How to prepare for a renovation: a step-by-step plan from budget to handover

Preparing a renovation properly is at least as important as carrying it out. If you skip the preparation, you risk delays, budget overruns, arguments with the neighbours and a snagging list that never gets finished. With the step-by-step plan below you know what to arrange and in which order, from the first budget to the moment you sign the handover report.

Step 1: define the goal and the scope

What do you want to achieve? Extra space, a modern kitchen, a lower energy bill or a combination? Write it down in a few sentences and distinguish between must-haves and nice-to-haves. A clear goal helps with every later decision and stops the project from growing bigger and bigger during the work. That growth, known in construction as "scope creep", is the main cause of budget overruns in private renovations.

Step 2: draw up a realistic budget, with a contingency

List all the expected costs: labour, materials, any permit fees, drawings, structural calculations, rubble disposal, temporary facilities and the furnishing afterwards. On top of that, allow a contingency of 10 to 15 percent. For older homes (pre-war, or with unknown pipework and foundations), 15 to 20 percent is wiser. This reserve is not a luxury: there may be rot behind a wall, a floor may turn out not to be level and a pipe may run in an awkward place.

Ask several tradespeople for quotes to get a feel for the market and make sure you compare them properly; for that, read Comparing quotes: how to read a building quote. Keep the contingency out of the negotiation: it is your reserve, not an amount the contractor may already plan in.

Step 3: check whether you need a permit or a notification

Many renovations need no permit, but a dormer at the front, an extension beyond the permitted dimensions, breaking through a load-bearing wall or work on a listed building requires an omgevingsvergunning (environmental permit) or a notification. Do the permit check via the Omgevingsloket (the government's online permit portal) early in the process and allow for the municipality's decision period (usually eight weeks, with a possible extension). Tradespeople often only want to start once the permit is final. Which jobs do and do not need a permit is explained in When do you need a permit?.

Step 4: decide the order of the work

In a renovation involving several trades, the order determines the lead time and the quality. The usual order is:

1. Demolition and stripping out: removing the old kitchen, bathroom, walls or floors, and taking away the rubble.
2. Structure and shell work: load-bearing changes, window and door frames, roof, foundations, brickwork.
3. First-fix plumbing and electrics: laying water, drainage, central heating pipes, electrics and ventilation in walls and floors, before they are closed up.
4. Insulation and wall and ceiling finishing: insulating, plasterboard, plastering, levelling the floor.
5. Tiling and floors: tiling the bathroom and kitchen, laying floors.
6. Second fix: sanitary ware, kitchen, switches and sockets, radiators, internal doors.
7. Painting and finishing: interior painting, sealant work, skirting boards.

If you work with separate tradespeople instead of one main contractor, you are the coordinator yourself. Agree with each tradesperson when they start, what must be finished by then and who the point of contact is. One day's delay with the plasterer can push the tiler back a week, because by then the tiler is working for another customer.

Step 5: plan by season and allow for the bouwvak

Outdoor work such as bricklaying, roofing, exterior painting and building an extension is best done in spring and summer; in frost, no bricklaying or concrete pouring is possible, and in autumn rain causes delays. Indoor work (kitchen, bathroom, plastering) can be done all year round and is sometimes easier to schedule in winter, because tradespeople have less outdoor work then. Allow for the bouwvak (the construction industry's summer holiday): three weeks in July and August when many building companies are closed, and for the Christmas period. Start looking for tradespeople well before your preferred start date; good contractors are often booked up weeks to months ahead.

Step 6: inform the neighbours

You are not obliged to inform your neighbours about a renovation that needs no permit, but it is sensible. Most objections and conflicts arise from surprise, not from the building work itself. Tell them what you are going to do, roughly how long it will take, when there will be noise and where vans and skips will be parked. Ask whether there is anything you can take into account, such as a baby who sleeps in the afternoon or someone who works from home.

For work close to the property boundary, such as an extension or a new fence, it is smart to take photos of the existing situation together beforehand (small cracks, paving, planting). That way you avoid disputes about damage afterwards. For a renovation that requires a permit, neighbours can lodge a formal objection; a good conversation beforehand greatly reduces that chance.

Step 7: notify your insurer of the renovation

A renovation changes the risk to your home and therefore the cover of your opstalverzekering (buildings insurance). Report a major renovation (extension, dormer, new layout) to your insurer in advance. Two things matter here:

• The rebuild value rises because of the renovation; if it is not adjusted, you may be underinsured afterwards.
• Separate conditions often apply during construction: some policies cover damage during a renovation only to a limited extent, or only if it has been reported.

Also ask your contractor about their CAR (contractor's all risks) and liability insurance, so you know which damage is covered by whom. If you live in an apartment, inform the VvE (owners' association); changes to shared parts (facade, roof, pipework) require permission.

Step 8: arrange a temporary kitchen or bathroom

A bathroom renovation easily takes two to three weeks, and a kitchen renovation about the same. Think in advance about how you will bridge that period:

• A temporary kitchen with a hob, microwave, kettle and a washing-up bowl, or the bathroom basin on another floor.
• Showering at relatives', the gym, or a temporary shower cubicle in the utility room or garage, if there is a drain.
• Ask the contractor whether the toilet will remain usable and, if not, whether a temporary facility will be provided.
• If the whole house is being done at once: consider staying elsewhere for a while. That costs money, but often saves time because the tradespeople can work freely.

Step 9: safety with children and pets

A building site in your home is dangerous: open floors, loose tools, dust, chemicals and unfamiliar people walking in and out. Agree with the contractor that the work area is closed off at the end of each day or screened with a dust wall and door, and that tools and materials are not left in the living area. Keep children and pets out of the work area, even when "nobody is there for a moment". If demolition is taking place in a home built before 1994, ask about asbestos: if it is suspected, a survey is mandatory before any demolition may take place. With a lot of dust or noise, consider housing pets elsewhere for a while; for cats and dogs, a week of strangers and drills is particularly stressful.

Step 10: make working agreements before the build starts

Record in the contract or by email:

• Working hours and working days, and who has a key.
• Where materials and skips will be placed and who arranges and pays for the skip.
• How the rest of the home will be protected (dust walls, floor runners, protective sheeting) and who tidies up every day.
• Use of your toilet, electricity and water by the tradespeople.
• A fixed weekly moment to go through progress, the schedule and any extra work, and that extra work is always approved in writing in advance.

How to select a reliable company is explained in 5 tips for choosing the right contractor.

Step 11: the handover and the handover report

The handover is the moment you formally accept the work. Never do this in a hurry, and not just on the strength of a phone call saying "it's finished". Walk through all the rooms together with the contractor, in good daylight, and check:

• Does everything work: taps, drains, switches, sockets, heating, ventilation, doors and windows.
• The finish: sealant joints, grout, plasterwork, paintwork, skirting boards and connections to existing work.
• Has the agreed work been carried out in full, including the approved extra work items.
• Has the site been cleared and the waste taken away.

You record all defects and outstanding items in a handover report (proces-verbaal van oplevering, the formal record of completion) that both parties sign, with an agreed date by which the items will have been put right. Hold back the final payment instalment until that has happened. Also ask for the guarantee certificates, manuals, inspection reports (for example for the electrics) and as-built drawings; you will need them later for maintenance, a sale or a damage claim. Report defects that only become visible after the handover in writing straight away; the contractor remains liable for them within the guarantee period.

Need a tradesperson?

On VerbouwPro you post your job free of charge and receive responses from contractors, carpenters and other tradespeople in your area. You compare profiles and reviews and choose yourself who you make an appointment with. Good preparation takes time, but in the end it saves you a lot of stress and money.