A condo refurbishment timeline usually runs considerably longer than boards expect, because the visible construction work is only the middle portion of the project. From the first condition assessment to final closeout, a typical common area refurbishment in an Ontario condominium takes five to nine months — of which only six to sixteen weeks is on-site construction.

Understanding where the time actually goes is what allows a board to plan realistically, to sequence work around budget years, and to avoid the most common source of frustration: approving a project in the spring and expecting it finished by the summer.

This guide breaks the project into stages with realistic durations, identifies the stages that most often run late, and explains what a board can do at each stage to protect the schedule.

The Eight Stages of a Condo Refurbishment

Every common area refurbishment follows the same broad sequence. What varies is how long each stage takes and how many overlap.

#	Stage	Typical duration	Who drives it
1	Condition assessment and feasibility	2 – 4 weeks	Design-build partner or consultant
2	Board decision in principle and budget approval	2 – 8 weeks	Board of directors
3	Design, finish selection and documentation	4 – 8 weeks	Design team, with board sign-off
4	Pricing, tender or contract negotiation	2 – 5 weeks	Board and contractor
5	Long-lead procurement (millwork, furniture, tile, elevator panels)	8 – 16 weeks	Contractor, overlapping stage 6
6	Mobilisation, protection and demolition	1 – 3 weeks	Contractor
7	Construction and installation	4 – 12 weeks	Contractor, phased by zone
8	Finishing, deficiencies, closeout and documentation	2 – 4 weeks	Contractor and board

Stages 3 to 6 overlap heavily in a well-run project. A design-build delivery model compresses the sequence further, because design, pricing and procurement are coordinated by one party rather than handed between organisations. Our comparison of design versus design-build explains how that affects schedule, and our guide to project execution covers how the construction stages are managed.

Stage 1: Condition Assessment and Feasibility (2–4 Weeks)

The project starts with someone walking the building and establishing what is actually there. A useful assessment covers the condition of each common element, the likely cause of any failures, the extent of concealed conditions you can reasonably infer, and the constraints that will shape the work — elevator access, loading, working hours, single points of egress, and any hazardous materials concerns in an older building.

What should come out of this stage

• A written condition summary by element, with photographs
• An opinion on which components have reached the end of their service life, and which have useful life remaining
• A preliminary scope by element, with realistic finish level options
• A construction budget range, ideally tiered into essential, standard and comprehensive
• A schedule outline showing on-site duration and any seasonal constraints
• A list of items requiring further investigation — substrate testing, designated substance survey, electrical capacity

Where a reserve fund study already exists, this stage is about reconciling it with observed condition. Where the study is old or was produced without a site inspection, this assessment is what converts it into something a board can act on. Our guide to funding a refurbishment from the reserve fund covers how to read a study against a real scope.

This stage is usually free or inexpensive where a design-build firm is providing it as part of a site visit and estimate, and it is the highest-value step in the whole timeline. Boards that skip it and go straight to tender almost always pay for the omission later.

Stage 2: Board Decision and Budget Approval (2–8 Weeks)

This stage is driven by meeting frequency, not by construction. A board that meets monthly and needs two meetings to approve a scope, and then a further meeting to approve the funding mechanism, will spend two to three months here. That is normal and should be planned for rather than treated as delay.

What makes this stage run long

• Incomplete information at the first meeting. If the board is asked to approve a scope without a budget range, the decision defers to the next meeting.
• Funding mechanism unresolved. Agreeing the work but not the funding source creates a second decision point.
• Owner consultation requirements. Where the change to common elements requires owner approval, the notice and meeting cycle adds weeks.
• Compressed meeting calendars. Summer and December are effectively lost months for board decisions in many buildings.

What a board can do

Ask for a single decision document that presents the scope at two or three budget tiers, the funding options with their impact on common element fees, and the schedule implication of each option. A board that can choose between complete options in one meeting saves a month. Then record the decision clearly: the reserve fund study line items addressed, the scope by element, the funding mechanism and the alternatives considered. Our article on questions to ask before placing a deposit is a useful safeguard before this stage closes.

Stage 3: Design and Finish Selection (4–8 Weeks)

Design for a common area refurbishment is mostly about finishes, detailing and coordination rather than structural change. The output should be a package a contractor can price and build without interpretation.

What is produced

• Layout and reflected ceiling plans, marking fixture positions and any new lighting
• A finish schedule naming specific products with manufacturer and reference numbers
• Detail drawings for junctions: flooring transitions, baseboard and trim profiles, wall panel edges, millwork
• A lighting layout with illuminance levels and colour temperature stated
• Furniture and millwork drawings
• Signage and wayfinding schedule
• Fire test documentation for every finish, textile and furniture product specified

Where the time goes

The genuine work here is not drawing, it is selection and its consequences. Choosing a large-format tile triggers a substrate flatness requirement. Choosing a heavier wall panel triggers a blocking requirement. Choosing a feature ceiling triggers an electrical circuit review. Each of those is a design loop, and each one is faster if the design and construction parties are the same organisation, which is the core argument for design-build.

The board’s role

Boards should expect to approve finishes, not to select them from a catalogue unaided. The productive format is a small number of complete, priced schemes — each internally consistent and each achievable within a stated budget — rather than dozens of individual product choices. That also prevents the classic problem of a board selecting finishes individually that turn out to be incompatible or collectively over budget.

Stage 4 and 5: Pricing and Long-Lead Procurement (2–16 Weeks, Overlapping)

These stages run together, and they are where the most underestimated delays live.

Pricing and award (2–5 weeks)

Whether the project is tendered or negotiated, expect two to five weeks for pricing, clarification, revisions and award. Where multiple proponents are pricing, add time for questions and addenda. Our guide to choosing a refurbishment contractor covers what to compare beyond price.

Long-lead items (8–16 weeks)

This is the single most common cause of a slipped schedule, and it is almost entirely avoidable. The items that routinely run long:

Item	Typical lead time	Why it slips the schedule
Custom millwork and concierge desks	8 – 16 weeks	Shop drawings must be approved before fabrication; changes restart the clock
Commercial furniture and upholstery	8 – 14 weeks	Made to order; textile availability varies by dye lot
Large-format or specialty tile	6 – 12 weeks	Often made to order; dye lot consistency requires a single production run
Elevator cab panels	6 – 12 weeks	Fabricated to cab dimensions; requires accurate site measurement first
Decorative lighting fixtures	4 – 12 weeks	Made to order; long-lead drivers and controls
Custom wall panels and feature materials	6 – 12 weeks	Fabrication and finishing
Fire-rated furniture with documentation	8 – 14 weeks	Test certification and labelling requirements add to the cycle

The practical lesson is that procurement should be released as early as possible, in parallel with remaining design work, and items should be ordered once selections are frozen rather than held until the board’s next meeting. A four-week delay in ordering a fourteen-week millwork package is a four-week delay to the entire project. Our guide to amenity space refurbishment covers how furniture and equipment procurement affects amenity schedules.

Stage 6 and 7: Mobilisation, Demolition and Construction (5–15 Weeks)

This is the phase residents notice, and the phase that determines whether the project is remembered as well run.

Mobilisation and protection (1–3 weeks)

Before demolition: hoarding is erected, protection is installed on remaining finishes and in the elevator, negative air pressure and dust extraction are set up, staging and disposal routes are established, and the site is secured. This stage feels slow to residents because nothing visible is happening, but skipping it is what produces dust in suites and damaged finishes.

Demolition and substrate preparation (1–3 weeks)

This is the loudest and dirtiest phase and it is deliberately short. Floor finishes come up, wall coverings come down, and the substrate is exposed and prepared. Substrate preparation is where unknown conditions surface — and where a board should expect the possibility of a change order if the contingency was correctly budgeted. Our guide to common element refurbishment cost explains why a 10–15% contingency exists.

Construction and installation (4–12 weeks)

The visible transformation: wall finishes, flooring, ceilings, trim, doors, lighting, millwork and signage. In a phased corridor project this is where the zone sequence becomes obvious to residents. Typical zone durations are 1 to 2 weeks per corridor zone for a standard refurbishment, which is the number to use when writing a resident notice.

How phasing changes total duration

Phasing reduces disruption per resident but increases total project duration. A corridor refurbishment done in six zones takes longer overall than the same work done in two zones, because protection must be moved and re-erected at each boundary, trades remobilise between zones, and inspection and sign-off repeat. Boards should choose the number of zones as an explicit trade-off between resident disruption and overall schedule, not by default.

Stage 8: Finishing, Deficiencies and Closeout (2–4 Weeks)

The last stage is where projects either finish cleanly or drag. It should be planned and resourced, not treated as whatever remains.

What happens

• Touch-ups, final cleaning and polishing of finishes
• A joint deficiency walk-through with the board or manager, producing a written list
• Correction of deficiencies and re-inspection
• Demonstration and handover of any equipment or controls
• Submission of warranties, product data, attic stock and as-built information
• Final payment release, subject to the applicable lien period

What boards should insist on

Insist on a written deficiency list with dates, not a verbal walk-through. Insist on attic stock — labelled spare flooring, wall covering, trim and textile, because future repairs are impossible without it. Insist on the documentation package, including fire test certificates for every finish installed. And confirm the warranty terms and the lien period before releasing holdback. Our guide to project execution sets out what a complete handover should include.

Then update the study

The final step is often forgotten and matters for the next board: update the reserve fund study to reflect the new components and their revised service lives. If the corridor flooring was upgraded from a ten-year to a fifteen-year product, the funding plan should change accordingly. Our guide to reserve fund refurbishment explains why this step protects the corporation.

What Actually Delays Condo Refurbishment Projects

Across the projects we deliver, delays almost always trace back to a short list of causes. None of them are construction problems.

Cause of delay	Typical impact	How to prevent it
Incomplete scope at budget stage	2 – 6 weeks	Commission a condition assessment before asking the board to approve
Deferred board decision	2 – 8 weeks	Present complete, priced options in one document so one meeting can decide
Late ordering of long-lead items	4 – 16 weeks	Freeze selections early and release procurement in parallel with design
Unresolved funding mechanism	2 – 8 weeks	Decide funding and scope together, not sequentially
Concealed conditions discovered in demolition	1 – 4 weeks	Budget a 10–15% contingency and pre-test where possible
Owner approval process	4 – 12 weeks	Confirm early whether the change requires owner approval
Elevator availability	1 – 3 weeks	Book the service elevator and coordinate with the elevator contractor early
Building rules on noise hours	Adds calendar time	Build the noise window into the schedule rather than working around it
Winter conditions in unheated spaces	1 – 3 weeks	Allow longer cure times for levelling compound and adhesives
Signage and wayfinding fabrication	2 – 6 weeks	Order with other long-lead items, not at the end

The pattern is clear: the delays are concentrated in decision-making, procurement and building logistics — not in the trades. A board that resolves scope, funding and finish selections decisively, and orders early, will usually finish within the planned window. A board that treats those as things to be sorted out once work starts will not.

Communicating the schedule to residents

Residents tolerate a long project far better than an unpredictable one. The practices that work are a per-zone schedule issued in advance, a single point of contact for questions, weekly updates during construction, and honest notice when something slips. Our article on surviving the disruption of a condo renovation covers this in detail, including dust control measures residents actually notice.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a condo refurbishment take?

From the first condition assessment to final closeout, a typical condominium common area refurbishment takes five to nine months. On-site construction is usually only six to sixteen weeks of that. The remainder is condition assessment, board approvals, design and finish selection, pricing, and long-lead procurement of custom millwork, furniture and tile.

What is the longest lead time on a condo refurbishment?

Custom millwork and commercial furniture are typically the longest items at 8 to 16 weeks, followed closely by large-format or specialty tile, elevator cab panels and decorative lighting at 6 to 12 weeks. These run in parallel with construction, and when they are ordered late they become the critical path for the entire project — which is why selections should be frozen early and procurement released as soon as possible.

How long does corridor refurbishment take per floor?

A standard corridor refurbishment typically takes 1 to 2 weeks per zone, where a zone is normally the corridor serving a group of four to eight suites or the run from an elevator lobby. That is the figure to use when writing resident notices. Note that phasing into more zones reduces disruption per resident but increases the total project duration.

What phase of a condo refurbishment is the noisiest?

Demolition and substrate preparation. It is deliberately the shortest phase — usually one to three weeks — but it generates almost all of the noise and dust, because floor finishes are being removed, wall coverings stripped and substrates ground or levelled. Dust control through negative air pressure, sealed hoarding and daily cleaning matters most in this window.

Can the schedule be shortened?

Partially. A design-build delivery model compresses the sequence because design, pricing and procurement are coordinated by one party rather than handed between organisations. Ordering long-lead items early, deciding scope and funding together, and freezing finish selections before the board’s next meeting all save weeks. What cannot be compressed safely is substrate curing, protection setup or the deficiency process — compressing those transfers risk to the finished work.

What happens after construction finishes?

A deficiency walk-through is carried out jointly with the board or manager and produces a written list with dates for correction. Then come touch-ups, final cleaning, equipment demonstration, and handover of warranties, product data, attic stock and as-built information. Final payment is normally released subject to the applicable lien period. The last step should be updating the reserve fund study to reflect the new components and their service lives.

Do we need to empty the building during common area refurbishment?

No. Common area refurbishment is designed to be phased so residents remain in their homes throughout. Access to every suite and to the exit stairs is maintained at all times, work is grouped into zones, and residents are given advance written notice of the period affecting their zone. Areas such as amenity rooms, party rooms or a concierge desk may need temporary closure depending on the scope.