A personal project: After years of managing complex business programmes, I'm applying the same discipline to our home renovation. Here's why off-the-shelf tools aren't cutting it.
The Project Nobody Prepares You For
We're renovating our house. Not a lick of paint and new carpets. A proper renovation: walls coming down, extension going up, rewiring, replumbing, the lot.
I've spent my career managing complex projects and programmes. I've implemented enterprise tools, built custom workflows, and helped organisations get a grip on their delivery. Surely managing a house renovation would be straightforward?
It's not.
Why Generic Tools Fall Short
The pain: I tried everything. Spreadsheets, Trello, Notion, even a physical whiteboard. None of them quite fit.
Here's the problem: a house renovation isn't a linear project. It's a web of dependencies, decisions, and unknowns that shift daily. The electrician can't start until the plasterer finishes, but the plasterer is waiting on the structural engineer's sign-off, which depends on building control, who need three weeks' notice.
Meanwhile, you're tracking quotes from five different contractors, managing a budget that keeps moving, storing photos of "inspiration" that your partner sends at 11pm, and trying to remember which supplier has that specific tile you liked.
Trello gives you cards. What you need is context.
What I Actually Need
After sketching out what would actually help, the list looked something like this:
A timeline that understands dependencies. Not just "Task A before Task B" but proper critical path thinking. If the windows are delayed, what else shifts?
Budget tracking that connects to decisions. When we upgraded the kitchen worktop, I want to see that ripple through to the total budget instantly. Not in a separate spreadsheet I forget to update.
Document storage that makes sense. Quotes, contracts, warranties, certificates. All linked to the relevant room or trade, not dumped in a folder called "House Stuff 2026".
A decision log. We made a choice about the bathroom layout three months ago. What were the options? Why did we pick this one? When the builder asks, I want the answer in seconds, not an hour of scrolling through WhatsApp.
Photo tracking with context. That photo of the floor we liked in the showroom. Which showroom? What was it called? How much was it?
Building Something Purpose-Built
So I'm building it myself.
The idea is simple: a tool designed specifically for managing a house renovation, not adapted from something meant for software sprints or marketing campaigns.
It's early days. Right now it's little more than a skeleton. But the vision is clear: one place to plan, track, and manage everything about the build. Something that thinks the way a renovation actually works.
Will it ever be finished? Honestly, I don't know. The house might be done before the app is. But as someone who's spent years telling clients that the right tool makes all the difference, it feels like time to practice what I preach.
What's on the Roadmap
The plan, such as it is:
- Project timeline with proper dependency mapping
- Budget tracker linked to quotes and actuals
- Document library organised by room, trade, and phase
- Decision log so we remember why we chose what we chose
- Contractor management with contact details, quotes, and availability
- Photo gallery with tags and context
Whether any of this gets built remains to be seen. But if it does, I'll be sharing how it goes.
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