How long does it take to renovate a bathroom in New York City?

The average master bathroom renovation takes four months from planning to the first time you enjoy your new shower, with smaller bathrooms taking a couple of weeks less, according to a national Houzz & Home survey of renovators. In New York City, you’ll likely also face a few unique challenges that can add time and money to your bathroom renovation.

But even (or especially) in the city that never sleeps, it doesn’t have to be this way.

“The national average is absurd. It indicates just how inefficient the process has become,” says Luke Sherwin, co-founder of Block Renovation, a New York City design-build startup whose pricing algorithm demystifies and simplifies bathroom renovations, cutting in half the average time it takes to renovate a bathroom.  

“By dramatically streamlining the design, planning and ordering process, we’re able to renovate bathrooms in 30 days of construction with 25 days of design, planning and procurement  plus another 10-15 days if condo or co-op board approvals are required,” he says.

How to shorten your renovation timeline

For a typical bathroom renovation, the actual labor is two guys working three-to-four weeks on the job. The four-month average timeline comes from poor planning.

“There are many complex layers front-loaded into the process of remodeling a bathroom which, if you don’t nail upfront, add time to the project,” explains Sherwin. “For example, procuring materials often takes longer than most people think, and your timeline is always driven by the last dependent thing to arrive. 

“For the smoothest construction, you should have everything in the apartment in advance of demolition. Doing that in addition to having a fully rendered design plan means that once construction actually begins on your bathroom, the workers won’t have to stop, wait for additional materials to arrive or a design tweaks to be finalized, restart, stop to make sure the new work meets approval, and restart again, which can add months to the process,” he says.

Of course, that’s all easier said than done. 

“If you can’t perfectly envision your dream bathroom down to every last eighth-inch, or don’t want to spend the time doing it, that’s where we come in,” says Sherwin.

In addition to thoughtfully designed renovation packages, Block’s team of designers and architects works with you until the design is complete. Then they render it so you can see all their choices integrated. Once you approve the design, Block is able to order everything for delivery before breaking ground on the project—and before you start shelling out thousands a month for temporary housing if you need it.

A seamless construction process

The site survey, design, and procurement phases for a single bathroom renovation takes about 25 days, per Block’s average. 

“That’s a conservative estimate,” says Sherwin. “Two weeks of that timeline is simply waiting for materials to arrive. If you live in a co-op or condo, you can expect to add about 15 days for board and permit approval.”

Orchestrating the pre-construction phase perfectly allows for uninterrupted construction. 

“Once one of our vetted, local contractors breaks ground on a project, they expect to finish within 15 working days,” says Sherwin. “Add another five to sew up any loose ends, and you can expect the entire project, from reserving you project timeline to checking off the final item on the punch list, to take about 55 days, or 70-75 if you’re in a co-op or condo. While there are always unexpected bumps in any project we do, we find that solving design and procurement is more than half the battle.”

“Four-plus months might be the average,” says Sherwin. “But we’ve proven that it’s actually possible to renovate your bathroom in so much less time.”

Ready to get started? Visit blockrenovation.com to view templates and get a free estimate.