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Start with anything hidden in the walls and floors
Pipework, cables, soil runs and any work to walls or ceilings come first, because every trade after them builds on top. If a radiator is moving, a socket needs adding or a waste pipe is being rerouted, that happens while floors are up and walls are bare.
This is also when problems are found. Damp readings, uneven subfloors and tired joists are far cheaper to deal with before anything new is laid over them. A refurbishment plan that allows for this stage avoids the worst kind of surprise, the one that appears after the new floor is down.
Kitchens and bathrooms next
Kitchens and bathrooms involve the most trades in the smallest space: plumbing, electrics, plastering, units or sanitaryware, worktops and tiling. They also make the most dust and noise, so it makes sense to finish them before the calmer rooms are dressed.
Because we handle kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, tiling and decorating ourselves, one team can plan these rooms together. The strip out waste leaves once, the tiler moves from bathroom to kitchen splashback without a separate booking, and nothing waits on a different company's diary.
Flooring once the heavy work is done
New floors should go down after the messy trades have moved on, but before the final coat of paint on skirting boards. Laying the floor first risks damage from ladders, dropped tools and plaster; laying it after decorating means scuffed skirting and fresh caulk lines at every threshold.
If you want one continuous floor running through a whole ground floor, it needs planning early. Door thresholds, kitchen plinths and the height of any tile or heating overlay all need to line up, so we decide these while the kitchen is being designed rather than after it is fitted.
- Subfloor checked and levelled before anything is laid
- Kitchen plinths and door linings allowed for in the floor height
- Acclimatisation time respected for wood and some LVT
- Thresholds and beading finished neatly, not caulked over
Renovation services
- One team from strip out to the final coat of paint
- Kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, tiling and decorating
- A written itemised quote before work starts
Decorating goes last
Painting and decorating is the finishing trade. Walls are filled, sanded and primed properly, then painted once the rooms are no longer used as walkways for other work. Doing it last means the finish you pay for is the finish you live with.
Where budget means a refurbishment is split over time, it is still worth following this order room by room. Decorating a hallway now and then running new cables through it next year simply means decorating it again.
Planning the whole job at the start
The most useful thing you can do is describe the whole project at the first visit, even the parts you are not ready to start. Knowing that a bathroom may follow next year can change where a pipe runs in the kitchen today. A single written quote for the full scope, with the order of work set out, makes the job easier to budget and to live through.
Want a professional to handle it?
Send us the room details and we will come back with a written quote, or call us for a chat first.
Common questions
- Should flooring go down before or after the kitchen?
- It depends on the floor and the layout, and we decide it at the design stage. What matters is that floor height, plinths and thresholds are planned together so everything lines up.
- Why is decorating always the last job?
- Every other trade creates dust, knocks and fixings. Decorating last protects the finish, so you are not paying to repaint rooms that were damaged by later work.
- Can one company handle a full refurbishment?
- We cover kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, tiling and painting and decorating with one team, so several rooms can be planned and sequenced together.
- Can I refurbish in stages instead?
- Yes. Tell us the full plan at the start so hidden work, such as pipe and cable runs, is done once and does not need opening up later.
The service behind this guide
Covering Hertfordshire and Essex.