Week one is the most disorienting week of the entire renovation. You go from an intact flat to what looks like a construction disaster site in 5 days. Nothing looks like progress. Everything looks like destruction. This is completely normal — and here's what's actually happening.
Day 1–2: The hacking begins
The first sounds you'll hear are the most alarming: heavy hammering, angle grinder cutting, and tile chipping. This is the demolition phase, and it looks worse than it is.
- Old tiles get broken up and thrown into debris bags.
- Non-structural walls come down.
- Original carpentry gets ripped out.
- In a resale flat, this phase often reveals surprises: old pipe routing that wasn't on the plan, cables tucked behind walls, tiles that were overlaid on previous tiles, or original screed that's uneven.
- The debris pile will look enormous.
- By the end of day two, your flat may look worse than it ever has.
- This is the right track — you're removing before you build.
What to check: Visit the site at end of day two. Photograph the exposed walls and floors in every room. This is your best opportunity to document what was hidden — pipe positions, electrical conduit routing, any structural elements. These photos become valuable if any dispute arises later about what existed before renovation.
Day 2–4: Plumbing and electrical rough-in
With walls opened and floors exposed, your plumber and electrician come in to run new pipes and conduit before anything closes up again. This looks like a tangle of pipes and wires emerging from concrete channels — and it should.
What to confirm:
- Before these walls close, check personally that every new electrical point position is correct, every water point is where you specified, and every light point is in the right location.
- Show your ID the plan and walk through each room with your phone torch.
- There is no better time to make changes.
- Moving a light point now costs $50–$100.
- Moving it after the screed is poured and wall is plastered costs $300–$600.
- Moving it after tiles are down costs $500–$1,000+.
Day 3–5: Screed and masonry begins
After rough-ins, the floor screed layer goes down. Screed is a sand/cement mix that creates the smooth, level substrate that tiles go on top of. It needs time to cure — typically 24–48 hours minimum before tiling begins. Rushing screed curing leads to tiles that hollow, crack, or pop later.
- You'll also see masons bricking up any newly modified wall openings, rebuilding partition segments, or preparing wet area walls for waterproofing.
- The dust reality: Weeks one and two of renovation produce the most dust of the entire project.
- Concrete dust penetrates closed doors and sealed gaps.
- If you're living in the flat, this is the period that requires the most air purifier usage, the most protective sealing of your "safe zone," and the most grace with your own expectations.
What normal discomfort looks like
- The flat will smell like concrete and dampness.
- Workers' tools will be stacked in corners.
- There will be footprints everywhere.
- Finished walls from week one will be scuffed by workers passing through.
- None of this is a problem.
- Renovation site conditions are what they are.
- Your contractor handles the final cleaning and touch-ups at handover — not at the end of week one.
The single most important thing to do this week
Establish a communication rhythm with your contractor or ID that you'll maintain throughout the project. A weekly Friday update message that includes: what was completed this week, what's planned for next week, and any items needing your decision or approval.
Set this up in week one. The homeowners who report the smoothest renovation experiences are almost always the ones who created a regular communication cadence early and maintained it.
The bottom line
Week one is loud, messy, and disorienting. Every room looks wrong. The flat looks smaller than you remembered and worse than you imagined. Stay focused on the inspection points that matter — rough-in positions and screed quality — and let the surface chaos be what it is. It gets better from week three.
