrics should only be fitted by professionally qualified persons suitably registered for their trade e.g. gas fittings by CORGI registered gas engineers.

Also consider your health and safety and the health and safety of others. For example, is the new works secure, is it strictly sound; if in doubt, over engineer e.g. add more supports, use thicker wood etc. Do you intend using a ladder when scaffolding would be safer? Don't try to do more than you can handle and lift things properly so that you don't pull your back. There's plenty to think about, plenty to consider, even before you start a project.