Last month, we hosted our popular Project Management for Property Managers webshop. This online workshop reviews the keys to effective project management. The topic is designed for property managers who work with painting and restoration contractors regularly. We cover topics like pre-production planning, site meetings, and the job close, along the way providing tools and resources that help guide property managers through the key stages of a project. The goal is to help property managers improve their project management skills for waterproofing, painting, or restoration projects.
Without fail, the most engaging part of all webshops is our Q&A sessions. Property managers get their questions on all aspects of project management—and contractors—answered on the spot. This session was no different, with our attendees offering great questions on many aspects of project management. Let’s take a look at some of their questions and our answers:
I often see job quotes allocating 10% or 20% of the quote for contingencies. These numbers seem very arbitrary and usually don’t specify what contingencies to expect. Shouldn’t companies quoting on these projects have a fairly precise idea of what can require additional expense during the project?
It is prudent to budget at least 10% for most construction or building renewal projects, especially if the project involves restoration. For example, let’s say you are having your deck membranes replaced on a high-rise. The initial step of the process will be removing the existing membranes, thereby uncovering the concrete deck surface. Any damage to the concrete will not be visible until the existing membrane is removed. You may uncover nothing at all, or spalling and cracks of varying sizes.
In some cases, your contractor will be able to give you a “working budget” or estimate prior to starting, for unforeseen circumstances; however, for certain project types, it is very difficult to predict what may be uncovered.
All this said, for a simple project like a building repaint, a reputable contractor will provide fixed pricing. In this case, a contingency would only apply to change orders—for instance, if the owners request additional work.
If we receive monthly progress claims from a general contractor, what’s the best way to know if the progress they’re claiming is accurate? One concern is that property owners don’t like receiving front-end loaded invoices, so how can we determine what’s reasonable? And how do we explain this to the GC from our perspective, especially when we may not know as much as they do when it comes to construction?
The industry standard is to start with a mobilization advance or deposit, followed by progress claims every two weeks—or in some cases, monthly. The mobilization invoice, which is paid upfront, allows the contractor to purchase materials, secure equipment rentals, permits, and everything else needed to get the project moving.
From there, you should expect biweekly or monthly invoices based on actual progress. Your contractor should provide a description of the work completed, a marked-up map or rendering of the building, and progress photos showing what’s been done to date.
Keep in mind that contractors are typically paid within 30 days. In most cases, by the time the payment clears your customer’s account, the project has already progressed well beyond what was shown on the original invoice being paid.
How do you follow up on unexpected costs that aren’t in the scope or noted in a change order? For example, we needed pot lights installed along with some wiring, which required opening drywall. At project close, the drywall was left open, and we were left covering the cost. Was this just a pitfall in the change order process? We approved the work quickly to avoid delays, but didn’t expect this outcome.
The best way to avoid these kinds of surprises is to ask your contractor a series of scope-related questions up front:
- Confirm what is included and excluded from their scope
- Ask the contractor to identify any items that will require additional trades
- Ask if those items can be included in their price or quoted separately ahead of time
Another great way to head off change orders and scope surprises—especially for building restoration or painting projects—is to prompt your favourite AI (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, etc.). Upload the contractor’s proposal, scope of work, or email notes, and ask the AI:
“What other items should I ask about based on this scope?”
Or
“What are potential additional costs that could come up?”
AI tools can help generate a thorough checklist of potential extras.
What is the best practice for having a presence on site? I don’t have the expertise of the contractor, nor do I want to get in the way or micro-manage—but I still want to be impactful. Are remote weekly updates enough? Should you request pictures as part of the update?
Great question. There are two meetings you should attend in person to help ensure a successful project: the pre-production meeting and the close-out meeting. The pre-production meeting, with all stakeholders in attendance, ensures the contractor, property manager, and consultant are all on the same page. An effective job close-out meeting ensures the project wraps up properly and establishes a list of items to complete, along with who is responsible for each one.
As for progress meetings, while it’s best if you can attend the site for a review from time to time, most items can be handled with weekly summaries sent out by your contractor. These should include progress updates, photos, and any pertinent information that needs to be distributed to stakeholders. If this is done on a regular basis, you should be able to stay up to speed without needing to micro-manage or get in the way.
Just a sampling of the fantastic questions we were asked on project management and contracting for restoration and painting projects. If you’d like to learn more, you can read our blog’s previous posts on the topics and keep an eye out for our upcoming piece: Working on the Final 5% – Effective Job Closes.
If you need a quote for a painting, building renewal, or restoration project, you can request a quote here or email us at [email protected].
