Timeline for a Full House Refurbishment in London: What to Expect and When

A full house refurbishment in London — replacing M&E throughout, replastering, new floor finishes, new bathrooms, new kitchen, and internal decoration — is a major project that most homeowners underestimate in terms of duration. A realistic timeline helps set expectations correctly and allows forward planning for alternative accommodation, school term dates, and other life events.

Pre-construction typically takes eight to sixteen weeks. This stage includes: appointing an architect or designer for building regulations drawings (if structural alterations are involved), getting a structural engineer's calculations, submitting a Building Regulations application and receiving approval, serving party wall notices where required (fourteen days minimum response period, potentially followed by a four to twelve week award process), arranging alternative accommodation, and getting firm prices from the principal contractor and any directly appointed specialists.

Once mobilisation begins, the first trade on site is typically demolition and strip-out — removing existing finishes, flooring, kitchen, bathrooms, and preparing the carcass of the building for the new works. This typically takes one to three weeks depending on the size of the house and the extent of the strip-out.

Structural works follow — forming new openings, installing steels, underpinning where required, and any structural alterations to the fabric of the building. Structural works typically take two to six weeks depending on scope.

First-fix mechanical and electrical works run in parallel or immediately after structural works. This includes installing new drainage, heating pipework, distribution boards, circuit wiring, and data/AV cabling. First fix typically takes three to six weeks.

Insulation and airtightness measures are installed after first fix and before plastering. This is the point at which thermal bridging details and airtightness taping are installed — changes after plastering are expensive.

Plastering typically takes two to four weeks for a four-bedroom London house. The property then needs to dry out — newly plastered walls require a minimum of three to four weeks of ventilation before second fix and decoration can proceed effectively.

Second-fix electrics and plumbing (fitting sockets, switches, radiators, sanitaryware) take two to four weeks, running partially in parallel with kitchen and bathroom fit-out.

Kitchen fit-out, bathroom fit-out, and joinery installation take three to six weeks depending on the complexity of the kitchen and the number of bathrooms.

Floor finishes, tiling, and decoration are the final stages and typically take three to six weeks for a complete house.

Total construction duration for a four-bedroom London terraced house full refurbishment (including structural alterations) is typically twenty to thirty-five weeks. Adding pre-construction, the total elapsed time from decision to completion is commonly ten to fourteen months.

RCB manages full house refurbishments across London from pre-construction through to completion as our principal contractor service. +44 7359 872594 | connect@rcbGroup.co.uk | www.rcbGroup.co.uk