A realistic timeline for a full flat interior renovation

Interior designers quote 45 days. Contractors say 60. Owners who have been through it say 90. The gap is almost never the actual site work — it is decisions, approvals and material lead times.

Here is what a full interior for a 2BHK or 3BHK in Mumbai looks like when nothing goes badly wrong.

Weeks 0 to 3 — before anything is demolished

Design and measurement. Two weeks minimum if you are starting from a blank layout. Faster if you already know what you want.

Society permission. Every co-operative housing society in Mumbai requires written permission for interior work. Expect to submit a letter, the scope of work, contractor details, and a refundable deposit, typically Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000. Some societies only clear this at their monthly committee meeting — which is why this can quietly eat three weeks on its own. Start it first, not last.

Material selection. Laminates, tiles, hardware, shade cards. Every decision you defer here becomes a stoppage later. Imported or non-stock laminates carry two to four week lead times.

Week 1 to 2 of site work — demolition and civil

Breaking old furniture, removing tiles, chipping walls for concealed wiring and plumbing. Dusty, noisy, and the phase your neighbours will remember. Society working-hour restrictions (usually 9 AM to 6 PM, no Sundays, and often no work during exam months in some buildings) apply hardest here.

Debris removal is a real cost and a real constraint — many buildings only allow it at certain hours, and lift usage is charged.

Weeks 2 to 4 — plumbing, electrical, waterproofing

Concealed wiring is pulled, DB and MCB positions fixed, plumbing lines run. If bathrooms are being redone, waterproofing goes down and needs a proper curing and ponding test before tiling. Do not let anyone skip the ponding test to save two days.

This phase must be signed off before walls close. Take photographs of every wall with the conduits visible — you will want them in five years when someone drills into a wall.

Weeks 3 to 5 — flooring and tiling

Bathroom and kitchen tiling, then floor laying. Floors need curing time. Laminate and vinyl flooring is faster but should go in near the end, after the dusty work is over.

Weeks 4 to 7 — carpentry

The longest single phase and the one that determines your handover date. Wardrobes, kitchen units, TV unit, beds, false ceiling framework. On-site carpentry runs longer than factory-made modular but is easier to adjust to Mumbai flats, which are rarely square.

False ceiling (POP or gypsum) with cove lighting runs in parallel where it does not clash.

Weeks 6 to 9 — polish and paint

Carpentry gets its melamine, PU or Duco finish, and the walls get putty, primer and emulsion. Spray finishes need the area sheeted off, which means this phase does not overlap cleanly with anything else.

Order matters: ceiling first, then walls, then woodwork polish, then final coat touch-ups after fittings go in.

Weeks 8 to 10 — fittings, snagging, handover

Switch plates, light fittings, sanitaryware, hardware, mirrors, curtains. Then the snag list — walk the flat slowly with the contractor and write down every defect. Doors that rub, drawers that do not align, a patchy paint edge. Fix everything on the list before final payment.

So what is the honest number?

• 2BHK, full interior, occupied building: 9 to 12 weeks of site work, plus 3 to 5 weeks of pre-work.
• 3BHK with a new kitchen and two bathrooms redone: 13 to 16 weeks of site work.
• Paint and polish refresh only, no civil work: 2 to 3 weeks.

The four things that actually cause delays

1. Late decisions. A laminate shade not confirmed on time stops the entire carpentry line.
2. Society restrictions discovered mid-project rather than checked upfront.
3. Monsoon. Polish and paint cure slowly in high humidity. A June to September project adds one to two weeks.
4. Scope creep. "While you are here, can you also..." is the most expensive sentence in renovation.

How to keep it on track

Fix a written schedule with phase-end dates, not just a final date. Get a single point of contact who is actually on site. Release payments against completed phases rather than dates. And keep a decisions log — a shared list of what has been finalised, so nobody is waiting on a colour you thought you had confirmed three weeks ago.

We run interiors as a single contract — civil, electrical, carpentry, polish and paint under one supervisor — which removes most of the coordination delay between trades.