Order of works in a renovation: trade-by-trade template
The order of works in a renovation follows one rule: each trade goes in before the trade that covers its work. Strip-out comes first. Next come first-fix plumbing and electrics, then plastering, then tiling. Painting and second-fix fittings follow, and a final clean closes the job. Getting the order wrong means opening up finished walls.
What is the standard order of trades in a renovation?
The standard order has 9 steps. Copy this template into your plan, delete the steps your job does not need and keep the "Waits for" column intact. That column is what holds the sequence together.
| Step | Trade or job | Waits for | Why it goes here |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Protect and strip out | — | Old finishes and debris must go before anything new arrives. |
| 2 | First-fix plumbing | Step 1 | Pipes run inside walls and floors before they are closed. |
| 3 | First-fix electrics | Step 1 | Cables and boxes sit in chases, so this can run alongside plumbing. |
| 4 | Test pipes and circuits | Steps 2 and 3 | Leaks and faults are cheap to fix while everything is exposed. |
| 5 | Patch chases, plaster, screed | Step 4 | Closes walls and floors, which then need time to dry. |
| 6 | Tiling | Step 5 | Tiles need flat, dry surfaces. |
| 7 | Painting | Step 6 | Paint goes on after the dusty, wet trades. |
| 8 | Second fix: units, taps, sanitaryware, sockets | Step 6 | Fittings sit on or against finished tiles. |
| 9 | Final clean and snagging | Steps 7 and 8 | Last job; it produces the list of defects to come back for. |
Why do plumbing and electrics go before plastering in a renovation?
Plumbing and electrics go first because they are hidden. Once the plasterer closes a chase, any missed pipe or cable means cutting into a finished wall. In Spain, the Código Técnico de la Edificación sets the basic requirements buildings must meet, including water supply and drainage. That is one more reason to test installations before they disappear behind plaster.
The two first-fix trades only wait for strip-out, not for each other. Running them in parallel is the easiest saving in the whole sequence.
How does the trade sequence look in a dated renovation example?
The table below is an example: a flat renovation covering a bathroom and a kitchen. The calendar is Monday to Friday, with 6 hours of task work counting as one day, and each person does one task at a time.
| Task | Who | Duration | Waits for | Starts | Finishes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demolition and debris removal | Pablo | 2 days | — | Mon 2 Nov | Tue 3 Nov |
| Install the plumbing | Marta | 2 days | Demolition and debris removal | Wed 4 Nov | Thu 5 Nov |
| Install the electrics | Jordi | 3 days | Demolition and debris removal | Wed 4 Nov | Fri 6 Nov |
| Patch chases and plaster the walls | Pablo | 3 days | Install the plumbing, Install the electrics | Mon 9 Nov | Wed 11 Nov |
| Tile the bathroom and kitchen | Pablo | 4 days | Patch chases and plaster the walls | Thu 12 Nov | Tue 17 Nov |
| Paint | Lucía | 2 days | Tile the bathroom and kitchen | Wed 18 Nov | Thu 19 Nov |
| Fit the kitchen and bathroom fixtures | Marta | 2 days | Tile the bathroom and kitchen | Wed 18 Nov | Thu 19 Nov |
| Final clean | You | 1 day | Paint, Fit the kitchen and bathroom fixtures | Fri 20 Nov | Fri 20 Nov |
Plastering waits for both first-fix trades. The plumbing finishes on Thursday, but the electrics run until Friday, so the plastering moves to the following Monday. Tiling crosses a weekend, which is why 4 days run from Thursday to Tuesday. Painting and fixtures share the same two days because they depend only on the tiling and are done by different people. The job ends on Fri 20 Nov.
Which 4 mistakes break the order of trades in a renovation?
- Booking the plasterer before testing. A leak found after plastering undoes several days of work.
- Ignoring drying time. Tiling or painting on damp plaster or screed causes failures. Plan drying as its own block of time.
- Giving one person two trades at once. In the example, Pablo demolishes, plasters and tiles, so those tasks can never overlap.
- Fitting units before tiling is finished. Taps, toilets and kitchen units sit on the final surface, so they come after it.
How do you reuse the same trade sequence on the next renovation?
Save the sequence once and copy it for each job. A spreadsheet works if you draw the bars yourself, following Microsoft's guide to a Gantt chart in Excel. Microsoft Planner lets you save custom templates in Planner, so a team can reuse the same task list.
In tokidu, the project manager by Sinergia Barcelona, a saved sequence with parallel steps is called "Step chains". Each step can use "Starts when … is done", so plastering stays blocked until both plumbing and electrics finish. You can see how this works in the planning features overview. More background is in the task dependency articles.
Frequently asked questions
What comes first in a renovation, plastering or electrics?
Electrics come before plastering in a renovation. Cables, back boxes and chases are first fix, and the plasterer closes them afterwards. Plastering first would mean cutting into fresh walls to run cables, then patching them again, which costs time and leaves weaker finishes.
Should you tile or paint first in a bathroom renovation?
In a bathroom renovation, tiling usually goes before painting. Tiling is wet, dusty work that would mark fresh paint. Painters then work on the untiled wall areas and ceilings, and sanitaryware is fitted once the tiles are finished.
Can plumbers and electricians work at the same time in a renovation?
Plumbers and electricians can work at the same time in a renovation, because both only need the strip-out to be finished. Run them in parallel, test both installations, and only then book the plasterer, who has to wait for whichever trade finishes last.
What is second fix in a renovation?
Second fix in a renovation is the stage where visible fittings go in after walls and floors are finished. It covers taps, toilets, basins, kitchen units, sockets, switches and light fittings. It comes after plastering and tiling, and before the final clean and snagging.
Sources
- Código Técnico de la Edificacióncodigotecnico.org
- Present your data in a Gantt chart in Excelsupport.microsoft.com
- Use custom templates in Microsoft Plannersupport.microsoft.com
Written with the help of AI from tokidu's real data and features, and checked automatically before publishing.
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