I've been remodeling bathrooms in Northern New Jersey for 43 years. I've seen every timeline promise in the book.

"Five to seven days, start to finish."

"One-day bathroom transformation."

"Quick refresh, minimal disruption."

These timelines assume perfect conditions. They assume available materials. They assume zero surprises behind your walls.

That's not how bathroom remodels work in the real world.

Most homeowners in Northern New Jersey don't understand that their bathroom renovation will take twice as long as they originally thought. The permit process alone can turn what seems like a straightforward upgrade into something that drags on for months instead of weeks.

I'm going to walk you through what actually happens during a bathroom remodel. Week by week. Decision by decision. Including the parts most contractors don't mention until you're already committed.

The Timeline You See Online Skips the Hard Parts

Online estimates say five to seven days for a typical bathroom remodel. Some contractors advertise one-day transformations.

Here's what those timelines don't tell you:

They don't include permit approval time. In New Jersey, moving plumbing or electrical work requires permits. The application process takes one to two weeks for approval. Some towns take longer.

They don't account for material lead times. Custom fixtures, specialty tile, and glass shower enclosures often have longer lead times. If your vanity is backordered or your tile shipment arrives damaged, your project stops.

They don't plan for hidden problems. More than half of bathroom remodels go over budget because of unanticipated plumbing or structural expenses. Contractors find rot when they remove drywall. They find broken floor joists when they remove flooring. They find faulty plumbing pipes when they remove the bathtub.

Material delays represent the most common reason bathroom renovation projects extend beyond the original timeline.

You can't install tile if it hasn't arrived. You can't finish the shower if the glass enclosure is stuck in shipping. You can't complete the vanity installation if the countertop was cut to the wrong dimensions.

What Actually Happens: The Real Construction Timeline

I tell homeowners that construction averages 20 to 30 working days. The entire process from signed contract to final walkthrough runs six weeks to eight weeks.

That's not padding the timeline. That's reality.

For a shower-only remodel at Roeland Home Improvers, we can complete the bathroom in two days at the fastest. One day to take out. One day to put back. This makes sure our installers can do quality work and not stress a timeline.

Would you want a car that has been put together in eight hours? Probably not. I feel the same way about bathrooms. I want to do quality work that will last a lifetime.

For bigger bathrooms, we plan five to seven days. Once again, to ensure we do quality work.

Here's what happens during those days:

We demo down to the drywall. After demoing down to the drywall, we install waterproof drywall. This makes sure there are no possibilities of having bad drywall later.

Then we address the levelness of the floor. Drainage issues usually come from not having a fully level floor. We fix that before we even install the base.

After waterproof drywall, we install the tub (if you're doing a tub) or the base (if you're doing a shower base). Then we install the walls. Once the walls are installed, we install the shower enclosure. Shower enclosures can be anything from a simple curtain to a glass shower enclosure.

Water damage gets addressed when we take out everything from the original demo. We handle it then, not later.

Decisions that get made mid-project? None. Once our installers are there, they are there to finish the project. We have more jobs after yours, but the most important job is the one we're currently working on because that is what we are paid for.

The Permit Process Most Homeowners Don't See Coming

Many people jump into what they think will be a quick refresh. Halfway through the project, they find out that moving a fixture or updating the electrical work actually needs approval from the town first.

New Jersey's Uniform Construction Code requires permits for work on plumbing, electrical, and structural systems.

Many towns specifically list renovating bathrooms and kitchens as permit-required projects.

Most permit delays can be avoided by knowing which changes need approval before picking up a hammer. The application process is a manageable part of a remodel's timeline—often just a week or two for approval.

But here's where it gets tricky:

A bathroom remodel that moves plumbing lines has to wait for an inspection before closing up the walls. It might even pause again for a final inspection to close out the permit.

The most common culprits for delays are obtaining city permits and board approvals, especially when moving plumbing or electrical wiring.

You can't rush inspections. You can't skip them. You can't convince the building inspector to come on a Saturday because you have guests arriving next week.

Why "One-Day Bath" Companies Can Hit That Timeline (And Why We Won't)

A homeowner in Morris County asked me to match a quote for a one-day bathroom transformation. I said no.

One-day bath is usually done with an insert. We don't do any inserts. We only use high-quality materials because we don't want a bathroom to feel cheap like those one-day bathroom transformations usually do.

Here's what happens with those one-day installs:

They place an acrylic or plastic insert over your existing tub or shower base. They don't address the levelness of the floor underneath. They don't install waterproof drywall. They don't fix any water damage that might be hiding behind your walls.

They can complete the job in one day because they're not actually remodeling your bathroom. They're covering it up.

That works until it doesn't. Water finds a way. Mold grows behind the insert. The cheap materials crack or discolor within a few years.

I've been doing this for 43 years. I've seen what happens five years after a one-day transformation. I've seen the water damage. I've seen the callbacks. I've seen homeowners who paid twice—once for the quick fix, and once for the real remodel.

The Hidden Problems That Add Days or Weeks

You can plan the perfect bathroom remodel. You can order materials early. You can get permits approved ahead of time.

Then we remove the drywall and find rot.

There are many situations where bathrooms have leaky pipes, mold, rot, or dangerous electrical wiring that can't be seen right away.

Problems are usually covered up, resulting in unexpected repairs and delays.

Most consumers plan to spend between $10,000 and $25,000 on a bathroom remodel. More than half go slightly or significantly over their planned budget—often due to unanticipated plumbing or structural expenses.

There are signs that can lead us to anticipate water damage in our quotes. Soft spots in the floor. Discoloration on walls or ceilings below the bathroom. A musty smell. Grout that's cracked or missing.

But some damage hides well. You don't know the floor joists are compromised until you remove the old flooring. You don't know the drain line is corroded until you disconnect the old tub.

That's not a contractor trying to upsell you. That's the reality of working with older homes in Northern New Jersey.

What Happens When Materials Don't Arrive on Time

Custom finishes are not only more expensive. They usually have long lead times. If they aren't delivered in a timely manner, that can hold up progress.

It is quite common for delays to come about because of incorrect, missing, or damaged materials.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

Your custom vanity was supposed to arrive Tuesday. It arrives Thursday with the wrong countertop dimensions. Now we're waiting another week for the replacement.

Your specialty tile shipment arrives with three boxes of the wrong color. The distributor has to reorder. That's another two weeks.

Your glass shower enclosure arrives with a cracked panel. The manufacturer ships a replacement, but it's on backorder. That's another three weeks.

Each delay cascades. Our installers can't complete the vanity installation without the countertop. They can't finish the shower without the glass enclosure. The whole project sits in limbo while we wait for materials.

This is why I tell homeowners: The best time to start your bathroom remodel is now. You never know if material costs will increase or if lead times will get longer. With tariffs hitting bathroom vanities and material costs up 3.4% this year, waiting doesn't make financial sense.

Poor Planning Adds Days or Weeks You Don't Get Back

Bathroom remodeling happens in stages. If you don't plan ahead, you will encounter unnecessary delays.

Working without a timeline can disrupt the workflow and delay your bathroom remodel by days or even weeks.

Bathroom renovation delays frequently happen when planning is not thought through well enough. Most homeowners tend to start demolition before everything else is decided or planned. Teams get confused. Projects change. The calendar grows longer.

Here's what proper planning looks like:

We finalize all design decisions before we start demolition. That means you've selected your tile, your vanity, your fixtures, your shower enclosure. Everything.

We order materials with enough lead time that they arrive before we need them. We don't start demo and then order the vanity.

We schedule inspections in advance so we're not waiting three weeks for the building inspector to have an opening.

We communicate clearly about what happens each day. You know when to expect our installers. You know when the bathroom will be unusable. You know when the project will be complete.

This takes more time upfront. But it saves weeks on the back end.

What This Means for Your Northern NJ Bathroom Remodel

I'm not trying to discourage you from remodeling your bathroom. I've been doing this for 43 years because I love transforming spaces and helping homeowners create bathrooms that work beautifully for the next 20 years.

But I'm also not going to lie to you about timelines.

If a contractor promises a full bathroom remodel in five days with no contingencies, ask what they're skipping. If they advertise one-day transformations, ask if they're using inserts. If their timeline doesn't include permit approval or material lead times, ask what happens when those delays occur.

At Roeland Home Improvers, we give you realistic timelines from the start.

Two days for a shower-only remodel. Five to seven days for a full bathroom. Six weeks to three months for the entire process from planning to completion.

We use waterproof drywall. We address floor levelness before installing the base. We handle water damage when we find it. We don't use cheap inserts. We don't rush quality work to hit an arbitrary deadline.

Our installers have been with the company for over ten years. They know what they're doing. They take pride in their work. They're not scrambling to finish your bathroom in eight hours so they can move to the next job.

The sooner you get your bathroom done, the sooner you can enjoy it. But I'd rather you enjoy a bathroom that was done right than rush through a remodel that falls apart in five years.

That's the one principle that's guided 43 years of bathroom remodels in Northern New Jersey: Do the right thing, even when it takes longer.