Whole Home — Timeline
How long it really takes,
phase by phase
Design, permitting, and construction phases — how long each takes, and why.
Whole Home — Timeline
Design, permitting, and construction phases — how long each takes, and why.
Time spent in design is time saved on site. A whole-home remodel rewards patience in the first months and discipline in the last.
Plan on 3–6 months of design and permitting, then 8–14 months of construction for a full whole-home renovation. Structural complexity, historic review, and Title 24 energy compliance all add weeks — we map them into the schedule before the first demo day so the timeline holds.
Back to Whole HomeTime spent in design pays for itself in build. The further upstream a decision is made, the less it costs to change. Below, the five phases and the realistic week ranges we plan against.
Walk the property, scope the brief, set the budget bracket.
Schematic through construction documents, selections, structural and MEP.
Plan check, corrections, hillside / HPOZ / coastal review where it applies.
Demo, structural, MEP rough, envelope, finishes, millwork.
Punch list, commissioning, owner walk, written workmanship warranty.
Design decisions drive the cost envelope, and for most projects you'll want to move out or phase the work once construction begins. Permit timelines vary — the LA permitting climate differs from OC coastal review, and we plan against the longer of the two before mobilizing.
Schematic to permit set typically runs 12–20 weeks for a whole home, including selections. Faster is possible but tends to push decisions into construction, which costs more.
Plan check for a full-scope whole-home permit averages 8–16 weeks in LADBS jurisdictions. Hillside, coastal, or historic overlays add time. We submit early and respond to corrections within days.
Demo and structural (8–12 wk), MEP rough (6–10 wk), insulation and drywall (4–6 wk), finishes and millwork (10–16 wk), final and closeout (3–4 wk). We share a Gantt before mobilization.
Long-lead millwork, custom windows, utility upgrades, and owner-driven scope changes. We surface lead times during selections so nothing waits at the end.
Sometimes — by running parallel trades, pre-fabbing millwork off-site, or pre-ordering long-lead items during design. Compression usually buys 4–8 weeks, not months.
What drives the budget in Los Angeles — and how we keep it transparent line-by-line.
Move out, phase the work, or live in part of the house — making the call honestly.
Hillside lots, hard-coat stucco, Title 24 — what the city's housing stock asks of a remodel.
Ranches and mid-century tracts opened up for daylight, airflow, and a quieter material palette.
Coastal envelopes, salt air, and the planning culture of OC's older neighborhoods.
Many projects pull from more than one capability. Here's the rest of what the studio handles in-house.
The two rooms you use most, designed around how the day actually moves through them.
Paint as a finish, not a coverup — proper prep, the right system, brushed and tipped-off by hand.
Detached units, attached additions, JADUs, and SB-9 lot splits — California's legal paths to more home.
Tile, metal, composition, slate, and low-slope — the full assembly, properly flashed, warrantied.