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Here are the honest numbers. In New Jersey, a full bathroom remodel takes 2 to 3 weeks on site. A kitchen takes 4 to 8 weeks. A roof is one day. A deck is 3 to 5 days. A finished basement is 4 to 8 weeks. Then add 2 to 6 weeks before any of it starts for design, materials and the town permit. Below is the whole table, what each stage actually involves, and the six things that push a job late.
How long does each project take in New Jersey?
"Days on site" means working days with a crew in your house, not calendar days. A 15-working-day bathroom is three weeks on the calendar.
| Project | Before work starts (design, order, permit) | Days on site | Total, start to finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powder room / half bath | 1–3 weeks | 5–10 working days | 3–5 weeks |
| Full hall bath, gut to studs (5x8) | 2–4 weeks | 2–3 weeks | 5–7 weeks |
| Primary bath, new layout | 3–6 weeks | 3–5 weeks | 7–11 weeks |
| Tub-to-shower conversion, tile | 2–4 weeks | 5–9 working days | 4–6 weeks |
| Kitchen refresh, same layout | 3–6 weeks (cabinets) | 3–4 weeks | 7–10 weeks |
| Kitchen gut with layout change | 6–12 weeks (cabinets) | 6–10 weeks | 4–6 months |
| Roof replacement, average house | 1–3 weeks | 1 day (2–3 if big or steep) | 2–4 weeks |
| Vinyl siding, whole house | 2–4 weeks | 5–10 days | 4–7 weeks |
| Replacement windows, 10–15 | 3–6 weeks (build time) | 1–3 days | 5–8 weeks |
| Deck, 12x16 pressure-treated | 2–5 weeks (permit + zoning) | 3–5 days | 4–7 weeks |
| Basement finishing, 800–1,200 sq ft | 3–6 weeks | 4–8 weeks | 3–4 months |
| Interior basement waterproofing | 1–2 weeks | 2–4 days | 2–4 weeks |
| Water heater replacement | Same day–3 days | 3–5 hours | Often same day |
| Furnace or boiler replacement | 3 days–2 weeks | 1–2 days | 1–3 weeks |
| Central AC or mini-split | 1–3 weeks | 1–2 days | 2–4 weeks |
| Electrical panel / service upgrade | 2–4 weeks (utility) | 1 day, power off 4–8 hours | 3–6 weeks |
| Standby generator | 3–8 weeks (permits, gas, utility) | 1–2 days | 1–3 months |
| Flooring, 1,000 sq ft LVP or hardwood | 1–4 weeks | 2–4 days | 2–6 weeks |
| Mold remediation, whole basement | 2–5 days | 2–5 days + drying | 1–3 weeks, plus rebuild |
| Addition, 400–600 sq ft | 2–4 months (design, plans, permit) | 3–5 months | 6–9 months |
Why does the permit add weeks in NJ?
New Jersey runs on one rulebook — the Uniform Construction Code — but every town enforces it with its own construction office. That office sets the calendar. State rules give a municipality 20 business days to act on a complete permit application. Most towns beat that. Some in Bergen and Essex, in a busy spring, use all of it.
Rough timing: a water heater or furnace swap is "minor work" — we give the town notice, start, and file the application within five business days. A bathroom or kitchen usually clears plan review in one to two weeks. A deck needs zoning approval for setbacks before the construction permit, which is why decks surprise people. An addition means sealed plans and three to six weeks of review.
We pull the permits and meet the inspectors ourselves, in every town we serve.
How long does a bathroom remodel take, day by day?
Floors get covered, doors get zipped in plastic, and the old bath leaves in bags. This is the loud part and it's over fast.
New supply and drain lines, shower valve, exhaust fan, GFCI outlets, lighting. The inspector sees this before anything closes.
Cement board, a waterproof membrane over the whole wet area, then the pan. Skipping a day here is why cheap showers leak in year three.
The slowest stage, and it can't be rushed. Set, cure, grout, cure. Large-format tile and herringbone add days.
Vanity, toilet, trim kits, paint, mirror. Custom glass is measured after tile, so shower doors often land a week behind everything else.
The town signs off, then you walk it with the foreman item by item and hold the final payment until you're satisfied.
Why do kitchens take so much longer than bathrooms?
Cabinets. Stock ships in one to three weeks, semi-custom in six to eight, full custom in eight to twelve — and a mistake in the order costs you that lead time again. Countertops add two to three weeks, because quartz and granite are templated after the cabinets are set.
That's why a kitchen with the same footprint still takes seven to ten weeks, and why we order cabinets before demo day, never after. Moving the sink, the range or a wall adds plumbing, gas, electrical and framing with inspections at each stage, and pushes a gut kitchen to four to six months.
Roofs, decks and siding: the fast outdoor jobs
- Roof: most New Jersey single-family houses are stripped, dried in and shingled in one day. Steep, big or rotten decks take two or three. We never leave a roof open overnight.
- Siding: five to ten days for a whole house, longer if rotten sheathing shows up behind the old vinyl.
- Windows: a crew does four to eight openings a day, so ten to fifteen windows is one to three days. The wait is build time — most vinyl replacement windows are made to your sizes in three to six weeks.
- Deck: three to five days of building for a 12x16. Footings get inspected before concrete and framing before decking, so a deck has two stop-and-wait points a roof doesn't.
- Weather: shingles need about 40°F to seal and concrete doesn't like a hard freeze. December through March, we build two weather days into the schedule.
How long does mold remediation take?
A small area under 10 square feet is a one-day job. A whole basement is two to five days of containment, removal and HEPA cleaning, plus two to three days of drying. Then comes the part people forget: you still have a basement with no drywall. Framing, insulation, drywall, paint and trim add one to three weeks.
Same after a flood or a burst pipe. Drying is fast. Putting the room back is the real schedule.
What actually makes a NJ job run late?
- Change orders. Picking a new tile in week two resets tile week. Decide before demo.
- Special-order material. One backordered vanity holds a finished bathroom hostage. We confirm everything is in the warehouse before we swing a hammer.
- What's behind the wall. Cast-iron drains, knob-and-tube wiring, rotten subfloor under a 1950s tub. Older Bergen and Essex County houses hide more. We open a small inspection hole before we quote, so it's priced, not discovered.
- Inspection scheduling. Most towns inspect within about three business days. Ask the day before you're ready, not the day after.
- Utility work. PSE&G, JCP&L, New Jersey Natural Gas, Elizabethtown Gas and South Jersey Gas run their own calendars for meter moves and service upgrades. That's the one clock no contractor controls — budget two to four weeks.
- Crews juggling five jobs. The biggest delay in this business is a contractor who starts your job, leaves for someone else's, and comes back Thursday. We run one crew with the same foreman on your house every day until it's done.
Is a "one-day bathroom" real?
Sort of, and you should know what you're buying. Those companies install an acrylic shell over your existing tub or shower walls, and the install really is a day. What it isn't is a remodel — no new plumbing, no new floor, no new layout, and the old surface stays underneath. If anything behind that wall is wet or rotten, a wrap seals the problem in.
A real tile shower takes five to nine working days because waterproofing and mortar have to cure. Anyone promising a tiled bathroom tomorrow is skipping a step.
Where these numbers come from
Timelines come from our own 2026 New Jersey job schedules; permit and review windows come from the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code and the municipal construction offices we file with; material lead times come from current supplier and manufacturer quotes. These are ranges, not promises — your house and your town set the final number, and we put your dates in writing before we start.
Questions people ask next
How long does a bathroom remodel take in NJ?
Two to three weeks on site for a standard 5x8 hall bath taken to the studs, and three to five weeks for a primary bath with a new layout. Add two to four weeks up front for design, ordering and the permit. Custom shower glass is measured after the tile, so it often arrives last.
How long does a roof replacement take?
One day for most New Jersey single-family homes — tear-off, decking repairs, underlayment and shingles between about 7am and dusk. Two to three days for large, steep or multi-layer roofs, or when rotten decking turns up. The roof is always watertight before the crew leaves each night.
How long does it take to get a building permit in New Jersey?
State rules give a town 20 business days to act on a complete application. In practice a water heater or furnace is same-week, a bathroom or kitchen one to two weeks, and an addition three to six weeks. Decks add zoning review on top. We file it, track it and meet the inspectors.
How long does it take to build a deck?
Three to five days of work for a typical 12x16 pressure-treated deck, or five to eight days for a large composite deck with stairs and railing. The calendar is longer: zoning approval plus a construction permit usually adds two to five weeks, and the footings must be inspected before concrete goes in.
Can you give me a firm finish date?
Yes. You get a written scope and an expected timeline before work begins, plus a photo update text every workday so you can see progress without asking. If something behind the wall changes the plan, you get photos and priced options — nothing gets added without your signature on a written change order.
Need a licensed contractor near you?
If you searched “licensed contractor near me” anywhere in New Jersey, that's us. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus and sends its own licensed crew to all 21 counties — written price before work starts, no deposit, a real person on the phone 24/7.
Want a real date for your project?
Free in-home consultation, a written itemized price on the spot, and a schedule you can plan around. See our general contracting page for everything we run in-house, start to finish.
Or call Alex direct: (201) 676-3099