“How long will this project take?” We hear this question a lot. It’s a very important question to have answered. A remodeling project has a way of messing up your life, creating chaos with your schedule and inconveniencing you for weeks or months. It is a very disruptive process, and it is important to know how long it will be before you can get back to normal and enjoy your new space.

What factors will affect a construction project timeline?

There are quite a few different factors that will affect the overall length of time it takes to complete a home improvement project. Here are the main ones:

Design decisions

By the time you pick up the phone and call a contractor, you will usually have a good idea of what you are looking for. You may not have the actual paint color picked out, but you know what color family you are looking for. You might not have the floor tile in hand, but you know you want a tile floor.  It is very rare for a homeowner to talk to a contractor without having a pretty good idea of what they want their home to look like in the end.

In our experience, when we receive a call for a home improvement project, the homeowner has a general idea of what he or she wants, but the final material selections have not yet been made. This is actually a good thing. It allows us to make recommendations on which materials are good, and which ones to stay away from.

It will take a considerable amount of time to make the final material selections, much more time than most of us would expect. This process will be much easier on you, the homeowner, if a professional designer is hired for this task. They will help you make product selections and create a design plan for the project. We definitely recommend hiring a professional designer, a good one will save you a ton of time and stress.

Lead Times

Ever since covid reared it’s ugly head, lead times on materials have been absolutely ridiculous. Kitchen cabinets, for example, that used to have a lead time of 4 to 6 weeks are now being delivered 16 to 20 weeks from the day they are ordered. It’s absolutely nuts!

Then, you ask, what happens if the manufacturer makes a mistake, or something comes in damaged? Very good question indeed! Manufacturers generally make a point of making replacements a priority, so those generally come in quickly, but it still takes time. 

At this stage in the game, material lead times are the biggest challenge when it comes to completing a project in a reasonable amount of time. Ordering all of the materials well in advance will pay huge dividends when it comes to making a project happen on a reasonable timeline.

Contractor / Subcontractor Scheduling

At the time of my writing this, the construction industry has absolutely exploded. Most contractors are booked many months in advance, many are booked for a year or more. At this point, patience isn’t really an option anymore, it’s a necessity. Anyone that needs work done right now will most likely need to wait for months for a contractor to get started on the project.

On top of that, the average tradesman is nearing retirement, and very few young people are choosing to enter the trades. Why this is happening is a whole other article, but the general point is that as more and more tradesmen retire over the next 10 years or so and too few young people enter the workplace to replace them, labor shortages aren’t likely to get better anytime soon.

Labor Time 

The most obvious factor in how long a project will take is the actual labor hours that go into getting the work done. As crazy as it sounds, this is the factor that tends to have the least effect on the timeline. It is the easiest to estimate and the easiest to control. It tends to get the most attention but, honestly, it’s rarely what holds up a small project like a bathroom or kitchen.

What is a reasonable timeline for a kitchen renovation?

Planning a kitchen project and picking out all the products, materials, & finishes take a lot more time than most people expect. We have never seen it happen in less than a month. 2 to 3 months would be a better expectation for the planning phase. There are a lot of decisions to be made and you, the homeowner, have a lot on your plate already. Hiring a professional designer will save you a lot of time and stress, but the design process will still take a considerable amount of your time. 

For a kitchen project where the room is being completely gutted down to the bare studs, but no walls are being moved, the construction timeline will likely look something like this: 

Week 1

Demo cabinets, flooring, walls, & ceiling. Install blocking for new cabinetry, shim existing walls to create a flat surface for new drywall, & replace subfloor (if necessary). Plumber & Electrician start rough plumbing & electrical.

Week 2

Complete rough plumbing & electrical. Hang new drywall. Start taping new drywall.

Week 3

Finish taping new drywall. Prime drywall. Install flooring

Week 4

Install cabinets. The countertop company takes measurements for the new countertop. Install door trims, window trims, & base trims. 

Week 5

Paint walls, ceiling, & trim

Week 6

Install the countertop. Install the backsplash. Install the sink and appliances. Install all of the lights, switches, & receptacles.

There are many details to take into account for a project like this, and many different things that will affect the flow of work. The plumber & electrician’s schedules will affect the workflow for the work I outlined for weeks 1 & 2. The drying time of the drywall joint compound will affect the speed at which the drywall can be completed. The time between when the cabinets are set and when the countertop will be installed is subject to the countertop company’s schedule. The plumber & electrician’s schedule will also affect the installation of the sink, appliances, & electrical fixtures.

So, 6 weeks for a project this size is a good expectation for an average project of this size. If the design is simple, all of the subcontractor’s scheduling flows perfectly, and the work is able to flow efficiently, it may be possible to get it done in more like 4 to 5 weeks, but things rarely go exactly to plan. Scheduling issues, unforeseen problems, or mid-project changes can easily cause a project to take weeks longer, dragging it out to 2 months or more.

In our company, we are adamant about having all of the products and finishes picked out before work begins. We also like to have all the products we possibly can on-site from day 1. Removing the possibility of material shortages affecting our process gives us better control of the construction timeline. 

What is a reasonable timeline for a bathroom renovation?

Just like with a kitchen renovation, planning the project and choosing all of the products & finishes takes up a lot of time. The design process for a bathroom is very similar to that of a kitchen. 2 to 3 months is a good expectation for getting all of the details ironed out before construction starts.

If we were to look at a simple full bathroom remodel with a bathtub with a tiled surround and a tile floor, no walls being moved, no complicated layout changes, the construction process would look something like this:

Week 1

Demo floor, walls, ceiling, tub, & fixtures. Replace subfloor (if necessary). Shim walls for drywall. Plumber installs tub & faucet. Electrician installs vent fan & rough electrical.

Week 2

Hang drywall. Install tile backer around bath tub. Tape drywall.

Week 3

Prime drywall. Install tile tub surround. Install tile floor 

Week 4

Grout floor & tub surround. Install vanity & trims. Paint walls, ceiling, & trim. Set toilet, install sink, install shower trims. Install lights, outlet, & switches.

The time line of a bathroom project is also subject to other tradesman’s schedules as well as being affected by the intricacies of the products used for the build.

4 weeks is a good expectation for a fairly simple bathroom remodel with good scheduling of trades and an efficient flow of work. It is very difficult to complete something like this in less time than this. All of the stars really have to align to complete it faster. Mid- construction changes, and other unforseen issues can add weeks to the timeline very quickly. This is where meticulous pre-construction planning really pays off.

What is a good timeline for custom cabinets?

Depending on the project, the planning phase of a custom cabinetry project can be considerably less than that of a bathroom or kitchen remodel. There are far less products going into a set of built ins than goes into either of those projects. It is still important to give yourself enough time to think about exactly what you want your cabinetry to do, and what will be stored where. The hardware can usually be picked out in an afternoon, but you want to make sure you give the layout enough thought before the plans are finalized.

Once the plans are finalized and the materials are purchased, build time for an average kitchen or mudroom is approximately 3 weeks time. Intricate design details or stain finishes will add some time to this, but 3 weeks build time is a good rule of thumb. 

The on site install is generally around 2 days. So, from start to finish, you’re usually looking at around 4 weeks time. Obviously, smaller and simpler will take less time, larger or more intricate will take longer.

In Conclusion

Hopefully this guide will help you get an idea of how quickly some home improvement projects can be completed. We have found that the planning phase is what most often gets under estimated. When you already have an idea of what you want the space to look like in the end, it is easy to underestimate the time it will take to choose the exact products and finishes that will be used. 

Time spent planning is time well spent. In the past, our company has agreed to start projects before everything was picked out. This has been a mistake every single time we have done it. It creates stress for the person that needs to make the decisions, and it inevitably holds up the project at some point in time. It is better to get started on the project a little bit later, after the selections are made. It is less stressful, it allows you to choose from a selection of special order products as well as stock products, and it keeps the time you are going without a kitchen or bathroom to the bare minimum.

At the end of the day, remodeling projects are chaotic. No one knows exactly what they are going to find when they tear into a wall. Even with the most well thought out plans, things happen. Unforeseen issues arise and they have to be dealt with. The most we can do is plan everything as thoroughly as we can in advance, do the work as efficiently as possible, and set reasonable expectation for the time it will take to complete the project. It is a lot of work, but your new space will make it all worthwhile in the end!