How Long Does a Full Renovation Take? A Realistic Room-by-Room Schedule

“Allow three months.” How many Parisian homeowners have heard that reassuring phrase, only to watch their project stretch far beyond it? The duration of a renovation is the question most often asked, and the one least often answered honestly. Not out of bad faith, but because giving a clear timeline means naming everything that can lengthen a project: the surprises hidden in older buildings, manufacturing lead times, the uncertainties of co-ownership procedures.

We take the opposite approach: realistic timelines, the factors that can throw them off, and, above all, how to anticipate them. Because a schedule that holds is never a matter of luck. It is prepared, room by room, long before the first hammer falls.

In brief

• Refresh (paint, flooring, light repairs): 2 to 4 weeks.
• Full renovation (fit-out and finishing trades redone, layout unchanged): 2 to 4 months on site.
• Heavy or high-end renovation (reconfiguration, structural works, bespoke elements): 4 to 8 months, sometimes more.
• To these timelines, add 1 to 3 months of design studies and permissions upstream, a phase often forgotten in estimates.

Indicative 2026 timelines, to be refined according to the condition of the property and the nature of the project.

Average timelines by type of project

No two projects are alike, but they can be grouped into broad categories. The more you alter the structure and building services, the longer the schedule becomes.

The refresh

No partitions, plumbing or electrics are modified. Paint, floors, a few touch-ups: the apartment is sound, and its lustre is restored. This is the fastest format, generally two to four weeks for an average-sized Parisian home.

The full renovation

This is the most common scenario after a purchase. All the fit-out and finishing trades are redone, electrics brought up to standard, plumbing, heating, kitchen, bathroom, floors and paintwork, without radically changing the room layout. Allow two to four months of actual works, depending on the surface area and level of finish.

The heavy or high-end renovation

The apartment is redesigned: removing partitions, opening up the kitchen, relocating a shower room, sometimes working on a load-bearing wall. Noble materials and bespoke furniture come with their own manufacturing lead times. The project then extends over four to eight months, and a particularly demanding scheme may exceed that range.

A useful benchmark: in an older Parisian property, you almost never renovate “just” the surfaces. As soon as the walls are opened up, bringing things up to standard becomes part of the picture, which explains why a full renovation is, by far, the most common scenario.

The typical schedule for a full renovation

A building site is not a series of independent tasks: each trade depends on the one before it. Here is the classic sequence for a full renovation, once the design studies have been completed.

1. Strip-out and demolition (a few days to two weeks), Existing elements are removed: old coverings, sanitaryware, partitions to be taken down. This is also the moment when an older property reveals its secrets.
2. Structural works and structural alterations (1 to 3 weeks), Openings, floor repairs, creation of stair or service openings. A pivotal stage: everything else depends on it.
3. Services, electrics and plumbing (2 to 4 weeks), Cables, conduits and pipework are run before the walls are closed up. This is the “invisible” part, yet it is the most structurally important.
4. Partitioning, insulation, screeds (2 to 3 weeks), The volumes are redefined and the substrates prepared. Drying times for screeds and plaster are not negotiable.
5. Joinery and floor installation (2 to 3 weeks), Parquet, tiles, interior doors. Restoring an old parquet floor requires more care than laying a new one.
6. Finishes, paint, kitchen, bathroom (3 to 5 weeks), Wall tiles, cabinetry, lighting, final coats. This is the home stretch, but also the stage for touch-ups.
7. Handover and closing out snagging items (1 week), Room-by-room checks, adjustments, commissioning.

The invisible lead times upstream

The clock does not start on demolition day. Before that, you need to design (survey, plans, material selections), cost, then obtain the necessary permissions. Depending on the project, a prior works declaration or authorisation from the co-ownership can take several weeks to several months. Always build this phase into your calendar: this is where deadlines are won or lost.

What causes timelines to slip

A well-run project is recognised by what it has anticipated, not by what it improvises. These are the most frequent causes of delay in older Parisian properties.

• Structural surprises. A damaged floor, damp, obsolete pipework, asbestos in old coverings: all are possible discoveries once the walls are opened up, and all can require unforeseen remedial work.
• Manufacturing and procurement lead times. A bespoke kitchen, traditional-style joinery or a specific tile must be ordered weeks in advance. An order placed too late can freeze the entire site.
• Changes along the way. Changing your mind about a finish or moving a socket may seem harmless; in practice, every late decision pushes back the trades that follow.
• Co-ownership constraints. Noise hours, access restrictions, permissions to be obtained at a general meeting: these are very Paris-specific factors that affect the pace of work.
• Drying times. Screeds, plaster and levelling compounds impose physical delays that no amount of goodwill can shorten. Rush them, and cracks appear later.
• Poor coordination. This is the most underestimated cause. When each tradesperson is managed separately, one absence or one shift in timing cascades through the entire schedule.

The good news: most of these uncertainties can be controlled upstream. A serious diagnosis limits structural surprises, a reverse schedule for orders avoids shortages, and decisions made before work begins neutralise changes along the way.

Live on site or move out?

A highly practical question, and one often decided too late. The right choice depends on the scale of the works.

• Refresh: it is often possible to stay on site by organising the works room by room. The discomfort is real, but tolerable over a few weeks.
• Full renovation: prolonged interruptions to water, electricity or the kitchen make living on site difficult, especially for a family. Moving out, even partially, is strongly recommended.
• Heavy renovation: moving out is essential. A home without services or sanitary facilities is simply not habitable.

Two useful reflexes. First, budget for temporary accommodation from the outset: it is a real cost, not an adjustment variable. Second, remember that a project carried out in an empty property moves faster, teams can work without the constraints of household schedules or cohabitation. The additional cost of moving out is sometimes offset by weeks saved on site.

The role of the coordinator

If one factor separates a project that stays on schedule from one that slips, it is coordination. A full renovation involves a demolition contractor, builder, electrician, plumber, dryliner, tiler, joiner, painter, kitchen specialist, each dependent on the previous trade. Without a conductor, timelines naturally expand.

The coordinator, project manager or interior architect, has a precise role:

• they sequence the interventions so that no trade is left waiting for another;
• they anticipate long-lead orders and set a reverse procurement schedule;
• they arbitrate in real time when an unforeseen issue arises, to contain its impact on the calendar;
• they provide a single point of contact responsible for the overall timeline, not just for one isolated task.

This is the entire logic of integrated renovation: design, cost and coordinate under one responsibility, so that a schedule announced is a schedule delivered. At Lumiera, every Parisian project is managed from end to end in this spirit, because a deadline met is, just as much as the final result, the mark of a project well run.

Would you like a realistic schedule for your apartment? Request an estimate: we will draw up a detailed phase-by-phase timeline before the first hammer falls.