A ground-up home is not a nine-month job, whatever the first conversation suggested. Here is a timeline that holds up in practice.

Stage by stage

  • Approvals and drawings — 6 to 10 weeks, largely outside anyone's control
  • Foundation and structure — 12 to 16 weeks
  • Roof, walls and openings — 8 to 10 weeks
  • Services and plaster — 8 weeks, heavily overlapped
  • Finishes and handover — 10 to 14 weeks

That is 12 to 15 months for most homes, assuming decisions arrive on time.

The three real causes of delay

Almost every delay we have seen traces back to one of three things: late selections, a change made after the relevant trade has left site, or a payment that slipped and stalled material delivery.

Nothing costs a schedule more than a decision that arrives one stage too late.

Building the buffer in

Plan for a six-week buffer and treat it as part of the schedule rather than a failure. A programme with no slack does not finish early — it just finishes late and stressfully.