How Long Does a Full House Refurbishment Take?

It is the first question almost every homeowner asks, and the honest answer is: it depends on scope. But "it depends" is not useful when you are trying to plan, so here is a realistic breakdown of what a full house refurbishment in Scotland involves and what actually moves the date.

A full refurbishment moves through a fixed sequence: strip-out, first fix, plaster, second fix, decoration, then snagging. A standard home with no structural work runs straight through that sequence. Add structural alterations, an extension or a building warrant and the programme grows: more trades, more dependencies and an approvals process running alongside the build. The honest answer for your property comes from a site visit, not a blog post, which is why we put a full written programme in front of you before any work starts.

The build itself is rarely what causes overrun. The two biggest delays are slow decisions and slow approvals. A kitchen choice left unconfirmed is time the programme cannot get back. A building warrant submitted late pushes the start date, not the finish date. We flag every decision deadline at the start of the job so nothing stalls the trades waiting on site.

The other factor is the unknowns: what is behind the plaster, under the floor or in the loft. On older Scottish tenement and Victorian stock there is almost always something. A good contractor carries this in the programme as contingency rather than discovering it mid-build and stopping.

Our approach is to publish the full programme before any work begins. You see the master sequence: which trade follows which, which decisions are due when and where the contingency sits. Then you get a regular update against that programme, so if anything is at risk you hear about it the moment it becomes a risk, not at handover.

If you are planning a refurbishment and want a realistic programme for your specific property, plan your build with us. A site visit and a clear written programme is the fastest way to turn "it depends" into a plan you can work to.