Project Management

How a Modern Remodeling job runs day to day

Steve started Modern Remodeling after years of working for guys that lacked communication. On those jobs the homeowner was often the last to learn what had changed and why. His standard for his own company was simple: better communication, and making sure the job is done right. Project management is how that standard turns into a routine.

This page describes how we run jobs where we are the builder. If you have your own plans and builder and want an experienced representative watching them, that is construction management, which has its own page. Here it is our crew, our trades, our schedule, and our responsibility to keep you informed.

In practice that means a few habits we keep on every job, large or small. Someone from our company is accountable for the day's work. Nothing changes without your approval in writing. And the house is left in a state you can live in when we go home. The sections below walk through how each part of the job is handled.

The schedule, written before demo starts

Before work begins, you get a schedule that lays the job out in phases: protection and demo, framing, rough trades, inspections, insulation, drywall, finishes, final. It shows what has to happen before what, and which decisions you need to make by when. Cabinet and tile selections, for example, need to be settled well before the room is ready for them.

A schedule on a remodel is a plan, and plans move. Hidden conditions, inspection timing, weather on exterior work and supplier delays can all shift it. What we will do is tell you when it moves, why, and what the new plan is, rather than leaving you to notice a quiet week and wonder.

We update the schedule as the job goes, so the version in front of you reflects the house as it really is that week.

For the job itself we keep a running list of open decisions. Each item has a date it is needed by and a note on what it holds up if it slips. You can see at a glance what is waiting on you and what is waiting on us.

The building has to be right, and you should never have to chase anyone to find out how it is going.

Material orders and lead times

Many delays on a remodel start with something ordered late. Custom cabinets, special-order windows, certain tile and stone, and some fixtures take weeks to arrive. We order those as soon as the selections are final, track them, and check deliveries against the order when they show up, because a wrong door style found on install day loses far more time than one caught at the curb.

Materials are stored where they will not be damaged or in your way, and we let you know ahead of time when a large delivery is coming so the driveway is clear. Stock materials like lumber and drywall are timed to arrive close to when they are needed, so they are not sitting in your garage for a month.

When you are choosing finishes, we also check the practical side: whether a tile you like is in stock or months out, whether a vanity fits the plumbing we are planning, whether a window size works with the framing. Catching that at selection keeps the schedule intact.

Trades in order, inspections on the calendar

Licensed electricians and plumbers do their work under their own permits, and their visits have to fall at the right moment: after framing and blocking, before insulation. We book them against the actual state of the job and confirm the day before. Inspections are booked the same way, at the stages the state building code sets: rough framing, the trades' rough inspections, insulation, final. If an inspector asks for a correction, we make it and rebook, and you hear what was asked for. On days when no trade is scheduled, our own crew keeps the carpentry moving so the job does not stall waiting for the next visit.

On older Massachusetts houses the order matters even more, because opening a wall can change what a trade needs to do. When the electrician finds knob-and-tube or the plumber finds a cracked cast iron stack, we pause that part of the job, show you what was found, and price any change in writing before the work moves on.

Steve holds an unrestricted Massachusetts Construction Supervisor License and has 20 years in the trade, six of them running this company. Keeping the right people arriving in the right order is a large part of what that experience is for.

Protecting the house and keeping you informed

Most of our clients live in the house while we work. The path in and out gets floor protection, work areas are sealed with plastic and zip doors, and heating and cooling returns near the work are covered so dust stays out of the system. In homes built before 1978, lead-safe practices govern how surfaces are disturbed and cleaned. At the end of each day, tools are put away, debris goes out and walkways are clear.

You hear from us on a rhythm we agree on at the start. For some owners that is a short note at the end of each working day with what was done and what comes next, plus a fuller weekly conversation with Steve. Anything that changes the scope, the price or the schedule gets a phone call, not a text buried in a thread.

At the end of the job we walk the finished work with you room by room, write down anything that is not right, and come back to finish that list. The permit is closed out with a passed final inspection, and you get the record of what was built and what changed along the way.

That is the job as we see it. The building has to be right, and you should never have to chase anyone to find out how it is going.

See the rest of our construction work, or browse the gallery for rooms we have finished.