Good renovations don’t cause people a lot of headache or stress. They are done quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. Poorly managed renovation teams don’t communicate very well, and typically finish behind schedule and way past the budget. Make sure you work with a design-build team with lots of experience that is focused on doing a good job in a short period of time.
If you’ve ever talked to friends about their kitchen renovations, you’ve probably heard wildly different stories. One person’s kitchen was substantially finished in six weeks, while someone else lived through seven or eight months of dust, temporary cooking arrangements and trades coming and going. There are legitimate reasons some renovations take longer than others, especially when permits or structural work are involved, but a long construction schedule isn’t always inevitable. After more than three decades designing and renovating homes in Vancouver, I’ve found that the speed of a renovation often comes down to three things: how the renovation company staffs its projects, how thoroughly everything was planned before construction began, and how complicated the renovation actually needs to be. If getting your kitchen back quickly matters to you, here are six things I would consider before hiring anyone.
1. Some Renovation Companies Rotate One Team Between Several Jobs
One of the first questions I would ask a renovation company is whether their team will work consistently on your project until it’s substantially finished. Some smaller companies have one main crew that rotates between several jobsites. They may spend three days at your house, disappear for four days to work somewhere else, return for another couple of days and then leave again. From the contractor’s perspective, everyone may be busy, but from the homeowner’s perspective, the renovation can feel like it has stopped. There will always be legitimate gaps in construction while something cures, an inspection takes place or a particular trade is required, but that’s very different from your kitchen sitting untouched because the contractor’s only crew is needed somewhere else. A contractor telling you they can start next week isn’t particularly helpful if they can’t tell you how consistently they’ll work on your project after that.
Well-managed companies don’t cause unnecessary delays or expense. They order materials way in advance and deliver them in time for installation. They are on the jobsite every single day finishing your bathroom or kitchen renovation faster than other renovation companies who are short-staffed and take 2 or 3 times longer to complete the job because of inefficient project management.
2. Poor Planning Can Turn a Six-Week Renovation Into a Six-Month One
Many construction delays are actually planning delays that don’t become visible until construction begins. Demolition starts and then somebody discovers that the appliances haven’t arrived, the tile is backordered, the plumbing fixtures haven’t been selected or a critical item has a ten-week lead time. Suddenly, everyone is waiting. That’s why I prefer making as many decisions as possible before demolition begins. Cabinetry, countertops, appliances, plumbing fixtures, flooring, tile, lighting, hardware and other major finishes should ideally be selected and ordered well in advance. If completing the renovation quickly is a priority, I’d also think carefully before choosing a special-order product when an equally attractive in-stock alternative is available. Good planning can seem like it makes the front end of a project take longer, but that extra time spent making decisions before construction can save weeks of unnecessary delays once your kitchen has been dismantled.
Any time you need to change the layout of your kitchen or bathroom or reroute a drainage connection, city hall will want to know and they will ask you to apply for a permit. Applying for a permit can add anywhere from 2 - 4 months to a renovation. So what should be a 2 month renovation can turn into 6 months. Keep things simple if you want a faster renovation.
3. Permits Can Take Months, but Construction Doesn’t Necessarily Have To
A permitted renovation can certainly extend the overall project timeline, and in Vancouver the permitting process may add three or four months before construction even begins. But it’s important to separate permit time from actual construction time. Depending on its scope and complexity, a well-planned kitchen renovation can often be constructed in roughly five to six weeks once everything is approved, ordered and ready to go. Structural alterations, inspections and major changes to plumbing, electrical or mechanical systems can extend that six week completion date though, so keep in mind that this six-week timeline can only happen for purely cosmetic renovations with no structural alterations. What I would question is a vague statement that your “renovation will take six months” without explaining what those six months actually include. Ask your renovation company to break the schedule down into design and planning, permits, procurement and actual construction. Waiting three months for approval is inconvenient, but it’s very different from having your kitchen torn apart for three additional months because the project itself isn’t being managed efficiently.
Does your design-build company only have one crew? That’s not necessarily a good thing as they will also be doing other renovations other than yours, rotating the same team among different jobsites, which is why you will have entire weeks with no one showing up at your renovation jobsite. What should be a 3 week bathroom renovation turns into 3 months. And what should be a 6 week kitchen renovation turns into 8 months. This has happened to me personally and I don’t want it happening to you.
4. Look for a Renovation Company with Enough People to Keep Your Project Moving
If speed matters to you, look beyond the contractor’s portfolio and ask about the company behind it. A renovation company with multiple teams and established relationships with trades has more flexibility to keep a project moving than someone relying on the same few people for every job. That doesn’t mean you need twenty workers in your kitchen every day. It means the company has enough capacity that your project doesn’t stop simply because its only carpenter or project team is needed somewhere else. Scheduling matters too. The next trade should ideally be lined up before the preceding stage is finished rather than being called afterward and asked when they happen to be available. This is also why the cheapest quote isn’t necessarily the best value. You’re not paying only for lumber, tile and labour. Part of what you’re buying is organization, scheduling, supervision, communication and access to reliable trades—and those less visible parts of a renovation can have an enormous effect on how quickly you get your home back.
Be decisive. Once you’ve selected a colour, material, hardware, or fixture stick to your decision. Constantly changing your mind after seeing a new idea, your neighbour’s house, or hearing someone mention that you should try this new trendier finish or design, will cause endless delay and needless expense. Plus it will drive your renovation team crazy. Change costs time and money, And projects needs to end at some point. Stop being wishy-washy and changing your mind.
5. Make Your Decisions Up Front—and Then Minimize Changes
If you want a fast renovation, make your important design decisions before construction and then try not to change them. Renovations involve hundreds of interconnected choices, so something that appears to be a small change can have consequences that aren’t immediately obvious. Changing a sink can affect the cabinet below it; changing the cabinet can affect the countertop; changing the countertop may influence the backsplash or faucet. Suddenly, one seemingly simple decision has involved several suppliers and trades and potentially altered the construction schedule. Spend the time necessary during the design stage to make choices you’re confident about, prioritize products that are actually available, and once you have made those decisions, give yourself permission to stop shopping. Continuing to search for something “even better” after construction has started can introduce delays without meaningfully improving the finished kitchen. The objective isn’t to rush the design process. It’s to make thoughtful decisions at the right time so the construction team can execute them efficiently.
Want a less expensive and quicker renovation? Make things simple and easy and just change the surface finishes of your kitchen or bathroom. Radically changing layouts will necessitate that you apply for a renovation permit which will increase cost and the time it takes to finish the project.
6. Cosmetic Renovations Are Usually Faster Than Structural Ones
Finally, consider how much of your existing kitchen actually needs to change. If the basic layout works reasonably well, you may be able to create a dramatically different kitchen with new cabinetry, countertops, backsplash, lighting, fixtures, appliances, flooring and paint without moving walls or substantially changing the structure of your home. Once walls start moving, the renovation becomes more complicated and may require engineering, additional drawings, permits, inspections and changes to plumbing, electrical or mechanical systems. Sometimes those changes are absolutely worthwhile. If removing a wall transforms the way your family uses the house for the next twenty years, I wouldn’t avoid it simply to save a few weeks. But major structural intervention shouldn’t be the automatic definition of a “good” renovation. Sometimes the smartest design solution is the one that identifies what isn’t working, preserves what is, and directs the renovation budget toward the changes that will make the greatest difference.
Doing your kitchen in half or a third of the time it takes other companies to finish them saves you time, money, and trouble. Choose a design-build company with several renovation crews and try and do a cosmetic renovation that doesn’t require any major changes like moving drainage connections, electrical, or knocking down walls so that you don’t require any permits which can push your project back by several months.
The Well-Designed Takeaway
If you want your kitchen renovation finished as quickly as reasonably possible, speed starts long before demolition. Choose a renovation company with enough capacity to work consistently on your project instead of endlessly rotating one crew between multiple jobsites. Make your design decisions early, select products and materials that will be available when they’re needed, and minimize changes once construction begins. If your existing kitchen layout works, consider whether a thoughtful cosmetic renovation can deliver the transformation you want without the added complexity of structural work. Permits, inspections and genuine surprises can still affect even a carefully managed renovation, particularly in Vancouver’s older homes, but there is a big difference between an unavoidable delay and a project that drags on because it wasn’t properly planned or staffed. A good renovation shouldn’t just leave you with a beautiful kitchen. The process itself should be well designed too.