How to Manage a Home Renovation Project with a Gantt Chart

The Problem: Renovation Projects Spiral Without a Schedule

Home renovations are notorious for running over time and over budget. The average kitchen renovation takes 6-10 weeks; the average homeowner expects 4. Bathroom renovations budgeted for 3 weeks routinely stretch to 6. Whole-house renovations that look like a 3-month project become a 6-month ordeal. The cause is almost always the same: no written schedule with trade dependencies mapped out before work begins.

Renovation projects are harder to schedule than new construction because you're working around unknown conditions. Open a wall and you might find knob-and-tube wiring that needs to be replaced before you can close it up. That 2-day electrical rough-in becomes 2 weeks of remediation. Without a Gantt chart showing what blocks what, every surprise compounds. The tile installer shows up when the plumber isn't finished. The cabinet delivery comes before the flooring is ready. Every trade waits for every other trade, and the homeowner lives in a construction zone longer than necessary.

A home renovation Gantt chart in gantt-chart.io makes the sequence explicit, gives each contractor a clear picture of when they're expected on site, and lets you catch conflicts before they happen rather than after.

Prerequisites

Before building your home renovation Gantt chart:

Scope of work: Which rooms, which systems (kitchen, bathrooms, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, flooring)
Permit requirements: Check which trades require permits in your jurisdiction—typically structural, electrical, plumbing, HVAC
Contractor contracts: Signed contracts with start dates and duration estimates from each contractor
Lead times for materials: Cabinets (6-14 weeks), countertops (2-4 weeks after template), windows (4-12 weeks), tile (in stock vs. special order)
Occupancy during renovation: Are you living in the home? That limits which areas can be active simultaneously.
Budget and contingency: 10-20% contingency for unknown conditions is standard; affects whether you can proceed if discoveries add scope
Primary contractor / GC: Single point of coordination or self-managed

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Set Up the Renovation Timeline

Open gantt-chart.io
Title it "[Address] Renovation — [Scope Summary] — Target Completion [Month/Year]"
For a kitchen or bathroom, set the view to cover 8-16 weeks; for a whole-house renovation, 3-9 months
Use Week view—most renovation tasks are measured in days to weeks
Add Final Walkthrough / Punch Complete as the red milestone. Add Permit Issued and Rough-In Inspections Passed as orange milestones.

Step 2: Demolition and Rough Framing

Create a task group: Demolition & Rough Work
Add:

Permit application submittal — do this before demo starts; 1-4 weeks for review depending on jurisdiction
Protection / dust barriers installed — 1 day
Demolition — 2-5 days for a kitchen or bathroom; 2-4 weeks for whole house
Asbestos / lead abatement (if pre-1980 home) — test first; abatement adds 1-3 weeks if required
Rough framing modifications — moving walls, adding headers, window openings: 3-10 days
Structural work (beam installation, etc.) — if applicable: 3-10 days
Permit inspection — framing — milestone; schedule after rough framing complete

Demolition discoveries often add scope. Attach a contingency buffer of 5-10 days after demo.

Step 3: Rough-In MEP

Create a task group: Plumbing, Electrical & HVAC Rough-In
Add:

Plumbing rough-in — 3-7 days for a kitchen + bath; longer for whole-house
Electrical rough-in — 3-7 days
HVAC rough-in (ductwork modifications or mini-split rough) — 2-5 days
Low-voltage rough-in (data, audio/video, security) — 1-3 days
Rough-in inspections — milestone; all three must pass before closing walls

Schedule all three trades to overlap where possible to minimize total duration.

Step 4: Insulation and Drywall

Create a task group: Insulation & Drywall
Add:

Insulation — 1-3 days; inspection required in some jurisdictions
Drywall hang — 2-5 days
Drywall tape, mud, and finish — 5-10 days including drying time between coats
Drywall texture (knock-down, orange peel, smooth) — 1-3 days
Prime coat — 1-2 days; do this before cabinets arrive to avoid masking later

Step 5: Cabinets, Tile, and Fixtures

Create a task group: Cabinets, Tile & Fixtures
Add:

Cabinet delivery — milestone; must align with installation date
Cabinet installation — 2-5 days
Countertop template — 1 day; requires cabinets to be installed first
Countertop fabrication — 7-14 days off-site; milestone on delivery date
Countertop installation — 1 day
Tile work (shower, backsplash, floor) — 3-10 days depending on scope
Grout cure — 24-72 hours; nothing installs on top until cured
Plumbing trim-out (faucets, fixtures, appliances) — 1-3 days

Step 6: Finishes and Punch List

Create a task group: Finishes & Punch
Add:

Finish paint — 2-5 days
Trim carpentry (baseboards, door casings, crown) — 2-5 days
Flooring installation — 3-7 days
Electrical trim-out (switches, outlets, fixtures, panel) — 1-2 days
Hardware installation (cabinet pulls, door hardware) — 1 day
Appliance delivery and installation — 1 day; confirm delivery window aligns with project end
Final cleaning — 1 day
Final inspection (if permitted) — milestone
Punch list walkthrough — milestone
Punch list completion — 3-7 days after walkthrough

Key Milestones

Milestone	Typical Timing
Permit issued	Week 1-4
Demo complete	Week 2-5
Rough-in inspections passed	Week 5-9
Drywall complete	Week 7-12
Cabinets installed	Week 9-14
Countertops installed	Week 11-16
Tile complete	Week 11-16
Flooring complete	Week 13-18
Punch list complete	Week 15-20

Common Mistakes

Ordering cabinets too late: Custom and semi-custom cabinets have 6-14 week lead times. Order before demolition starts, not after.
Not building in inspection wait time: Inspections gate every subsequent trade. A 10-day wait for a framing inspection pushes everything back by 10 days. Account for this explicitly in the schedule.
Scheduling flooring before painting is complete: Paint overspray and drips will damage flooring. Finish painting (including touch-ups) before flooring goes in.
Forgetting appliance lead times: High-end ranges, refrigerators, and dishwashers can have 4-16 week lead times. Order early; delivery can often be held at the warehouse.
No contingency days for unknown conditions: Older homes (pre-1980) almost always have surprises behind walls. Add 10-15% schedule contingency as explicit buffer tasks.

Template

gantt-chart.io includes a home renovation project template with all the task groups above pre-loaded. Open it, enter your contractor start dates and material lead times, and share it with each trade contractor so they know exactly when to show up.