The order a renovation happens in is what keeps it on budget. Get it wrong and you’re chasing new cables through fresh plaster, or lifting a floor you just laid because nobody checked the pipework underneath it first.
This guide sets out the order of works for a house renovation, strip-out to final coat of paint, plus a few of the things that tend to knock that order around in practice.
Structure before surfaces, dirty work before clean, anything going inside a wall or floor happens before it’s closed up. That’s the whole principle. Everything below is really just that idea applied stage by stage.
The order of works
Most whole-house renovations follow this path, smaller jobs just skip some of the stages.
- Strip out and make safe. Clear the areas being worked on, pull out old fittings and finishes, isolate services. This is where you find out what you’re actually dealing with; damp, rot, wiring nobody mentioned when you bought the place.
- Structural work. Walls come out or go in, steels get installed, openings get formed, the roof or foundations get dealt with if they need it. This has to be finished and settled before anything else can be.
- First fix. Pipework, electrical cabling, stud walls, floor joists. Everything that has to sit inside the walls and floors before they’re closed up.
- Plastering. Walls and ceilings get plastered once first fix is signed off, and then left to dry properly, which takes longer than most people expect.
- Second fix. Sockets, switches, radiators, doors, skirting, the kitchen, sanitaryware, taps. Worth knowing the kitchen layout gets agreed well before this stage though, since it’s what decides where the sockets, lighting and plumbing go during first fix.
- Decoration and flooring. Held until last so trades still working on other parts of the job don’t damage a finish that’s just gone in.
- Snagging and handover. A walkthrough to catch anything small, then it’s yours.
It rarely goes exactly to plan. Strip-out is the stage most likely to throw up something nobody knew was there, rotten joists, old wiring, a pipe run that doesn’t match the drawings, and the programme usually needs a bit of give built in to absorb that. Lead times on things like kitchens or bespoke joinery can also push the order around, since an item ordered late can hold up a stage that’s otherwise ready to go.
Why getting the sequence right matters financially
A socket in the wrong place, a radiator that clashes with the kitchen layout, a floor laid before the plumbing was tested: each of these means undoing finished work, and undoing work is where renovation budgets actually go over. We map the sequence for the specific property before anyone lifts a tool, which is also when a lot of these clashes get caught before they cost anything.
When you need Building Regulations or a structural engineer
Not every renovation needs planning permission, but a lot of the work still falls under Building Regulations, which is a separate regime. Removing a load-bearing wall, altering the structure, rewiring, new drainage, and anything affecting fire safety or insulation all need to meet the regulations. Structural changes usually need calculations from a structural engineer to size the beams correctly. We coordinate the building control application, the inspections and the engineer’s input, though the client, designers and contractors each keep their own legal responsibility for compliance.
How we can help
Renovations involve a lot of trades needing to be on site at the right point and not before. Through our building services, we plan that order, coordinate the trades and manage the approvals from strip-out to snagging. Pricing depends on the property’s condition and the spec, so we quote against what we actually find once we’ve been in, rather than guessing beforehand.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between first fix and second fix?
First fix is what goes in before the walls are plastered: pipework, cabling, stud framing. Second fix is everything fitted afterwards: sockets, radiators, doors, the kitchen, sanitaryware. Plastering happens in between, which is why the two can’t be reordered.
Do I need planning permission to renovate my house?
Often not, if the work stays inside the existing structure. Extensions, external changes in a conservation area or on a listed building, and a change of use are the situations most likely to need it. Building Regulations apply separately either way.
Do I need Building Regulations approval for a renovation?
Usually, for part of it at least. Load-bearing walls, structural alterations, rewiring, new drainage, and anything touching fire safety or insulation all need to meet the regs, and structural work typically needs an engineer’s calculations behind it.
Can I live in my house during a renovation?
Depends on the scale, and whether water, heating and a working kitchen or bathroom can stay running in stages. Whole-house jobs are usually easier to manage from outside the house; phased projects, you can often stay put through most of it.
Useful links
Official guidance on the rules covered in this guide:
