How long does a whole-home renovation take in Los Angeles?
A whole-home renovation in Los Angeles takes 6 to 12 months end to end. Roughly 2 to 5 months of that is design, engineering, and permits — before any demolition. Construction itself is 4 to 8 months for a typical 1,500–2,500 sq ft house, longer if you move structure or add square footage. Anyone quoting you "about three months" is quoting construction only and leaving out the half of the project that happens on paper.
The honest schedule
| Phase | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Design and selections | 1–3 months |
| Structural engineering + Title 24 | 3–6 weeks (overlaps design) |
| Plan check and permits | 1–4 months |
| Demolition and structural | 3–6 weeks |
| Rough-in (plumbing, electrical, HVAC, framing) | 4–8 weeks |
| Inspections and drywall | 2–4 weeks |
| Finishes (cabinets, tile, floors, paint) | 6–12 weeks |
| Punch list and final inspection | 2–4 weeks |
The two clocks that matter are permits and long-lead items, and a competent contractor runs them in parallel with everything else. Windows and cabinetry get ordered during plan check, not after the permit prints.
Why the range is so wide
Three variables move it more than anything else.
Does structure change? Opening a wall between the kitchen and the living room means a beam, which means engineering, which means a full structural review. That is weeks, not days.
Is square footage added? The moment you add floor area you are in a different permit category, and possibly triggering planning review, setbacks, or a neighbor notification. See our additions and ADUs page for how that path works.
What is the age of the house? A 1952 Burbank ranch and a 2005 build are not the same project. Older houses in Los Angeles routinely need electrical service upgrades, repiping, seismic bracing, and asbestos or lead abatement before the fun part starts.
What "6 months" actually buys you
If someone promises a full-house renovation in six months, ask which six. Construction-only in six months on a 2,000 sq ft house is achievable with a permit already in hand and everything ordered. Six months from the first phone call to move-in is not, unless the scope is cosmetic — new kitchen, new baths, floors, paint, nothing structural. That is a real project, and a good one. It is just not a whole-home renovation.
How to actually compress the timeline
- Finish your selections before demolition. Not "most of them." All of them. Every undecided tile is a stalled trade.
- Order long-lead items during plan check. Windows, cabinetry, custom steel, specialty appliances.
- Submit complete drawings. Every plan-check correction round costs weeks. Paying for better drawings up front is the cheapest schedule insurance there is.
- Decide once. Mid-project changes are the most expensive words in construction, and they compound — a change in week 12 re-opens work already signed off in week 8.
What we do
We sequence the paper and the physical work in parallel, give you a fixed itemized scope before demolition, document every change order in writing, and send you a written update every week — including the weeks when the news is that we are waiting on the city.
DN Builders Group Inc is a licensed, bonded general contractor based in Burbank (CA Lic. #1139710). See our whole-home renovation and kitchen remodeling pages, or request a walkthrough. Timelines above are typical for the Los Angeles market in 2026 and are not a guarantee for any specific project.
Questions
Why do permits take so long in Los Angeles?
Because a whole-home renovation usually triggers a full plan check rather than an over-the-counter permit — structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and Title 24 energy compliance all get reviewed. Expect 2 to 4 months in the City of Los Angeles; Burbank and Glendale are often faster. Corrections from the plan checker add a round trip each time, which is why complete drawings matter more than fast drawings.
Should we move out during a whole-home renovation?
For a true whole-home job, yes. You will be without a kitchen and at least one bathroom for months, and living in a construction zone with dust containment, no heat at times, and trades in the house daily wears people down. If moving out is impossible, we phase the work — but phasing adds time and cost, and you should know that going in.
What causes the delays that were not in the schedule?
In order — plan check corrections, long-lead items ordered late (windows, cabinetry, custom steel), and what is found once the walls open. In pre-1970s Los Angeles houses that usually means knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized plumbing, no shear walls, or foundation settling. None of it is exotic. All of it takes time.