Renovation checklist: planning, budget and sequence

Start a renovation with what you want to change and what genuinely has to happen. Then work out which jobs depend on which. Only after that can you compare quotes and book the trades.

For each job, write down what you want made, which preparatory work it needs and what budget you have. With that description you can put the same brief to different contractors.

Sort the wishes into three groups

Make three groups: needed before you move in, to be done later, and still to be decided. Have urgent damage and anything affecting safety assessed separately.

You do not have to take on the whole house at once. A working kitchen or bathroom can sometimes stay while other work goes ahead. That is how you decide which wishes you carry out before the move and which can wait.

Work out the sequence

Pipework and electrics usually come before walls are closed up. Plastering needs drying time. The flooring schedule depends on the material and on the kitchen.

Ask each contractor what they need in place at the start. Build that preparation and the drying time into the schedule between jobs. The bathroom sequence and kitchen delivery set out those dependencies.

Check permissions before you give the instruction

Run the permit check for your own address and your actual plan. Discuss structure, listed buildings, demolition and communal parts where they apply.

Schedule any investigation and any procedure before you give a contractor a fixed start date.

Budget for the same job

Include labour, materials, transport, demolition, making good and a reserve. Keep the financing and savings you have available separate from any subsidy you might get.

If your home dates from before 1994, have asbestos investigated in advance. For demolition work in such a home an asbestos survey is compulsory. Keep a reserve as well for work that only becomes visible once the strip-out has started.

Request quotes against the same drawing and the same description of the work. Note which items are missing and who will carry them out.

Plan for lead times and check points

Ask not only for the start date but also for the duration, the drying time, the delivery time and the handover. Record who measures and who checks work before it is covered up.

Use what to renovate before you move in to decide which end date you genuinely need. The rest can follow on from the moment you start using the house.

What to do now

• write down everything you want, without choosing yet
• split that list into now, later and maybe
• put the work that is easier in an empty house before the move
• keep a reserve aside for whatever turns up after the demolition