The value of a project manager, from concept to completion

Embarking on a construction or renovation project can be an exciting yet daunting experience. From envisioning your dream space to dealing with various professionals and contractors, the process can quickly become overwhelming. That is what a project manager is for. At NU Projects the project manager is the person who holds the brief, the trades, the programme and the budget in one place, and here is what that actually does.

1. Holding the brief: the project manager sits between what you asked for and what gets built. They take the time to understand the priorities and the expectations, then test every decision on site against them, which is how the finished house ends up resembling the one that was described.
2. Access to the right people: our in-house teams cover architects, interior designers, engineers and party wall surveyors, alongside specialist subcontractors. Having them in-house is what keeps the coordination quick and the answers consistent. Moreover, we also have a vast network of freelance professionals at our disposal, giving us access to a pool of talent that is handpicked for your project’s specific requirements.
3. Assembling the team early: when the project manager is involved before the design is fixed, they can put the management team and the trades together around it. That is what stops the same question being answered three different ways later.
4. Budget and programme: the project manager runs both. They track the spend against the cost plan each month and the work against the programme each week, which is how a delay is found while it is still a week rather than a month.
5. Fee structures: a fixed rate, a fixed fee or a percentage of the project cost. Which one suits depends on how defined the scope is, and we will say which we think fits yours.

A project manager is not an overhead on a renovation. They are the person who stops the three most expensive things happening: a decision made twice, a trade waiting on another trade, and a change built before it was priced.

Tell us about your project, or read where project management sits in our 12-stage process.