- Preparation runs in months; construction runs in weeks.
- The four long poles are: structural calculation, permit, owners' association and material lead times.
- Anything that can run in parallel should.
- Late decisions are the most common cause of delay, and the easiest to avoid.
- Drying times are not compressible; plan around them rather than against them.
"When can you start?" is the wrong first question. The right one is "what has to be settled before anyone can start, and how long does each of those take?" This guide answers that, phase by phase, and sets out what genuinely shortens a project.
The shape of a project
| Phase | Typical duration | Can it run in parallel? |
|---|---|---|
| Survey and initial advice | Days to weeks | — |
| Archive drawings | Days to weeks | Yes, start immediately |
| Design and layout decisions | Weeks | Partly |
| Structural calculation | Weeks | After the openings are fixed |
| Owners' association consent | Weeks to months | Yes — start first |
| Permit application | Eight weeks, extendable | Yes, alongside the association |
| Material selection and ordering | Weeks to months | Yes, throughout |
| Demolition and strip-out | Days to weeks | — |
| Structural work | Days to weeks | — |
| First fix services | Weeks | — |
| Closing up, screed, plaster | Weeks, plus drying | — |
| Finishes and second fix | Weeks | — |
| Handover and snagging | Days to weeks | — |
Everything in the top half can overlap. Almost nothing in the bottom half can. That is why the front end deserves the attention.
The four long poles
- The owners' association. If you are in an apartment, this is usually the longest single wait, because decisions are taken at meetings that may be annual. Start it before anything else.
- The permit. A regular procedure runs eight weeks and can be extended by six, followed by a six-week objection period. An incomplete application costs a full round.
- The structural calculation. Weeks, and it cannot begin until the opening dimensions are final. Changing them afterwards means starting again.
- Material lead times. Kitchens, made-to-measure joinery, window frames and some tiles and stone run to weeks or months. This is the one people forget, and it is entirely predictable.
You cannot make any of these four faster. You can only start them earlier and run them at the same time. That is the whole of timeline management on a renovation.
Decisions are the hidden critical path
The most common cause of delay is not a slow trade or a slow municipality. It is a decision that has not been made.
The fix is to schedule the decisions rather than the tasks. Every choice has a latest date, derived from the lead time and the sequence:
| Decision | Needed by | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Layout and which walls move | Before anything | Drives demolition, structure and services |
| Opening dimensions | Before the calculation | Changing them restarts the engineering |
| Socket, switch and lighting positions | Before first fix | Afterwards means chasing walls again |
| Sanitary ware and taps | Before plumbing first fix | Determines connection points and heights |
| Kitchen | Very early | Longest lead time; drives services |
| Floor build-up | Before screed | Determines height, thresholds and doors |
| Tiles | Weeks before tiling | Lead time and quantity |
| Paint colours | Before decorating | Shortest lead time; least pressure |
Ask your contractor for this list with dates at the start. It takes them an hour and it removes most of the stress from the project.
What cannot be compressed
- Drying times. Screed and plaster need to dry before what follows. Forcing it produces cracking, poor adhesion and callbacks. This is physics, not scheduling.
- Statutory periods. The permit procedure and the objection period run for their stated duration.
- Meeting dates. An association meets when it meets.
- Manufacturing. A made-to-measure kitchen takes as long as it takes.
- Sequence. Services go in before walls close; walls close before finishes. Overlapping these produces rework.
A contractor who promises to compress any of these is either not planning to do them properly or has not thought it through. Both are worth knowing before you sign.
What genuinely shortens a project
- Start the slow items first, in this order: owners' association, archive drawings, structural calculation, permit, long-lead materials.
- Fix the design before the calculation. Every subsequent change is expensive in time.
- Submit a complete permit application in one go.
- Order long-lead items early, even if they will sit in storage.
- Make decisions against the schedule, using the decision list with dates.
- Use one contractor for the whole scope, so nobody is waiting on someone they do not control.
- Empty the property properly before the start. Sounds trivial; costs days when it is not done.
Living in the property during the work
Possible for a limited scope, difficult for a full renovation. Realistically:
- Single-room work — a bathroom or a kitchen — is manageable, with a period without that room.
- Structural work means dust, noise and propping, often across several rooms at once. Living in is unpleasant and slows the work.
- A full renovation with services replaced means periods without power or water. Plan to move out.
Staying in a property under renovation also lengthens the programme, because work has to be phased around your occupation and cleaned down daily. If the decision is finely balanced, moving out is usually faster and cheaper than it looks.
Summary
In a Dutch renovation, preparation runs in months and construction runs in weeks. The four long poles are the owners' association, the permit, the structural calculation and material lead times, and none of them can be made faster — only started earlier and run in parallel. The hidden critical path is decisions, so ask for a list of choices with latest dates at the outset. And accept the things that genuinely cannot be compressed: drying times, statutory periods and manufacturing.
Next: permits or working with a contractor.