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Who is managing your build—and its changes?
Foundation Series · Episode 10 of 12
Tina Patel & Bart Kolosowski · 5 March 2026
Moving a light can sound like a small request. It may also mean reopening a ceiling, rearranging trades and changing the programme.
Bart and Tina explain the different jobs involved in managing construction, how changes should be assessed and why the homeowner’s decisions and payment planning still matter once the builders arrive.
Who is coordinating the people behind the build?
The main contractor organises work on site. Managing the building contract is a separate task, and coordinating the design team is another. A homeowner can assume one appointment covers all three without anyone having agreed to do so.
Bart describes the gap that appears when a contract administrator is expected to manage every designer too. The title alone does not establish that wider responsibility: it needs to be covered in the appointment and understood by the team.
Before construction, ask who will chase outstanding information, bring the designers together and take a problem to the client for a decision. The right level of management depends on the project, but the responsibility should always have a named owner.
01
Name the roles
Agree who manages each task.
02
Assess the change
Check design, cost and timing.
03
Record the decision
Use the agreed instruction route.
04
Keep work moving
Answer queries and plan payments.
‘Could you just move that light?’
A request made while walking around site can become work before its consequences have been discussed. The contractor then expects payment; the homeowner thought it was a minor adjustment.
Tina uses moving a light to show how a simple instruction can affect work already completed. Bart recalls a fire-alarm point moved for appearance, only for the change to need correcting. A small visual choice can raise technical questions too.
The hosts recommend an agreed route for changes: check the design, cost and programme implications, obtain the necessary authority and record the instruction. Discuss that route with the person administering your particular contract before making requests on site.
The plumber cannot always return next week
Construction relies on a sequence of people, deliveries and decisions. If a task cannot proceed when booked, the subcontractor may be committed to another project when the information finally arrives.
Renovation work can also reveal a pipe or another hidden condition that needs a coordinated design response. The architect, engineer and other specialists may all need to consider the solution before the builder can continue.
Agree how quickly queries will be answered and who can authorise decisions. Keep the current drawings and instructions together: an isolated email changing one detail can be missed as the design goes through further revisions.
Plan for the payments as well as the decisions
Monthly payments need not be identical. They follow the progress and payment arrangements of the project, so having the overall budget available is different from having the right money accessible when it is needed.
Bart and Tina discuss how a forecast of expected valuations helps homeowners plan ahead. The contract administrator’s assessment also matters: a contractor’s application needs to be reviewed against the work and the agreed terms.
Ask your team for a payment forecast and the process for reviewing applications. Within the household, agree who confirms decisions too. Conflicting instructions and last-minute money transfers can make an otherwise well-organised build harder to manage.
Three decisions to take into your project
01 Confirm who coordinates the design team.
Check the actual appointment rather than assume the contract administrator covers everything.
02 Check consequences before instructing changes.
Understand the effect on finished work, cost and the programme before the request becomes work.
03 Prepare to make timely decisions and payments.
Agree authority within the household and ask the team for a forecast of expected valuations.
The full conversation
The Foundation Series is our 12-episode guide to the home project journey. Architect Tina Patel and quantity surveyor Bart Kolosowski work through the decisions, people and processes involved, step by step.
In Episode 10, Bart and Tina distinguish site management, contract administration and design coordination. They explore changes, queries, payment planning and the homeowner’s role during construction.
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Continue the Foundation Series
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Next: Getting the keys is not the end of your project →
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