Renovation Timeline: How Long Does Renovation Take In Singapore?

Wondering how much time your renovation would take? Here are some tips for estimating your home renovation schedule. 

With a high homeownership rate of 89.7% (as of 2023), owning your own home is a rite of passage for the average Singaporean. Along with that comes the time-honoured tradition of home renovation, even though our government supplies perfectly liveable brand-new homes that are literally built-to-order.

But hey, being house-proud is nothing to be ashamed of. After all, our homes are meant to be one of our most precious belongings and valuable assets, so why shouldn’t we invest a little to customise our brick-and-mortar pride and joy? 

To help you make the best of your home renovation, here’s a guide to how long you might need for the entire project. 

Table of contents

• How long does a home renovation take?
• Home renovation timeline: An overview
  • Phase 1: Planning and preparation
  • Phase 2: Renovation
  • Phase 3: Post-renovation
    
• How to make home renovations more efficient?
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How long does a home renovation take in Singapore? 

On average, home renovations for HDB flats take between 10 to 12 weeks to complete. However, this would obviously depend on several factors, such as the size of your property, the extent of the work needed, the availability of materials, and the manpower required. 

Importantly, your decisiveness – or lack thereof – could also be an important factor. Dragging your feet on necessary decisions such as fittings, tiles, and even what colours to use could hold up the progress of your renovation. After all, your contractor or interior designer cannot go ahead with the work without your assent. 

And let’s not forget the time needed for planning, budgeting, shopping for the right interior designer, etc.

For these reasons, proper planning is necessary for your home renovation to proceed as smoothly as possible. 

Home renovation timeline: An overview

While the typical renovation process is rather straightforward, it is nonetheless a massive undertaking due to the sheer amount of details involved. In general, a home renovation may be split into three phases: Planning and preparation, renovation and post-renovation.

Phase 1: Planning and preparation (6 to 8 weeks)

In this phase, you will work on the preliminary tasks that will support or facilitate the actual renovation phase that is to follow. 

Decide the scope of the renovation

What do you want to achieve? Are you simply looking to refresh your home and update its style, or are you planning to completely revamp everything? Or maybe you just want to make some alterations to optimise certain areas while adding or replacing some fittings. 

Go through your home and list down the items or changes needed. You might also want to look through some interior design magazines or blogs for ideas. If you are living with other people who may want certain things in the renovation, be sure to talk to them and get their input. 

Plan your budget

Once you have a clear idea of what renovations you require, it’ll be easier to decide on your budget. You don’t need an exact figure quite yet. Rather the idea here is to see if there’s a match between your planned renovation work and how much you can afford/are willing to spend. 

One easy way is to look through the websites of interior design firms for a rough idea of what can be achieved for how much. For more granular planning, you can also make use of the various online renovation calculators available for free.

If you find a large disparity between your financial ability and your home aspirations, you should work on bridging the gap first before proceeding. You may want to take a renovation loan to make up the shortfall or delay your renovation until you have saved up enough money. 

Don’t forget to add 10% to 15% to your overall budget in case of unforeseen additional expenses.

Get quotations from suitable interior design firms

Next, you can start searching for a suitable interior design firm. Look through online portfolios and shortlist those who have delivered home renovations that are close to what you are looking to achieve. 

A shortlist of between three to five firms should suffice; be sure to only choose reputable firms with good reviews and minimal complaints. As a precaution, you may want to choose from vetted providers, such as CaseTrust-certified renovation firms. 

Once you’re happy with your shortlist, send in an inquiry to your chosen IDs or contractors for more information. Let them know your preferred theme or design, a short description of the scope of work you want done, as well as your estimated budget. 

Now, many people are afraid of disclosing their budget as they fear the interior designer or contractor will use it to set a high quote. 

In reality, not being open with your budget makes for more delays later on, as you and your contractor will likely struggle to come to an agreement. Instead, consider that being honest with your budget from the start will save you time by eliminating firms that are too expensive at the outset. 

It is likely that your shortlisted contractors will request a site visit so they can give you a more accurate quotation. Don’t forget to ask for an estimated timeline. 

Decide on your renovation package

After receiving your quotations, compare them to see which one is the best fit for your requirements and budget. If you’re not sure about what certain terms mean in the quotation, be sure to clarify. This will help you make a more accurate and fair assessment. 

Once you’ve decided which renovation package to go with, inform your interior design firm so they can start on the necessary paperwork. 

Finalise the details of your renovation 

After you’ve appointed your ID firm be prepared for a series of detailed discussions and site visits to work out various aspects of your renovation project. 

With the help of colour swatches, tile samples and 3D drawings, you and your contractor will decide on colour schemes, fittings and the overall design of your future home. 

Once everything has been hammered out to your satisfaction, your renovation is ready to proceed, but not before applying for a permit. 

Apply for an HDB renovation permit

You will need to apply for a renovation permit from HDB before you can begin your renovation. As it can take up to 3 weeks for your permit to be granted, you will want to do this as soon as you have appointed your renovation contractor. 

Your appointed renovation firm can submit a renovation permit application on your behalf online, but you’ll need to sign an acknowledgement form to go with it. HDB will acknowledge your submission via SMS, and you can view your renovation permit once approved. Log in to My HDBPage under ‘My Flat > Purchased Flat > Renovation', to do so.

It may be worthwhile consulting the HDB renovation webpage for guidelines and regulations around your renovation, including what can and cannot be done. 

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Phase 2: Renovation (10 to 12 weeks)

Phase 1 may seem tedious, but that’s where all the (mental) heavy lifting is done. The point of planning your renovation to painstaking detail is so you can minimise, if not avoid, problems in Phase 2. 

Once you’ve finalised your renovation design and obtained the HDB permit, your renovation can officially begin. During this phase, there isn’t much else for you to do, but you should still remain contactable and be ready to go down to your flat. 

This is because, during the course of the renovation work, there may be unforeseen issues or factors that require a workaround, or alterations to your original plan. The likelihood of this happening will depend on factors such as how extensive your renovations are, the age of your property, and the layout of your flat. 

Even if you do not hear from your contractor, you should make it a point to ask for regular updates, or better yet, make a site inspection in person. This will allow you to spot any mistakes or potential issues early so they can be resolved quickly. 

In general, a home renovation consists of the following components, but whether you’ll need to do everything on the list would depend on what exactly you want done.

• Hacking to remove existing wall and floor tiles, built-in furniture or built-up structures
• Electrical wiring to add or relocate powerpoints 
• Plumbing to add or reroute taps, basins and fittings
• Masonry works and post-hacking touch-ups
• Wall plastering, painting and ceiling work
• Changing of doors and windows 
• Installation of air conditioning 
• Other necessary amenities and fittings (fibre optic point for Internet access, bathroom and kitchen fittings, carpentry installation, ceiling fans, other home appliances, etc)

Shopping for fittings, furniture and appliances

While your renovation is proceeding, you will need to go shopping for fittings, furniture and appliances for your new home. This could entail countless hours of showroom visits and browsing through online e-commerce sites to fulfil a seemingly endless list of items to buy.

You can save yourself some time and effort by noting down the items or products that catch your eye as you start planning your renovation. Especially when you’re looking through interior design magazines or sites for concepts and design ideas, be sure to save clippings or screenshots of furnishings and amenities you think would look nice.

Your visual collection will help you narrow down your search, and also give your interior design a better understanding of what you’re looking for. 

It’s important to complete this stage expeditiously so as not to cause delays in your renovation. 

Phase 3: Post-renovation (2 to 3 weeks)

This is when your home renovation has been completed, and is ready for you to move in. There are a few steps in this phase to note.

Defect rectification

Before accepting the handover from your contractor, conduct a thorough inspection with them to check that everything is working properly and the work has been done to your satisfaction. This is your final chance to get any defects rectified and should be performed before you make your final payment. 

You might also want to check on the air quality of your home at this stage, specifically for high formaldehyde levels that can arise from certain types of furnishings. Testing can be done with test kits sold online, but you’ll need to engage a professional if you find that levels are too high. 

General cleanup

Once everything is up to scratch, and provided there are no safety hazards in your home, you should arrange for a cleaning crew to come in and give everything a cleanup. 

Of course, you can also do this yourself or with the help of families and friends if you want to save on cleaning fees. 

Move-in

Once all that is done, the only thing left to do is to move in and enjoy your new home!

From planning to move in, a home renovation will likely take 18 to 23 weeks, or between 4 to 6 months.  

How to make home renovations more efficient 

Try to do things concurrently 

While the typical home renovation proceeds in stages, that doesn't mean you have to adopt a strictly linear approach. Look for instances where you can work concurrently to get things done. 

For example, instead of waiting the whole three weeks for HDB to process your renovation application, use that time to start selecting your fittings, furniture and appliances. 

Similarly, you’ll want to ensure your air conditioning system is ready to be installed the moment your electrical works are completed. You don’t have to wait for the electricians to finish their work before shopping for your air-con set.

Don’t take too long to decide

One of the major causes of renovation delays stems from indecisiveness on the homeowner’s part. This is usually caused by insufficient mental preparation before committing to a renovation, resulting in the inability to decide.

That is why pre-planning is so important. Beyond just working out a budget, you should immerse yourself in interior design ideas and portfolios to get clarity on what you want and don’t want. Familiarising yourself with the latest home design trends will also give you a solid template to achieve the home you want. 

Choose a reputable interior design firm (even if it means paying slightly more)

Yes, home renovations are costly, and the instinct is to spend as little as you can. But consider this. Another reason why home renovations don’t get completed on time is because contractors fail to deliver the designs or specifications agreed upon, requiring replacements or rectification which eats up time. 

Another reason is that they are simply unable to supply the necessary manpower to finish the job on schedule, a scenario that is too common for comfort. 

As such, it might be worthwhile picking a slightly more expensive renovation firm on account of its good reputation and high customer satisfaction levels. 

While paying more is by no means a guarantee against disruptions, the fact remains that more established renovation firms (which also likely cost more) are better equipped to manage your renovation and provide a higher standard of service.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How long does the average HDB renovation take?

The actual renovation of the average HDB flat can be completed in between 10 to 12 weeks, depending on the complexity and extent of the work involved. 

However, before renovation can commence, homeowners should allocate between 4 to 6 weeks for planning and preparation, including the application for an HDB renovation permit, which can take up to 3 weeks. 

What are the different stages of a renovation?

In general, a home renovation may be approached in three phases: planning and preparation; renovation work; and post-renovation. 

Each of these phases may include various stages and components. 

Read these next:
Why Should You Hire CaseTrust Accredited Renovation Firms?
How Much Renovation Loan Can I Get In Singapore?
When to Use a Personal Loan for Home Renovations
Renovating Your Home: Should You Take A Renovation Loan Or Personal Loan?