For a 5–7 m² bathroom, our standard timeline is twelve working days. The figure is honest, not optimistic — it accounts for waterproofing cure times that cannot be hurried, and for the small but real delays that surface in even the best-planned jobs.
Day 0 — site visit, brief, and quote
Before the calendar starts, we visit, measure, and write up an itemised quote. This day is invisible from your side, but it is where 70 % of the eventual project quality is decided. The brief covers fixtures, tile choice, layout, and any constraints (lift access, building hours, neighbouring units).
Day 1 — hacking and disposal
The old tiles, fixtures, and partitions come out. This is the loudest day of the project. We protect the corridor, the lift, and the unit floor with hardboard. Debris is carried out the same day so the building manager does not chase us — and so the household is not living next to a heap of broken porcelain.
Day 2 — first-fix plumbing and electrical
With the room stripped, our team chases the walls for any pipe and conduit changes. If you are moving a basin to a new wall, rerouting the shower drain, or adding a niche, this is the day it happens. Wires and pipes get laid out, capped, and pressure-tested in their concealed positions.
Day 3 — waterproofing coat 1
Two coats of polyurethane go on, brushed and then rolled. The first coat takes 12 hours to cure. The second coat goes on day 4. Cure times are not negotiable — short-cutting them is the single biggest cause of bathroom failures three years after handover.
Day 4 — waterproofing coat 2
Second coat applied. The room is now sealed up to typical splash height plus 30 cm. By the end of the day, we begin a 72-hour pond test in the wet area: a small bund is built and water held against the membrane.
Day 5–6 — pond test holds
These two days look idle, but they are not. The water sits at the same level for 72 hours. If it drops, the membrane has a pinhole and we patch and re-test. If it holds, we drain, dry, and move on. Skipping or shortening this step is the most common corner cut in cheap renovations.
About once in every twelve projects, a pond test reveals a hairline pinhole. The cost of fixing it on day 6 is small. The cost of fixing it on day 600, after the new bathroom is built over it, is not small.
Day 7 — screeding
Concrete screed laid to the correct fall toward the drain. Floor levels are checked with a laser line. The screed needs to cure for at least 24 hours before tiles can sit on it.
Day 8–9 — tiling
Wall tiles first, floor tiles second. Cuts are made on a wet saw outside the building to keep the dust down. Grout lines are spaced consistently, and corners are mitred rather than capped wherever the tile thickness allows.
Day 10 — fixture installation
Toilet, basin, vanity, shower screen, mixer taps, and accessories all go in. The electrician returns to second-fix the lights, the heater circuit, and the bidet seat power if applicable.
Day 11 — silicone, mirror, accessories
Silicone is the boring detail that separates a bathroom that ages well from one that goes black in two years. We use neutral-cure sanitary silicone, applied in continuous beads with no patching. Mirrors, towel rails, robe hooks, and toilet paper holders are mounted to manufacturer torque specs.
Day 12 — deep clean, walk-through, handover
Every surface is cleaned, every grout joint inspected, every tap run for the witness test. We walk through with you, hand over the warranty card, the brand documentation for every fixture, and the cleaning instructions. The keys for the unit (where we held them) come back to you the same morning.
The days everyone underestimates
- Day 5–6 (pond test): Two days that look like nothing but are essential.
- Day 11 (silicone & details): Skipping this is what makes a renovation look amateur within a year.
- Day 12 (handover): A real walk-through is 90 minutes — not a five-minute key drop.
What can move the timeline
Material delivery delays, building-management lift bookings, and any change of scope mid-project are the three usual reasons a 12-day plan becomes a 16-day one. We track them transparently in the daily WhatsApp update so you are never surprised. The deposit cannot be refunded once the project starts, but the structured 30 / 40 / 30 schedule keeps the financial exposure aligned with progress.
Written by Daniel Ravichandran, senior renovation lead. Last reviewed February 2026.