Wednesdays are usually the day I go on-site to check on progress. I went every week for the first three weeks, but now that we’ve dealt with the main issues, and work is properly underway, I’ll be going every other week up until the final month or so, when I’ll need to go in more. I’ve really enjoyed going to the house and missed it today. However, it does take out about six hours and a lot of report writing after, so actually, I was able to put that time to good use today.
I had sent off a lot of supplier enquiries for lighting yesterday and a lot of them came back with prices and information. For each fitting, I need to know both the trade and retail price (as I share the discount 50/50 with my clients). I input the prices into EstiMac, then I need to record what bulb the fitting will need and what light it will emit, so I can determine if the light will be enough for that room. This part of the design is admin-heavy, but carefully going through the information and reviewing the details of the products helps to weed out any mistakes.
Once this has been done and checked, I can present it to the client. Creating the presentations is actually a perfect opportunity to check if I really have thought of everything!
I also had a chat today with Julie, an expert in Project Management. Even though I don’t have to notify a regulatory body about the CDM regulations, Julie will make sure I follow due process where Health and Safety and communication between the builders, the client and me is concerned. This is my first big renovation project in the UK, so it’s extremely helpful for me to work with someone like Julie. Not only will she take care of that of the work, I can also take the opportunity to learn from her.
All in all, a productive admin day 🙂
