How Long Does a Full Home Renovation Take? A Realistic GTA Timeline
A realistic timeline for a full home renovation in the GTA: design, permits, and construction phase by phase, what causes delays, and how to keep the schedule on track.
A full home renovation in the Greater Toronto Area typically takes 6 to 12 months from first conversation to finished home. Roughly 2 to 4 months of that is design and permits, and 3 to 8 months is construction, depending on the size of the home and the depth of the work. Smaller, single room projects move much faster, while a whole home gut with structural changes sits at the longer end of that range.
Those are honest ranges, not promises. The real answer for your home depends on scope, the age and condition of the structure, and how many decisions are made before crews start swinging hammers. Below we walk through each phase, what a realistic schedule looks like, what tends to cause delays, and how working with one accountable design-build team keeps the whole thing moving.
The phases of a full home renovation
Every renovation moves through the same four broad phases. The difference between a project that finishes on time and one that drags is almost always how well the early phases are handled before construction begins.
Consultation and design
This is where the whole project is shaped. You meet the team, walk the home, talk through how you actually live in the space, and set a budget you are comfortable with. From there, our in-house design team develops the floor plan, the finishes, and the detailed drawings that construction will follow.
Time invested here pays for itself many times over. When the design is complete and every material is selected before demolition, crews are never left waiting on a decision.
Permits and approvals
Most whole home renovations in the GTA require building permits, and structural, plumbing, or electrical changes almost always do. Once drawings are submitted, the municipality reviews them for compliance with the Ontario Building Code and issues the permit.
Permit timelines vary a lot by municipality and by how busy the local building department is. A straightforward interior renovation may clear in a few weeks, while projects that touch structure, or that require variances, take longer.
Construction
This is the visible phase: demolition, framing, mechanical rough-ins, drywall, and the trades working in sequence. The schedule is driven by how much is being touched and how many trades need to coordinate. On a whole home renovation, this is where the majority of the calendar time goes.
Because one team owns the schedule, trades are booked in the right order and material deliveries are timed to the work, so momentum holds from start to finish.
Finishing and walkthrough
The final phase is where the home comes together: flooring, cabinetry, tile, paint, fixtures, and trim. We finish with a detailed walkthrough, address any final touch ups, and hand over a home that is genuinely ready to live in. Our 2-year workmanship warranty stands behind the work after you move back in.
Typical durations by phase
| Phase | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Consultation and design | 4 to 10 weeks |
| Permits and approvals | 3 to 12 weeks |
| Construction | 12 to 32 weeks |
| Finishing and walkthrough | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Total (full home) | 6 to 12 months |
These phases overlap where it is safe to do so. For example, long lead materials are often ordered while permits are still in review, which shortens the overall calendar.
Whole home renovation vs single room timeline
The single biggest driver of your timeline is scope. A single room and a whole home are not the same project scaled up, they involve very different amounts of coordination.
- A bathroom renovation usually runs 3 to 6 weeks of construction once design and materials are locked in.
- A kitchen renovation typically takes 5 to 10 weeks of construction, longer if walls move or cabinetry has a long lead time.
- A whole home renovation commonly runs 3 to 8 months of construction, plus the design and permit phases ahead of it.
A single room project touches fewer trades and rarely disrupts the whole house. A whole home renovation coordinates every trade across every room, often with structural work, new mechanical systems, and dozens of finish selections. More moving parts means a longer, more carefully sequenced schedule. Browse our projects to see how different scopes translate into real completed homes.
What causes renovation delays
Most delays are predictable, and most are avoidable with good planning. Here are the common ones and how they play out.
- Permit timelines. Municipal review is outside any contractor’s direct control. Complete, code compliant drawings submitted the first time are the best defence against a slow approval.
- Scope changes mid project. Deciding to move a wall or upgrade a layout after construction starts ripples through the schedule and the budget. Locking the design early is the single most effective way to protect the timeline.
- Material lead times. Custom cabinetry, specialty tile, windows, and certain fixtures can take weeks or months to arrive. Ordering early, during design and permitting, keeps deliveries from becoming a bottleneck.
- Surprises in older homes. Many GTA homes are decades old. Once walls open up, you sometimes find knob and tube wiring, old plumbing, or structural issues that were not visible before. A good team plans a realistic contingency so these discoveries are handled without derailing the whole schedule.
- Weather and access. Exterior work and deliveries can be affected by the season, and tight urban lots add their own logistics.
The pattern here is clear: the delays that hurt most are the ones caused by unfinished decisions. Front loading the planning is how you avoid them.
How design-build shortens and de-risks the schedule
In the traditional model, you hire an architect or designer, then separately hire a contractor to build what they drew. The handoff between two companies is where timelines slip, budgets drift, and finger pointing starts when something does not line up.
Design-build removes that gap. One accountable team owns the project from the first sketch to the finished home. That changes the timeline in real ways:
- Design and construction talk to each other from day one. Drawings are built with real world buildability and cost in mind, so there are far fewer expensive redesigns once construction starts.
- Long lead items are ordered early. Because the same team designing the home is also planning the build, materials with long lead times get ordered during the design phase, not after.
- One point of accountability. You are not managing a designer and a builder who blame each other. One team answers for the schedule, the budget, and the quality.
- Realistic timelines from the start. An in-house design team that also builds knows how long the work actually takes, so the schedule you are given is grounded in reality, not optimism.
Andare Homes is a design-build company serving the Greater Toronto Area with an in-house design team and one build team that carries your project through to completion. We are rated 5.0 on Google, and we are licensed, insured, and WSIB-covered, with every project built to the Ontario Building Code. That structure is exactly what keeps a full home renovation moving on schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a full home renovation take in the GTA?
Most full home renovations run 6 to 12 months from first consultation to move in. Plan on roughly 2 to 4 months for design and permits, then 3 to 8 months of construction, depending on the size of the home and the depth of the work.
How long does the design and permit stage take before construction starts?
Design usually takes 4 to 10 weeks, and permit approval adds another 3 to 12 weeks depending on the municipality and the complexity of the work. This stage is worth doing thoroughly, because a complete design and a clean permit submission prevent delays later.
Can I live in my home during a renovation?
For a single room or a phased project, often yes. For a whole home renovation, especially a full gut, most families choose to live elsewhere while the work is underway. We help you plan around whichever approach fits your situation.
What is the best way to keep a renovation on schedule?
Finish the design and select every material before construction begins, order long lead items early, and work with one accountable team that owns both the design and the build. Locking decisions up front is the most reliable way to protect the timeline.
Ready to plan your renovation?
Every home and every schedule is different, and the best way to get a realistic timeline for yours is to talk it through with the team that will design and build it. If you are planning a renovation anywhere across the GTA, book a consultation with Andare Homes. We will walk your space, talk through your goals, and give you an honest, grounded timeline from first sketch to finished home.