Citeste articolul in romana → Cat dureaza renovarea unui apartament si cum o planifici
A full renovation of a two-room bloc flat usually takes 6–10 weeks of work on site, and up to 12–16 weeks with layout changes or high-end finishes. Before that comes the waiting: designing, ordering and, for some works, approval. Works that need no formality can start as soon as you're ready. A notification adds about five to six weeks from filing. A building permit adds a few months. Plan for both the waiting and the works, and decide early whether you'll live in the flat while it's done.
In short
Cosmetic (paint, floors, small repairs): about 1–3 weeks.
Partial (a bathroom or a kitchen plus some rooms): about 3–6 weeks. A bathroom on its own takes about 2–3 weeks.
Full renovation, two-room flat: about 6–10 weeks of works, and up to 12–16 with bigger changes.
Before the works: design and ordering always. A notification adds about 5–6 weeks; a permit adds a few months.
Order windows and the kitchen before strip-out, so they arrive when the flat is ready for them.
You can live there during a full renovation, if the work is phased: the messy, whole-flat stages done in one short block while you're away, then the rooms finished one by one.
Quiet hours by law: no noisy work between 22:00 and 08:00, or between 13:00 and 14:00.
How long does a renovation take, by scope?
Four scopes. Each one has two parts: the preparation before anyone starts, and the works on site.
Cosmetic: paint, new floors, small repairs
Preparation: choose finishes, book the crew.
Works: about 1–3 weeks for a two-room flat.
Partial: a bathroom or a kitchen, plus some rooms
Preparation: a plan for the bathroom or kitchen, ordered fixtures and units.
Works: about 3–6 weeks. A bathroom alone takes about 2–3 weeks.
Full renovation, same walls
Preparation:
the survey and design;
quotes against the same scope;
ordering the windows, the kitchen and any joinery made to measure.
Works: about 6–10 weeks for a two-room flat, and more for a three-room flat. With high-end finishes, up to 12–16 weeks.
Full renovation with layout changes
Preparation: everything in a full renovation, plus the structural engineer, the approval documents and the waiting for approval (next section).
Works: like a full renovation, plus the structural work and the knock-on repairs around it.
What do you wait for before the works can start?
Approvals, the association and deliveries. Each has its own clock, and they can run in parallel if you start them early.
Approvals, by route:
No formality (finishes, new fixtures in the same places, new installations not touching the riser): start as soon as you're ready.
Notification (extending a bathroom or kitchen, touching the riser, non-structural walls, closing the balcony uniformly):
first, a simplified project signed by an architect and engineers;
then the city hall has 15 working days, after which approval is tacit;
works can start 15 calendar days after that (Law 169/2026, art. 296 alin. (1) and (6));
from filing to the first day of work, that's about five to six weeks;
the notification stays valid for three years (art. 296 alin. (5)).
Building permit (any opening in a structural wall, merging rooms across structural walls):
a technical assessment and a structural project;
the urbanism certificate, within 15 working days (art. 257 alin. (4));
the approvals it lists;
then the permit, within 30 calendar days of a complete file, or 7 working days with an urgency fee (art. 273).
Realistically, a few months.
The association:
Structural changes need the agreement of two thirds of the association and of every directly affected owner (Law 196/2018, art. 39). That means a general assembly, which has to be called and held.
Work on the riser needs the administrator to arrange water shut-offs and access, so agree the date in advance.
Deliveries:
PVC windows: usually 5–21 working days to make once ordered. Colours and unusual shapes take longer.
A ready-made kitchen (IKEA level): [your figure].
A kitchen or joinery made to measure: [your figure]. Measuring can only happen once the walls are plastered, so plan for it in the sequence.
Trying to fit a renovation around a move-in date or a lease ending? Book a free 45-minute Office Hours session, tell us what you want to change and when you need the flat, and we'll help you build a realistic timeline: what to start now, what has to wait, and where the weeks really go.
In what order should the works happen?
Structure first, installations second, finishes last. Ten stages. Getting the order wrong is the most expensive mistake in a renovation.
Survey and design: the flat measured, the layout, installations and finishes decided.
Approvals, where needed.
Strip-out: back to the concrete, with the rubble taken away legally.
Structural work, if any, done to the engineer's project.
First fix: new pipes and cable routes, before the walls are closed.
Tests: a pressure test on the pipes and checks on the electrical circuits, before anything is covered.
Screed, plaster and windows. A cement screed needs time to dry before wood floors go down. Faster-drying screeds shorten it.
Waterproofing and tiling in the bathroom and kitchen.
Second fix: the kitchen, doors, floors, sockets, fittings, sanitaryware, paint.
Snagging and handover: defects fixed, as-built drawings of the installations, and the handover record (proces-verbal de receptie), mandatory for every building work (Law 169/2026, art. 299 alin. (5)).
What the wrong order costs:
tiles broken out because a drain was set before anyone checked its fall;
a plastered wall chased again for a cable nobody planned;
a kitchen partly dismantled to reach a pipe that should have been tested first.
Can you live in the flat during the works?
For cosmetic work or a single room, yes. For a full renovation, yes too, if it's phased: the whole-flat, messy stages done in one short block while you're away, then the rooms finished one by one while you live there.
What can't happen around you:
the strip-out, which brings dust and noise everywhere;
the screed across the whole flat;
days without your only bathroom or kitchen.
How phasing makes it work:
One short block away from home, typically a few weeks. Strip-out, first fix of the electrics and pipes across the whole flat, tests and screed. These are the stages that affect every room at once.
One working core first. Finish the bathroom and a basic kitchen (or a temporary one) first, so you have water, a toilet and somewhere to cook.
Then room by room. You live in the finished rooms while the crew finishes the others, with the doors sealed against dust.
The trade-off: living there makes the works longer. The crew works around you, shuts off water and power only at agreed times, and cleans up more often. Expect a few extra weeks, and agree it with the crew before you start.
Can you phase a renovation over months, to spread the cost?
Yes, if phase one does everything that sits behind the walls and under the floors. What's left for later has to be surface work.
Phase one must include:
every structural decision, made and done;
the full electrical panel and every circuit, even for rooms you'll finish later. A half-done electrical installation isn't a usable one;
all pipes and drains, roughed in to every future position, with a pressure test;
the screed wherever the floors will be finished later.
What can wait:
paint in rooms you don't use yet;
floors in lower-priority rooms;
built-in furniture and joinery;
decorative lighting, as long as the light points are in place.
What phasing costs: every return of the crew is a new start, at new prices. If works were notified, the notification is valid for three years (art. 296 alin. (5)). Plan the phases inside that window.
What do you need to know about the neighbours?
The law sets quiet hours, and the association may set more. Tell the neighbours before you start.
Quiet hours: disturbing residents with noise between 22:00 and 08:00 or between 13:00 and 14:00 is a contravention (Law 61/1991, art. 2 pct. 26). Many associations also ask for noisy work to stay between about 09:00 and 17:00, so check the building's rules.
A notice on the board: what's being done, for how long, and a phone number.
The stairwell and the lift: protect them during the strip-out and deliveries. Clean up the same day.
Rubble: taken away legally, not left by the bins.
The riser: agree water shut-offs with the administrator, and give the neighbours the date.
Build a realistic timeline for your flat
In a free, 45-minute Office Hours call, an architect looks at what you want to change and when you need the flat, and helps you build a realistic timeline: which approval route applies, what to order now, how to phase the works if you're living there, and where the weeks really go.
Bring: the cadastral plan or any floor plan, photos of the rooms, a list of what you want to change, the date you need the flat by, and whether you plan to live there during the works.
No pitch, no obligation. Pick a time below; it shows in your local time.
Renovating in Romania: all articles
Start here
Before you buy
Rules and approvals
Planning the renovation
Room by room
Houses and land
