How Long Does Home Design Take?

As people look more and more into creating spaces that are customized to their use and needs, custom homes and home remodels are on the rise. But, how long does it take to design that remodel, the home addition, or the new construction project?

We find that many folks contact us with the timeline in mind for the actual buildout but may have forgotten a couple of crucial elements; design and permitting. Please keep in mind that both design and construction may take longer during these unprecedented times. Take a look at our article, Design & Build During a Pandemic- Over a Year Later to read more about the shortages and obstacles we are facing and how this may impact your timeline.

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The Design Process

Every project is unique and varies in terms of how long the process takes. Two key factors we’ve found to impact the timeline are the homeowner’s decisiveness and the level of detail in the design. However, we’ve set some general rule-of-thumb timelines to give you a better sense of what you can expect:

Single space: Minimum 4-6 weeks (Recommend 10-12 weeks +)

Full home renovation: 4-6 months

Home Addition: Timelines for home additions are very similar to the full home renovations.

New Custom Home: For a custom new home to include architectural and interior design, material selections, and complete construction documents for the build, we recommend setting aside 12-18 months.

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Permits

Permit timelines change frequently, and it is always a good idea to expect the longest time frame provided. King county permitting timelines based on project times may be seen here. At the time of writing this article, typical timelines are as follows:

Single Space: Most single space renovations are same-day permitting if a permit is necessary. If a permit is necessary, the current timing is 2-10 weeks.

Full home renovation: See the single space renovation. Many times interior-exclusive work does not require a permit, particularly if there are no structural changes. As with the single space, the current timing is 2-10 weeks.

Home Addition: Once we impact the site, we see longer wait times. Right now, the permit process is running anywhere from 10-30 weeks.

New Home: A new home has more complications that may not have already been taken care of with a home addition – the addition of utilities adds complication and therefore time. The permit process for a new home is roughly 20-40 weeks.

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The Short of It

What does all this mean? If you are looking for a remodel, home addition, or a new custom home, it’s a good idea to look at all of your considerations and work backward to get a proper feel for the time it will take. To note, with larger projects, we are able to continue the design process after the permit application is submitted, so this can save some time. This allows us time to think about your particular space with a relaxed timeline.

Single Space remodels: Allow 16 weeks (4 months) before construction begins.

Full home renovation: Allow 30 weeks (7 months) before construction begins.

Home Addition: Allow 40 weeks (9 months) before construction begins.

New Custom Home: Allow 18-20 months (1-1/2 to nearly 2 years) before construction begins.

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What About Construction Timelines?

Construction is another timeline consideration, of course. In general, it’s a good idea to allow as much time for the construction as the waiting time before construction. So, for a new home, we would want to allow 1.5-2 years for construction and so on.

Read more about Design-Build Timelines with a breakdown of project types here.

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Time is on our side

If you are interested in starting a remodel with us and want to see if your timeline estimate is realistic, we’re here for you. Reach out to us.

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“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.”

— Lau Tzu