The Real Timeline of a Home Remodel

When clients come to me for the first time, the number I ask them about isn’t usually budget - it’s timeline!

In my 25 years of experience, the biggest surprise I often see hit clients isn’t cost, it’s how long the project actually takes. Almost every homeowner underestimates it.

Here’s what actually happens, month by month, on a typical Fargo-Moorhead or Minnesota Lakes Country full-service remodel. I’ll use a whole-home renovation as an example, something in the $150k-$400k range.

Phase 1: Design (weeks 1 through 8)

Weeks 1-2: Consultation, contract, and kickoff. We’ll meet and scope the project, put together fee proposals, and sign agreements. Then, we’ll do a deep dive into your space: measuring, photographs, and starting floor-plan work. If you want to see what that first consultation is like, here’s a walk-through.

Weeks 3-5: Concept development time. Layout options, initial material direction, and rough furniture plans. This is where a lot of the heavy lifting comes, and we make some key decisions together.

Weeks 6-7: Final design package is complete. Full drawings, selection lists, and budget breakdown. We can tweak, revise, and approve, but from here it’s full steam ahead!

Note: If your project involves an architect (structural changes, additions, load-bearing walls), add 4 to 8 weeks to this phase for their work.

Phase 2: Sourcing and lead times (weeks 6 through 14)

Overlapping a bit with the tail end of design - as decisions are made, orders get placed, and this is where timelines tend to get hit the hardest.

Custom cabinetry can run 8 to 14 weeks from order to delivery.
Tile from specific manufacturers can be a 6 to 10 week wait.
Plumbing fixtures can be brutal, sometimes 10 to 20 weeks out.

This is why sourcing has to start right away after design approval. Product needs to be ordered while demo is still being planned, because if we wait until we need it… we’re going to be waiting a long time.

Phase 3: Construction (weeks 12 through 32)

Weeks 12-14: Demolition and rough-in. Walls come down, plumbing is moved, and electrical is rewired.

Weeks 15-20: Framing, mechanical inspections, insulation, and drywall.

Weeks 21-24: Cabinetry, tile, and floor is installed.

Weeks 25-28: Countertops, plumbing, lighting, and paint.

Weeks 29-32: Finish carpentry, hardware, and punch list.

The reality is: construction timelines slip, and it’s not usually a question of “whether” they slip, just “when” they will slip. Every project is different, but just keep that in mind. We’re all humans, and delays happen! I wrote a longer piece on working with builders that covers a lot of the coordination side.

Phase 4: Punch list, styling, install (weeks 33 through 40)

Weeks 33-35: Punch list time. A touch-up here, fixing a drawer that doesn’t close there.

Weeks 36-40: Final styling. Art on the walls, accessories, window treatments.

What can add time to a project?

Re-ordering items due to errors can add weeks to the timeline
Structural surprises during demolition such as water damage, old wiring, or non-level floors.
Indecision can set the schedule back weeks (this is where I can help)
Weather. A reality all North Dakotans and Minnesotans know all too well.

What to plan around

Always look ahead and plan around your hard dates - weddings, move-ins tied to a lease end, a baby coming - and work backwards And then, give your timeline a 20% buffer.

If you don’t have a hard date, don’t invent one. Rushing a project to hit an arbitrary deadline is how clients end up hating the finished work!

If you’re trying to figure out what your timeline actually looks like, book a design consultation. I’ll give you a realistic view of a schedule for your specific scope before committing to anything.

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