Phasing a renovation: where should you start?

Rare is the renovation that happens all at once. Between budget, tradesmen's timetables and everyday life, almost everyone ends up renovating in phases. So the real question is not “should you phase it?” but “where do you start?” — and that is where most regrets are born: you repaint a bedroom and find a damp wall, you install a new kitchen and realise too late that the wiring cannot take it. This guide gives you a logical order of priority, whether your project is a whole flat or a single room, and helps you phase the work without burning out or emptying your bank account in one quarter. The figures quoted are indicative ranges that vary by region and finish; the housing and construction data published by the Swiss federal statistics office and the habitat guides gathered by Hausinfo help you situate them more precisely.

Start with what protects the building

The golden rule of a phased renovation is simple: treat first what protects the home and its occupants, before what beautifies. Roof or façade waterproofing that lets water in, old or unsafe wiring, insulation that bleeds energy, cracking structure, water and drainage runs — all of these touch the health of the dwelling and are hard to fix once the decoration is in place. Fitting a brand-new kitchen over a damp installation is to sentence your investment within a few seasons. An honest condition survey — even an audit or the opinion of a professional — is the best first package you can fund: it reveals what is urgent and what can wait.

Set a logical workflow before mixing trades

When several jobs run in the same room or home, the order almost always follows the same logic: from the big to the fine, from the hidden to the visible. You do not install a kitchen before adjusting the electrics and plumbing; you do not paint before the plastering and floors are done. Here is the general order most Swiss contractors follow, to adapt to each project:

• Diagnosis and structure: check damp, stability, electrics and plumbing; fix anything dangerous or damaged.
• Structural work and services: build or move partitions, run cables and pipes before the walls close up.
• Insulation, waterproofing and windows: issues affecting energy and water are tackled before finishes.
• Floors, wall coverings and ceilings: plastering, rendering and paint, then floors once the surfaces are stable.
• Kitchen, bathroom and joinery: final installation of fittings on a dry, level substrate.
• Finishes and furniture: final lighting, handles, sealants, furniture and objects — the last, most visible stage.

Phase the budget exactly like the work

Phasing a project is not only about splitting time — it is about splitting money. A realistic renovation budget plans not just every line but a contingency for the unexpected: in this trade you almost always discover something behind a wall or under a floor. Our advice is never to launch one package without having provisioned the next, and not to mistake a “paid and finished” package for a truly complete stage. A well-phased renovation always leaves a liveable home at the end of every phase, even partially. That clarity also lets you decide calmly where to bring in a bespoke cabinetmaker and where a simpler finish keeps the budget down on low-visibility areas.

A successful phased renovation is measured not by speed but by coherence: each package builds on the one before and prepares the one after, so no stage ever needs to be redone.

Live on site or move out temporarily?

This decision changes the whole plan. Renovating while living at home is possible and cheaper, but it brings constraints: dust, occasional water or power cuts, rooms taken out of use in rotation, and a slower pace. Renovating away from the flat — or emptying it — speeds up the site and simplifies coordination between trades, at the cost and fatigue of a temporary move. There is no universal answer: it depends on the scale of the work, whether children or remote work are in the picture, and your budget. As soon as several packages run back-to-back in the same room, the balance often tips toward an intermediate option: empty the space and group the work into zones.

Work in planned packages, coordinate rather than rush

The success of a phased renovation owes more to coordination than to haste. A good work order mostly means avoiding clashes between trades: you do not bring a painter in before the plasterer, nor a plumber before the tiler. Here are a few concrete points for pacing your site well:

• Group packages by room: finishing one zone completely before moving to the next cuts tradesmen's comings and goings.
• Book trades early: in Switzerland good tradesmen are reserved in advance, and the calendar locks weeks, sometimes months ahead.
• Order long lead-time items (kitchen, bespoke joinery) at the start, as they often determine the end of the site.
• Keep a simple record of what is done, paid and pending: the surest tool for losing nothing between phases.

Starting with the right package saves most of the regrets. These bearings rest on solid Swiss references: the housing and construction data of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (OFS/BFS), which underline the rigour of Swiss surface and building standards, the habitat and housing-care guides gathered on the Hausinfo portal, and Egger's materials resources, useful for choosing panels and finishes suited to a lasting renovation. Anchors for phasing your project with confidence, stage by stage.