The timeline a contractor quotes you and the timeline your life actually follows are rarely the same document. Here is the honest version for a typical 1,000-square-foot KL condominium with a moderate scope — kitchen, two bathrooms refreshed, full carpentry, painting and flooring.
Weeks 1–3: design and decisions
Measurement, layout studies, two rounds of revisions, and material selection. This stage is as long as your decisiveness. Couples who agree quickly finish in two weeks; couples who discover mid-project that they disagree about open kitchens do not. Do the arguing here — it is free at this stage.
Weeks 3–5: the approval fortnight nobody mentions
Your management office needs renovation forms, contractor insurance, worker permits, a refundable deposit and sometimes a committee meeting that happens once a month. Budget two full weeks — three in older buildings. A good firm runs this in parallel with drawing finalisation, which is why we start the paperwork the day you approve the layout.
Weeks 5–7: hacking and wet works
The loud fortnight. Demolition, tiling, plumbing and rewiring — all within the building's permitted hacking hours, usually weekdays only. Waterproofing goes in here and gets flood-tested for 24 hours before a single tile covers it. Never let anyone rush this test.
Weeks 7–10: carpentry off-site, site oddly quiet
Owners panic here because the unit looks abandoned. It is not — your kitchen and wardrobes are being built in a workshop. On site, ceilings close, first paint coats go on, and flooring acclimatises in its boxes (engineered timber needs several days at room humidity before laying).
Weeks 10–12: installation and the fiddly bits
Carpentry arrives and is fitted, then countertops are templated and cut — a sequence that cannot be compressed because stone is measured against installed cabinets. Lights, switches, sanitaryware and doors follow. The unit changes daily now.
Weeks 12–13: snagging, cleaning, handover
Joint inspection with a checklist, touch-ups, deep clean, and the return of your renovation deposit from management. Then — only then — book the movers.
The one-line summary
Thirteen honest weeks. Anyone promising the same scope in seven is either compressing the approval fortnight they do not control, or the waterproofing test you will regret losing.