Renovating your home is the surest way of improving its functionality and comfort levels. It is also a way of raising your home’s resale value. If you are planning a home remodeling project in the near future, one question that must be on your mind right now is: How long does it take to renovate every single room in a home? This question isn’t the easiest to answer as timelines are more often than not affected by multiple factors. This article explains some general rules of thumb timelines that you can work with for your home renovation process.
How Long Does It Take To Renovate A House?
The average home remodeling process lasts about 4 to 8 months. As we mentioned, this timeline can shift considerably depending on a handful of variables that we shall discuss later in the article. Here is a breakdown of what to expect depending on the magnitude of your intended renovation:
1. Pre-construction
This timeframe accounts for the period between when you start preparing for the remodel and when you start knocking down the first wall. The timelines are as follows:
Step 1: Close on your property (about 2 months)
This is the period when you account for everything in the home before deciding what to knock down and what to keep. You need to plan sufficiently and consult widely before you start the renovation, otherwise, you can smash windows and then you hit unexpected turbulence in your financial life, or you fail to secure the necessary documentation in time.
Step 2: Hiring the contractor (2 weeks)
You need a week or two to find the best contractors in town and to schedule site visits. This is also the time to solicit bids. Note that the contractor you choose at this stage will be instrumental in determining the timelines, budget, and eventual failure or success of your project.
Step 3: Obtain permits (at least a month)
This could be your biggest delaying factor yet. Some local authorities make the process of obtaining the right permits unnecessarily tedious. It can take you even more than a month to get board approvals.
Step 4: Acquiring materials (1 month)
After planning everything and obtaining all the right paperwork, you can now proceed to source the necessary materials. The ordering process can take you a month for a normal remodel, but this timeline varies with smaller or bigger projects. If all you need to order are bathroom tiles or kitchen cabinets, you can do that in a day. If, on the other hand, you need to order customized siding or roofing material, you might need more than one month.
2. Cosmetic renovations
This can take one weekend or up to 2 months depending on the size of your home. In most cases, cosmetic renovations are applicable in fairly new homes. It could be an interior painting project (a week is enough), changing an outdated sink (you need one weekend for this), replacing the bathroom floor (2 weeks), or replacing kitchen countertops (one day)
3. Medium renovations
If you will be gutting part of your home during the renovation process, then that means that the project is beyond cosmetic. If you are replacing the entire floor, for example, you may need around 3 weeks. If you wish to break down the wall between your kitchen and dining area, that might take you 2 weeks. And if you want to add an extra room, that can take up to two months.
4. Major overhaul
This can take six months to over one year. A major overhaul means that you will need to gut the entire home for the entire duration of the remodeling project. Maybe you just bought an outdated home, maybe because it is in a great location or because it was the only house you could afford. Now you want to undertake an enormous facelift that could include redoing the roof and redesigning the entire landscape. Maybe you even want to redo the foundation, says Granite Foundation Repair, especially if there are some major issues with it, or add an extra story. This kind of home remodeling will need tons of approvals, due diligence when scouting for a contractor, and long months of ordering construction materials. It is safe to set aside a year or more for the remodel.
Conclusion
Most home remodeling delays stem from late deliveries, bad weather, prolonged approval time, and contractors running behind schedule. If you are renovating the deck, for example, a prolonged storm may delay your project, the same case with roof installation and exterior painting. On the other hand, a backorder can easily delay your bathroom or kitchen remodel. Bottom line: Flexibility and patience are critical in any home remodeling project.
