Process
Six phases, and the order is the point
Renovation is a sequencing problem wearing a carpentry costume. Ducts before drainage before wiring; structure before services; inspections before insulation.
Almost every renovation that runs long runs long for the same reason: something got built before the thing it depends on. A duct trunk gets routed through the bay where the beam has to land. Wiring goes in before the plumber has run drainage, and half of it comes back out. Insulation goes up before the framing inspection and comes back down.
The six phases below are ordinary. What makes the difference is refusing to overlap them for the sake of looking busy.
Site walk
2 to 3 hours, no charge
We come with a moisture meter, a straightedge, a laser and a torch. We open a small inspection area where we need to, read the panel, check floor deflection and trace the load path. You get a verbal read the same day and a written summary within a week.
- Written feasibility summary
- Photographs of anything we opened
- An honest budget band, not a number
Scope and allowances
2 to 4 weeks
We write the scope line by line: what is included, what is excluded, and an allowance figure for every selection you have not made. This is the document that makes a fixed price meaningful, and it is the one worth reading twice.
- Line-item scope of work
- Allowance schedule
- Draft construction schedule
Design, engineering and permits
6 to 12 weeks
Construction drawings, structural engineering where load paths change, and permit submittal. In the conservation overlay or at Big Sky, design review runs in parallel. We also lock long-lead selections here: windows, cabinetry and tile.
- Permit-set drawings
- Stamped structural where required
- Locked long-lead orders
Demolition and discovery
1 to 3 weeks
Dust walls up, negative air running, path protected. Selective demolition exposes what the site walk could only infer. Anything we find is photographed, priced and brought to you as a change order before it is built.
- Dust control set up
- Discovery log with photographs
- Any change orders priced and signed
Rough-in and inspections
4 to 10 weeks
Framing and structure first, then mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-in, then inspections. Nothing gets covered until it has passed. Every wall is photographed open and the photographs go in your folder.
- Passed framing inspection
- Passed MEP rough inspections
- Open-wall photography
Finish and punch
4 to 10 weeks
Insulation, drywall, flooring, trim, paint and fixtures, then two punch walks. The first one is ours and we do not invite you to it. The second is yours, and we fix what you find before final payment.
- Two punch walks
- Labelled panel schedule and as-built folder
- One-year workmanship walkthrough booked
Living through it
What it is like to be in the house
Often, if the plan lets us phase the house and keep one full bathroom and a kitchen zone live throughout. It does not work when the only bathroom, the main stack or the service panel is in the scope. We tell you which case you are on the first visit.
Zippered dust walls at every work-zone boundary, negative air machines with HEPA filtration inside the zone, floor protection on the whole access path, and a daily clean at the end of each day. On pre-1978 houses we follow lead-safe practices on top of that.
Crews are on site 7 am to 5 pm Monday to Thursday and 7 am to 3 pm Friday. Noisy work such as saw cutting and demolition starts after 8 am out of respect for neighbours.
Your lead carpenter, who is on your house from demolition to punch. You get their direct number. The project manager handles contracts, change orders and the trade calendar.
Two punch walks, a labelled panel schedule, a digital folder containing photographs of every wall before it was closed, all inspection records, product and paint schedules, warranty documents, and a one-year workmanship walkthrough.
Sequence
A 16-week whole-home schedule, in the order it has to run
Ducts before drainage before wiring. Reverse any two of those and something gets cut out and rebuilt.
Weeks 1 to 2
Protection and selective demolition
Dust walls, negative air, floor protection. Demolition room by room in the order the trades will need them. Discovery log opened.
Carpentry, abatement where needed
Weeks 3 to 5
Structure
Beams, posts, footings, joist sistering and any egress cutting. Everything that changes how the house carries load happens before any service is routed.
Carpentry, concrete, engineer site visit
Weeks 6 to 8
Rough mechanical, electrical, plumbing
Ducts first because they are the biggest and least flexible, then plumbing drainage, then supply, then electrical, which routes around everything else. This order is the single biggest cause of rework when it is done backwards.
HVAC, plumbing, electrical
Week 9
Inspections and air sealing
Framing and rough MEP inspections. Then air sealing at top plates, rim joists and every penetration, while the cavities are still open.
Inspector, carpentry
Weeks 10 to 11
Insulation and drywall
Cavity and continuous insulation, then board, tape and finish to level 4 or 5. Open-wall photography is completed before anything is covered.
Insulation, drywall
Weeks 12 to 14
Flooring, trim and paint
Ceilings and wall first coats, then flooring with its planned transitions, then trim and doors, then enamel and final coats.
Flooring, finish carpentry, paint
Weeks 15 to 16
Fixtures, punch and handover
Cabinetry, counters, plumbing and electrical trim, appliances. Internal punch walk, then your punch walk, then the as-built folder.
All trades, final inspections
