The order of work in a whole house renovation

The order in short

1. Plan the whole house. Layout, finishes, structure, systems.
2. Written estimate and contract.
3. Permits.
4. Order long-lead items. Windows, doors, cabinets and tile.
5. Demo.
6. Structural work. Any framing changes.
7. Windows and doors, if they are changing, so the house is closed to the weather.
8. Rough-in. Plumbing, electrical and air conditioning lines.
9. Rough inspections.
10. Insulation, drywall and primer.
11. Flooring, cabinets, trim and paint. The order varies with the floor type.
12. Fixtures, appliances and final touches.
13. Final inspection, punch list and walk-through.

The rule of thumb is simple: messy, hidden and structural work first; clean, visible and delicate work last. We give no number of weeks here. A whole-home job's schedule depends on scope, lead times and inspections.

Plan the whole house first

A whole-home renovation is many jobs sharing one schedule. If the kitchen, two baths, the floors and the paint are all in play, the plan has to say what happens when. A kitchen cabinet order might be placed months before the cabinets are needed.

Decide your finishes before demo. A paint color or a floor pick that changes later can ripple into other trades. Get the scope in a written estimate, and read how to compare remodeling estimates if you have more than one bid.

Make a room-by-room list with two columns: what must be done and what would be nice. Then decide which items must happen together. Anything that opens a wall should be done while the wall is open. Flooring that runs through several rooms is often easier to do in one stage than in pieces. A good contractor will help you sort the list into an order that makes sense, and will tell you where doing something later will cost more.

Ask for the plan in writing. When the order of work is on paper, you can see when each room is out of use and what decisions are due before each stage.

Permits, demo and structure

Manatee County's permit types include Residential, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical, and Door and Window, among others. A whole-home job often touches several. Which ones you need depends on the scope. Hildebrand pulls every required permit.

Demo takes out what is being replaced. Then any structural changes happen: new framing, a moved wall, a changed opening. If you want a wall removed, read our guide to removing a load-bearing wall first. New windows and doors usually go in at this stage so the house is closed to the weather before the interior work begins. See impact windows and doors.

Rough-in and the first inspections

Plumbing, electrical and air conditioning lines are run inside open walls and ceilings. Hildebrand's plumbing and electrical are done by licensed trade partners that Hildebrand manages and coordinates.

Inspectors check the work before it is covered. Manatee County says a permit expires after 180 days if no required inspections have been approved. On a large job, inspections are checkpoints that keep the whole project honest.

Close-up, then finishes from the top down

After rough inspections, the walls get insulation if needed and drywall. Seams are finished and the surfaces are primed. Then the finishes. A common order is ceilings and walls first, then flooring, then cabinets, trim and the final coats of paint. Tile and hardwood, for example, often go in at different points. The exact order changes with the floor you pick, so ask your contractor.

The final stage is the small stuff: fixtures, appliances, hardware, touch-up paint and a deep clean. Then the final inspection. Manatee County's permitting page says a project is complete only after it passes final inspection, fees are paid and all conditions are met.

Flood zones and the 50 percent rule

If your home is in a flood zone, a big renovation can trigger the county's substantial improvement rule. The county's floodplain page says it applies when the cost reaches 50 percent of market value before the work begins, counting work during a one-year period. The county's post-storm guidance says market value is estimated from the tax assessment, excluding land and features.

All at once or in phases

Doing it all at once means one set of mess, one contractor and one schedule. It can also mean living somewhere else for part of it. Phasing means you live in the house throughout, but each phase carries its own dust and you may repeat work, such as repainting where a later phase cut into a wall.

There is no single right answer. It depends on your budget, how many people live in the house and how much disruption you can take. See living at home during a remodel, then ask your contractor which order fits your plan.

How Hildebrand runs a whole-home renovation

Hildebrand manages whole-home renovations under one licensed contractor. The five steps are the same as on every project: a free in-home consultation, a written estimate and plan, permits and schedule, the build, and a final walk-through with a written workmanship warranty. The company pulls every required permit and meets the Florida Building Code inspections.

Before the first day of demo, you know when the crew starts and the order the work happens in. The crew coordinates every trade, so one licensed contractor is responsible for the whole project. If something unexpected turns up behind a wall, the crew stops, shows you and gets your approval first. See the whole-home renovation page and the process.

Questions homeowners ask