I'm a busy professional, get me a project manager

City Living: Supervising builders is a drag, so why not pay someone else to do it. Edel Morgan reports

These days apart from having to attend your own wedding/funeral and maybe having to turn up at your workplace in person (unless you own the company or take the concept of delegation to the limit) you can pay someone else to deal with the time-consuming tasks that arise in pretty much every area of your life - that is, if you can afford to.

If you can't face trudging around the supermarket, have them deliver. If your paper work is out of control employ a secretary a few hours a week. If you don't know one end of a toilet brush from the other, hire a cleaner. If your wardrobe is in chaos, call in a wardrobe technician to organise and colour code (yes, these people do exist).

Ready meals, the dry cleaners and the professional blow-dry at the hairdressers are other staples of the stereotypical "young professional" who can barely find the time to gallop between the workplace and Café en Seine nevermind having to cope with life's little details.

However, most young professionals have aspirations to own property. What if that property needs work to make it habitable or, God forbid, complete renovation?

Then it's time to call in the project manager.

For most of us, getting a job done in the house involves endless hours waiting for tradesmen to arrive, but not for Clare Holman of TurnKey Home Projects who says she waits for no builder, plumber or tiler . . . well not for more than half an hour anyway.

"I'm not going to waste a day hanging around. I usually call them, explain that I'm only at a property for a brief period and ask them to give me a time when they will arrive."

TurnKey specialises in overseeing and managing home renovations - anything from a straightforward bathroom tiling job to a complete refurbishment of a property and will also advise and provide sample boards for colours and fabrics if required.

"This means our client can head off to work as normal without having to wait for the builder or plumber to arrive.

"We act as a buffer between them and the contractor so, if problems arise during the work, the contractor will contact me, so our client has a stress-free day."

Holman says that many people don't have the time to ring several tradesmen for quotes while they're at work or harass a builder into finishing the job on time. "Because it's an independent firm I'm unbiased when it comes to getting the best price and quality for the client. I might know a tiler or plumber who can do the job but I won't force them on anyone. If someone needs a bathroom tiled, we will get hold of a tiler when they're are at work, get the key, let them in and then check the work."

Her clients so far have not just been the young and overworked but also older people "who have the time but can't be bothered".

"People can be intimidated by builders and tradesmen and can be afraid they will be ripped off. Or else they don't want the hassle of checking out credentials, or dealing with problems that may arise."

Past jobs include supervising the installation of wooden floors in a new house and a three-week project ordering furniture, having carpets fitted and letting tradesmen in.

One of her recent clients was a solicitor friend of a friend who is the epitome of the busy young professional. " She works until all hours and her day is full of meetings so she literally didn't have the time to do any of it herself."

She charges a flat fee of €100-€200 for small jobs and around 4 per cent of the cost of a bigger renovation. If she is project managing the refurbishment of a house that is going on the market, she also charges 0.75 per cent of the selling price. She doesn't charge extra if a job runs on longer than anticipated.

"I get all the figures together and give the client an estimate of what the overall job will cost and then give a price for my services. Obviously, there has to be a bit of leeway there but, if there are any unforeseen delays, my fee won't go up. It is in my interest to get the job done as quickly as possible."

Holman started TurnKey six months ago after she renovated her own home in North Strand, Dublin 3, which was "an absolute kip" when she bought it. Remarkably, there were no hitches. She had it rewired, replumbed, replastered and redecorated within seven weeks and puts this near miracle down to " good organisation from the start. We co-ordinated all the tradesmen and it went smoothly."

She emerged out of this experience confident she can tackle any builder and, so far, her optimism hasn't been dented.

But she has heard of other people's horror stories. "You hear of a builder saying: 'Listen love, that'll take six weeks' and then they take off to do other jobs and you can't get hold of them. I would go and confront them, tell them what's what and keep chasing them."

If something goes wrong - i.e., the finished job is not up to the client's standard or paint starts to peel off the walls within six months - Holman is not liable.

"I'm just facilitating the whole thing. If something were to go badly wrong, I'm covered but thankfully this hasn't happened."

• Contact Clare Holman, TurnKey Home Projects on 086-8583800