Renovation Order of Works

The single most expensive mistake in a home renovation is doing things in the wrong order. Tiling a bathroom before the plumber has run the shower waste means ripping up tiles; painting walls before the electrician has chased cables means hacking through fresh plaster. A correct order of works is not about perfectionism, it is about avoiding paying for the same job twice.

The sequence below is the industry-standard approach used by experienced project managers and principal contractors. Not every project needs every phase, but the relative order between phases is almost always correct.

The Core Principle

Work outside in, top to bottom, structure before services before finishes. Every trade that comes later must not disturb the work of a trade that came before it. This single rule explains the entire sequence.

Phase 1: Pre-Start and Planning

Before any tools appear on site:

• Obtain planning permission and Building Regs approval (or confirm permitted development applies).¹
• Serve Party Wall Notices if required (a section 3 party structure notice must be served at least 2 months before works start; a section 1 line of junction notice and a section 6 excavation notice need at least 1 month, see Party Wall agreements).²³⁴
• Appoint and brief your structural engineer if loadbearing walls, floors, or lintels are affected.
• Set up temporary accommodation if you are vacating the property.
• Arrange a site skip; a skip on a public road needs a council licence (permit), which the skip hire company usually obtains, and the fee is set locally, so it varies between councils.⁵
• Confirm utilities: locate and mark up gas, water, and electricity routes; arrange isolation if needed.

Phase 2: Strip-Out and Demolition

Everything that needs to come out comes out now, before any new material arrives on site:

• Remove carpets, floor coverings, and loose furniture
• Strip back plaster from walls to be chased, tanked, or rebuilt
• Remove kitchens, bathrooms, and sanitary fittings marked for replacement
• Take down internal walls to be removed (after structural engineer confirmation)
• Remove redundant staircases, built-in joinery, or fitted wardrobes
• Strip out old insulation, heating systems, and electrical boards being replaced

Hire a 6–12 yard skip; separate materials for recycling or salvage. This is the correct point to engage a damp survey if there is any visual evidence of moisture problems, before works conceal or complicate it.

Phase 3: Structural Works

All structural work is completed while the building is still open, before any finishes go in:

• Install new RSJ beams or flitch beams as designed, with temporary acro props where the engineer specifies them
• Rebuild or underpin foundations if required
• Install new or replacement structural floors (concrete slab, or engineered timber cassettes)
• Replace rotten or defective joists; strengthen existing floor structure if needed
• Address any subsidence or movement identified in surveys

Building Control inspection required after structural works are complete (or in stages as specified on the Regs application).

Phase 4: External Envelope

Make the building weathertight before interior works begin:

• New roof covering, replacement tiles, or felt underlay if required
• Repair or replace fascias, soffits, and guttering
• New or repaired external walls (brickwork, cladding, render base coats)
• Window and external door replacements installed in openings
• External insulation (EWI) applied if included in scope
• Damp-proof course treatment or tanking to basement and ground floor walls

Do not start first-fix services until the building is fully weathertight. Moisture ingress damages plasterboard, timber studwork, and ironmongery.

Phase 5: First-Fix Services

Services are run before any wall or ceiling finishes are applied:

Chase all cables and pipes before any insulation or boarding. Building Control must be given notice before any foundation, damp-proof course, concrete laid over the site or new drain is covered up, so allow for an inspection before screed is poured, and pressure-test heating pipework before it is buried.⁶

Phase 6: Insulation and Airtightness

With services in first-fix position, insulation and airtightness membranes are installed:

• Wall insulation (IWI boards, stud frame with batts)
• Floor insulation under screed or between joists
• Ceiling/roof insulation (loft or room-in-roof)
• Airtightness membrane taped at all junctions (important for energy performance and the home’s EPC rating)
• Window reveals and service penetrations sealed

Phase 7: Drylining and Plaster

Boards and plaster go on once all services are chased and insulated:

• Plasterboard to ceilings and walls (or lime plaster on solid walls)
• Dot-and-dab or mechanical fixing, taped and jointed, skim plaster
• Fibrous plaster cornice or ornamental mouldings if reinstating period features
• Allow new plaster to dry fully before decorating: a thin skim dries much faster than thick backing coats or wet plaster on solid walls, which can take several weeks (varies with thickness, heating and ventilation)

Phase 8: Second-Fix Services

Services are completed to finished positions, after walls and ceilings are plastered, before floor finishes:

• Electrician: switches, sockets, light fittings, consumer unit connections
• Plumber: sanitaryware, taps, shower enclosures, radiators, boiler commissioning
• Gas engineer: boiler installation and Gas Safe certificate
• MVHR: terminals, balancing, commissioning

Phase 9: Joinery and Internal Doors

• Staircase and balustrade (if new or replaced)
• Internal door linings and doors hung
• Skirting boards, architraves, window boards
• Built-in wardrobes or kitchen carcasses

Phase 10: Floor Finishes

Floor finishes go on after all services are live and tested, and after all dust-generating joinery is complete:

• Floor screed (if not already poured) must be dry enough for the chosen finish, usually confirmed with a hygrometer test (75% RH is a common target for resilient floors); a sand-cement screed can take several weeks to a few months to get there
• Tile, stone, or LVT to wet rooms first
• Engineered timber or solid wood flooring
• Carpets last of all, after decorating (Phase 12) is complete

Phase 11: Tiling and Wet Room Finishes

• Full bathroom wall tiling, coordinated with the plumber so tiles go on before basins, WCs and shower enclosures are fixed at second fix
• Shower enclosures, glass screens
• Waterproofing (tanking) must be independently checked if behind tiles, once tiled, it cannot be inspected

Phase 12: Decorating

• First coat (mist coat or primer on new plaster)
• Fill and sand any imperfections
• Final paint coats to walls and ceilings
• Gloss or satinwood to woodwork
• Fit ironmongery (door handles, hinges) after final coat to avoid paint fouling

Phase 13: Snagging, Commissioning, and Sign-Off

• Final Building Control inspection and completion certificate
• BS 7671 electrical installation certificate from the electrician, plus a Building Regulations compliance certificate from their competent person scheme⁷
• Building Regulations compliance certificate for any new boiler or gas appliance, arranged by the Gas Safe registered engineer⁸
• Boiler serviced and commissioned
• FENSA or Certass certificate for replacement windows and doors (if not covered by a Building Regulations application)⁸
• Snagging walkthrough, prepare a written list for the contractor; allow 2 weeks for snags to be remedied before releasing final payment retention (typically 2.5–5%)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Following the sequence above costs nothing extra, it is simply the right order. Deviating from it almost always results in additional cost, delay, or both.

The rules in this note are those that apply in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own building standards and permitted development rights.