Construction Project Management

What does a construction project manager do?

A building project loses money in predictable places: an under-defined scope, a tender won on an incomplete specification, variations agreed on the hoof, and nobody independent certifying what the contractor is actually owed. Construction project management by a RICS surveyor exists to close those gaps — one accountable professional taking your project from feasibility to handover.

Projects managed

• Refurbishment and repair — whole-house renovations, structural repairs and planned maintenance programmes.
• Extensions, conversions and alterations — rear and side extensions, loft conversions, basement builds and internal reconfigurations.
• Reinstatement works — rebuilding after fire, water or storm damage, usually alongside an insurance claim.
• Commercial fit-outs and repairs — office, retail and industrial works co-ordinated with our commercial building surveyors.

What the service covers

The engagement follows the RICS project management framework: feasibility and budget-setting, design team co-ordination, planning and building control applications, statutory matters including party wall notices, preparation of the schedule of works and specification, competitive tendering with a tender report, standard-form building contract (typically JCT), regular site inspections, interim valuations and certificates through contract administration, and a final account check before certifying completion — with the snagging and rectification period followed through, not forgotten.

When to appoint a project manager

The appointment earns its fee earliest. Ideally the project manager is instructed at feasibility stage — before the design is fixed and long before a contractor is chosen — because that is when the big money decisions are still open: whether the budget can actually deliver the brief, whether the works should be phased, and which procurement route suits the job. Appointed after tender, a project manager can still bring programme and cost under control, but the leverage of competitive tendering against a complete specification has already been spent. As a rule of thumb: if the works will run past roughly three months, involve more than two or three trades, or must proceed while you cannot be near the site yourself, professional management stops being a luxury.

Project management or contract administration — which do you need?

The two overlap and are often confused. Construction project management is the whole-life role: it starts before there is a design and ends after the defects period. Contract administration is the formal role within the building contract — valuing, certifying and instructing once a contract exists. On most managed projects the same panel surveyor performs both. But if your design is complete and your builder chosen, standalone contract administration may be all you need; and on design and build procurement the equivalent employer-side role is the employer's agent. If in doubt, describe the project and we will recommend the lighter option that still protects you.

Building control, party walls and the other approvals

A domestic project trips over statute more often than it trips over the builder. The project manager tracks the approvals as part of the service: planning permission or confirmation that the works fall under permitted development; building regulations approval and the inspection stages that follow; party wall notices under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (England and Wales) where work affects shared walls or involves excavation near neighbouring buildings; CDM duties, including the principal designer appointment where more than one contractor is involved; and licensing matters such as HMO requirements for landlords. Missing any one of these can stop a site or block a future sale, so they are diarised into the programme rather than left to the builder's memory.

Deliverables at each stage

• Feasibility report — a realistic cost plan and outline programme before you commit.
• Specification and schedule of works — the document every tender is priced against.
• Tender report — returns compared like-for-like, queries resolved, with a recommendation.
• Executed building contract — typically JCT, completed before work starts.
• Inspection records, valuations and certificates — the running paper trail during construction.
• Final account statement and handover file — completion certified, defects tracked through the rectification period.

Typical scenarios

• The remote client — a homeowner working abroad during a full renovation, needing regular eyes on site and a single point of decision-making.
• Insurance reinstatement — rebuilding after fire or escape of water, where the schedule of works doubles as the claim evidence and the programme must satisfy the insurer as well as the owner.
• The landlord conversion — a house converted to an HMO with licensing conditions built into the specification from day one, not retro-fitted at inspection.
• The commercial fit-out — leased premises altered under landlord consent conditions, with reinstatement obligations kept in view.

Fees and instruction

Fees are agreed up front — typically a percentage of construction cost for full-service appointments or fixed fees for defined stages (feasibility only, tender only, inspections only). Because we run a national panel of 2,400+ RICS surveyors, your project manager knows the local contractor market as well as the contract. If the works have already gone wrong, the construction expert witness specialists on the panel handle disputes.

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