How Long Does a Renovation Take in Mallorca?
Key takeaways
- Most of the delay on a renovation happens before anybody is on site.
- Late decisions stall a programme harder than difficult building work does.
- Long lead items decide the finish date more often than labour does.
- The island works to a season, and the good companies are booked before it.
Owners tend to picture a renovation as a period of building work with a short run-up. In practice the building phase has a fairly predictable rhythm and the phases either side of it do not, which is why projects overrun at the start and at the very end rather than in the middle.
Where the time actually goes
| Phase | What decides its length | How predictable |
|---|---|---|
| Survey and scope | How much investigation the property needs | Fairly, once somebody has looked |
| Design and decisions | How quickly the owner decides | Entirely within your control, and usually the longest |
| Technical and permissions | What the work touches and where it is | Least predictable of all, and rarely quick |
| Strip out | Access, and what is found behind the finishes | Fast unless the access is hard |
| First fix | The size of the property and the trades available | Good, if the decisions were made |
| Second fix and finishes | Deliveries more than labour | Good, unless something was ordered late |
| Snagging | How well the previous stages were run | Short on a well-run job, endless on a bad one |
The three things that lengthen a project most
Decisions that arrive late
A trade waiting for a choice costs the same as a trade working. Tiles, sanitaryware, kitchen, ironmongery and paint colours all need deciding before the point they are needed, and on a project run from another country this is the single most common cause of a programme slipping. Deciding early costs nothing and buys weeks.
Things that have to be made
Bespoke joinery, stone cut to a template, specified glazing and equipment all carry lead times measured in weeks or months. On a well-run project these are identified at the start and ordered while other work continues; on a badly run one they are ordered when the trade is ready for them, which is far too late.
What is found behind the walls
On older property something is always found. Whether it costs a week or two months depends almost entirely on how much investigation happened before the scope was fixed, which is the argument for opening up a sample of the property early rather than hoping.
The island adds its own rhythm
A large share of renovation here happens between one season and the next, so the same weeks are wanted by everybody at once. Companies that keep to dates are committed long before that window opens, and availability rather than capability is what usually decides who is free. On property that has to be ready for a season, the booking sensibly comes before the specification is finished.
What actually shortens a project
- Investigating before the scope is fixed, so fewer surprises land mid-build.
- Deciding the choosable things in advance and in writing.
- Identifying the long lead items at the start and ordering them early.
- Emptying the property, which is consistently faster than working around occupants.
- One company carrying the programme rather than several coordinated by you.
- Agreeing a reporting rhythm, so a slip is known in week two rather than week eight.
If you are not on the island while the work runs, turnkey renovation covers the arrangement that suits it, and there is a separate article on running a project from another country.
Why does the start date keep moving?
Usually the technical and permissions phase, which happens before anything visible and is the hardest to predict. It is worth asking each company how long it expects that part to take, because the answers vary and the honest ones give a range.
Is it faster if I am not living in the property?
Consistently, yes. An empty property has no rooms to protect, no hours to work around and no need to keep anything habitable, and that shows up as weeks rather than days on anything substantial.
Can the work be split across two winters?
It can, and it takes longer in total and costs more, because each phase carries its own set-up and some finishes get removed twice. It suits owners who cannot vacate for one long period, and it is a trade rather than a saving.
When should I book to be finished before summer?
Earlier than feels necessary, and earlier than the design is ready. The winter window is short and shared, and securing the company is what makes the rest of the planning worth doing.
This might be interesting to you
Questions to Ask a Renovation Contractor in Mallorca
Fifteen questions worth asking before you agree anything, and what each answer actually tells you ab...
How Much Does It Cost to Renovate a Villa in Mallorca?
What actually moves the price of a villa renovation on the island, and why two quotes for the same h...
Buying a Property to Renovate in Mallorca
How to find out what the work will cost while you can still act on the answer, and what to establish...
Renovating a Mallorca Property While Living Abroad
The problem is not distance, it is decisions: questions arriving when you cannot see what is being a...