How many weeks should you plan between getting the keys and moving in?

How much time is there between the keys and moving in?

That depends entirely on which layer your walls need. Below are the guideline times for each route, based on our own lead times and the drying time of the layer.

The margin in the first row is not padding. Between getting your keys and the first working day there is the site survey, your approval of the quote and a slot in the schedule. If you arrange those steps during the period before key handover, that week gets shorter.

Where do those 3 days go?

Hanging renovlies throughout a whole home, filling and painting with emulsion is done by our wallpaper hangers in 3 days. Those days include sanding the wall, hanging the lengths, sealing the edges at window frames, doors and skirting boards, and one coat of emulsion in RAL 9010 or 9016.

The drying time of the adhesive is included in those days. Renovlies is not a wet layer of plaster that needs weeks to cure: as soon as the adhesive underneath is dry, the paint can go on. Sometimes something extra comes up depending on the situation, and that ultimately determines how long wallpapering your home takes.

What is not included is the flooring, the kitchen and the tiling. Our own building teams can do those too, and we then schedule everything one after the other. If you arrange them yourself, ask your floor fitter and kitchen supplier when they are available, and put our days before theirs.

What makes the period longer?

Three things: a layer that has to dry, a second coat of colour and a home that is already full.

A thin skim coat is the shortest wet route. For applying and drying in a whole home we allow 3 to 5 days, faster in summer, and we can set up heat blowers. Only then can the renovlies go on. Plaster ready for painting is much thicker and therefore takes weeks: the thicker the layer, the longer the drying time of plaster and film layers.

A second coat of emulsion takes about 1 extra day, because we leave about 1 day of drying time between two coats. That second coat is mainly needed with a dark colour or a big colour change.

And a home that is already furnished takes more days than an empty one. When finishing while you already live there, we work room by room. If you want to avoid that, the period between key handover and moving in is exactly the moment to get it done.

Can’t you just move in and have it finished afterwards?

You can, and sometimes it is the only option, for example if your tenancy ends on a fixed date. Do bear in mind that the same job then takes more days and your furniture has to be moved aside room by room.

There is another reason not to. In an empty home a wallpaper hanger can work on from wall to wall, without masking around furniture, without clearing rooms and without having to keep bedrooms usable at night. That is the difference between 3 days and a job spread over weeks.

What we do not do is speed up the work by skipping drying time. Paint on a layer that still contains moisture can peel or stain after a few weeks. We would rather start two days later than leave you with a wall that has to be redone next year.

What else should you allow for?

Snagging items. If there are items on your walls listed in the handover report, the builder must put them right within the period agreed in your contract. Walls still waiting for that repair should not be finished yet. Which walls can be done follows from the handover inspection of your walls.

The handover date itself. Do not fix your move, your notice on a rental and the delivery of furniture until the date is definite. If the handover slips, everything slips with it, including your finishing after a delayed handover.

And the season. In a cold, wet period everything dries more slowly, and the temperature in an empty home is lower as well. Make sure the heating can be on from the day of key handover, so the drying time does not run on unnecessarily. After all, a new-build wall still gives off construction moisture itself.

How do we put your schedule together?

With your request, tell us your handover date and your preferred moving date, and whether the walls will be handed over ready for wallpaper. In the free quote you receive within 24 hours you will then already see which route it will be. At the site survey we take measurements and decide wall by wall whether a thin skim coat is needed. Only then is it certain how many days your home will take.

Prices exclude VAT. For renovation work on a home over 10 years old, 6% VAT usually applies, otherwise 21%. The VAT rate is shown in the quote.

The work is done by our own tradespeople: 40 wallpaper hangers, 32 plasterers and 25 painters on permanent contracts, together handling more than 600 new-build homes a year. Because we do not use subcontractors, the steps wait for each other and not for someone else’s diary.

The steps follow the finishing order from ceiling to floor. If you want to know in advance what it all costs together, use the example for a complete new-build home. And if you want it all arranged in one go, we take on the finishing of your new-build home as a single project.