For homeowners
Home renovation project plan
Every phase, job and contractor in order, with what you've paid adding itself up.
A home renovation project plan sets out the phases, the jobs in each, who does them and what they cost, in the order they have to happen. In PrimeTask it's a project with a milestone per phase, dated jobs that wait on each other, a canvas for ideas, and your contractors' payments adding up.
Updated · Checked with PrimeTask 1.0.5 · PrimeTask Team
PrimeTask
How it fits together
Select a part, in the drawing or here, to see what it does and what it feeds.
What flows
Due soon, and overdue
Jobs to Dashboard
Every connection, in words
- Phases is part of Renovation.
- Jobs is part of Renovation.
- Reminders is part of Jobs.
- Measurements is part of Ideas board.
- Jobs is linked to Phases.
- Jobs is linked to Dashboard.
- Due soon, and overdue: Jobs to Dashboard.
How the parts of a home renovation plan connect, from the phases to what's due this week
The problem
A renovation runs on a sequence nobody writes down: the electrician before the drywall, the tile before the vanity, the measurements before the countertop is made. Miss one hand-off and the next trade stands around, or comes back another week.
Add quotes in emails, receipts in a drawer and ideas in your camera roll, and the budget is the last thing you find out about.
What it uses
Five parts, one connected system
Each card opens its docs article in a new tab, for the detail behind the steps.
Projects
One project for the renovation, with a milestone per phase
Docs for Projects (opens in a new tab)Task Dependencies
ProWhich jobs wait on others, drawn on the timeline
Docs for Task Dependencies (opens in a new tab)PrimeFlow Media and Link Nodes
Ideas, finishes and measurements on one canvas
Docs for PrimeFlow Media and Link Nodes (opens in a new tab)Project Database
ProEach contractor and what you've paid them
Docs for Project Database (opens in a new tab)Task Reminders
A nudge before each delivery and inspection
Docs for Task Reminders (opens in a new tab)Step 1
Make a project with a milestone per phase
Project milestones (opens in a new tab)Open Projects, choose New Project and name it after the job, with your finish date as the deadline. Then press M to add a milestone for each phase, with the type Phase, such as demolition, rough-in, drywall and finishes.
Step 2
Put every job on a date
Quick Add (opens in a new tab)Add each job with Quick Add and its date, such as Electrical rough-in @kitchen nov 3, and add it to its phase from the milestone's Manage panel.
Use the room-by-room checklist on this page as your starting list.
Step 3
Mark which jobs wait on others
Task dependencies (opens in a new tab)Open a job and mark what it's blocked by, such as the drywall waiting on the electrical inspection. On the Gantt chart, the links show as arrows, so a late job shows what it holds up.
Step 4
Collect the ideas on a canvas
Image and link nodes (opens in a new tab)Open PrimeFlow and create a canvas for the house. Right-click and choose Image for the tile, fixtures and colors you like, from your computer, a web link or Unsplash, and add sticky notes with the measurements.
Step 5
Keep the contractors and what you've paid
Project Database (opens in a new tab)On the project's Fields tab, run the Contractor Costs preset. Link your contractors to the project, set a tab's Show As to contacts, and record what you pay each one.
The project's spend rises with each payment, and the Cost Summary shows it against the contract cost.
Step 6
Get a nudge before deliveries and inspections
Task reminders (opens in a new tab)Add remind:1d to a delivery or an inspection, and it warns you the day before, in PrimeTask and as a notification on your computer. Someone needs to be home, and now you'll know.
The checklist
The whole list
What to plan for each room. Check with your local building department about permits before work starts.
| Room | What to plan |
|---|---|
| Kitchen | Layout, cabinets, countertops, appliances, moving plumbing or wiring, ventilation, lighting |
| Bathroom | Layout, waterproofing, fixtures, tile, the fan, storage, lighting |
| Living areas | Flooring, paint, lighting, outlets, windows and doors |
| Bedrooms | Flooring, paint, closets, lighting, outlets |
| Whole house | Permits, the electrical panel, plumbing, heating and cooling, insulation, where you'll live during the work |
Variations
Make it yours
Four ways to change the setup to fit how you work.
One room at a time
A board per room
With your partner
ProYour Dashboard
Reuse
Save it for next time
Set it up once, and start the next one from it.
The next project
Questions
Common questions
Decide the scope and the budget, get quotes, then put the work in phases, each with the jobs that must finish before the next begins. Give every job a date and leave room for delays.
It depends on the scope and when the trades are free. With every job on a timeline and linked to what it waits on, you can see your real finish date, and what a late job holds up.
With Pro, yes. The Contractor Costs preset adds what you pay each contractor to the project's spend, and the Cost Summary shows it against the contract cost.
No. Keep quotes and receipts as attachments on the jobs they belong to, and record the amounts on each contractor's row.
Related
More setups like this
Other jobs, set up the same way.
Set this up with your own work.
The free trial runs for 14 days and includes Pro.