The top things that drag out a home renovation project

We have all heard the horror stories. A remodeling project that starts off swimmingly, then gets bogged down and grinds to a halt before mercifully limping to the finish line — way past schedule and over budget. While all remodeling projects have their hiccups, a lot can be done to avoid or minimize disruptions. The vast majority can be ironed out before the work starts, which helps the project run smoother once things get rolling. Below are a few things that tend to stall renovation projects.

Permits and inspections

Well before the work starts and the permitting process is taking shape, it’s important to have plans from your builder that will give the building department what they need to not only approve the permit, but lay the groundwork for the inspection process. Nothing will slow a project down like a failed inspection. Building officials looking at any serious renovation will want to see that builders are licensed and insured and that architects are certified. It is possible a structural engineer will also be needed. Sketch-up plans are not what a building department is looking for and will bog down the whole process.

Lack of understanding what city or town departments are involved with the permitting process is also a major hinderance. Again, a builder/architect should know this, but it is important to understand who will be involved in the permitting and inspection process. It could be zoning, historical, or perhaps the conservation committee that will weigh in on things. If a plot plan is needed from zoning, that could take four to six weeks to get researched and drawn up. It’s not something you want to be dealing with at the last minute.

Development schedule

The development schedule lays out milestones for the owners, builder, and architect. There are a set number of meetings to draft the plans and layout — typically anywhere from three to six. Among the three main players, and each has tasks with deadlines within the overall schedule. These all run concurrently on parallel tracks as development moves forward.

The homeowner must make final decisions on overall plans and schematics. We lay out the product selections they need to make and in what order. Product selections can greatly affect the cost of installation, and the lead times have to work within the parameters of the project. For instance, we would need kitchen cabinets and appliances chosen first since those impact so many other choices. Then we would want all the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC chosen and ironed out since those are critical path items. Further down would be tile selection, paint colors, etc.

The builder brings all the subcontractors and suppliers through to review the project, map out routes for all the utilities, and manage service upgrades if necessary. Having all the key subs and suppliers through gets a better handle on budget and length of time needed for each component of the project. This leads to a more accurate production schedule. The builder should be continuously monitoring the budget and scope of work. The project can change over the course of development; as long as the client is made aware of changes to scope and budget, the process should move along smoothly. The builder should also be nursing the project along with the building officials to make sure there aren’t stumbling blocks once work starts.

The architect is modifying drawings as needed during development. The goal being that when the contract is signed, a full set of permit-ready plans are good to go. The architect may stay involved in the interior design work, which is not something that has to be on the building permit plans.

Change orders

As much as we do not like changes once a project has begun, they are an inevitable part of any remodel. It is important to have a system and protocol in place when they do happen. On our projects, we immediately fill out a change order form with pricing and submit that to owners before any additional work is done that isn’t in the initial contract. Change orders generally happen for two reasons:

The first is what we call “the house talking,” and it happens on most every project. We may open up a house and find rot or that past contractors have drilled through structural beams and/or joists. We would drop what we are doing, get the solution written up and priced, then submit that to the owner. We would shift gears and work on another part of the remodel while the change order is submitted, discussed, and signed.

Sometimes homeowners change their minds about something and add or modify elements that change the scope of work. This will likely lead to delays in the project. These would also be written up as a change order, signed, and incorporated into the product schedule.

Communication

Having all three players in the development process working together and in parallel with each other while holding each other accountable is the only way to pull all the pieces together in an efficient manner. Doing it right is a lot more work than people realize. Virtually everything we go over in the development process will have to be discussed and debated at some point. It is always better to do that over the dining room table with a cup of coffee and the plans in front of us, rather than having those discussions once your house is opened up and there are contractors standing around waiting for answers. That is a recipe for cost overruns and scheduling delays.

Mark Philben is the project development manager at Charlie Allen Renovations in Cambridge. Send your questions to [email protected]. Questions are subject to editing. Subscribe to the Globe’s free real estate newsletter — our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design — at Boston.com/address-newsletter.