What to Expect During a Home Renovation in Oakland County, Michigan

If you've never been through a home renovation before, the uncertainty of it can feel almost as daunting as the project itself. Will your home be a construction zone for months? Do you need to move out? Will the finished result actually look like what you approved in the design phase?

These are the questions we hear from homeowners in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Rochester Hills, Beverly Hills, and throughout Oakland County before almost every project we take on. And they're completely valid questions — because the remodeling industry has a well-earned reputation for surprises, delays, and results that don't match the original vision.

At Costello & Co, we've built our entire process around preventing exactly that. As a women-owned design-build firm based in Birmingham, we manage design and construction under one roof — which means the people who design your space are the same people who build it. One team, one point of accountability, and a process designed to give you clarity at every phase.

Here's what that process actually looks like — from the first conversation to the final walkthrough.

Phase 1 of Your Home Renovation — Discovery & Design

Every project at Costello & Co begins with listening, not drawing.

Before we talk about materials, layouts, or budgets, we want to understand how you actually live in your home. What's working? What isn't? What does a Tuesday morning in your kitchen feel like right now, and what do you want it to feel like when we're done?

For homeowners in Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham, where homes are often larger and more architecturally varied, this conversation can be nuanced. A colonial with a closed-off kitchen and a ranch home with an open floor plan present completely different design opportunities and constraints. We approach each one with fresh eyes rather than a standard template.

Once we understand your goals, we move into design development — layout options, material selections, cabinetry configurations, countertop choices, tile, lighting, fixtures. Every decision that affects your project gets made during this phase, not during construction. That's intentional and it matters more than most homeowners realize.

The design phase for a kitchen remodel in Oakland County typically runs 5–8 weeks. For a bathroom renovation, 4–6 weeks. For a whole home renovation — the kind we complete regularly in Beverly Hills and Bloomfield Hills — it can run 8–12 weeks or longer depending on scope.

The most important thing to know about the design phase: the more decisions you lock in here, the smoother everything that follows will be. A tile selection changed after ordering adds weeks to your timeline and cost to your budget. A tile selection made thoughtfully during design costs nothing to change.

We don't rush this phase. It's the foundation everything else is built on.

Phase 2 — Pre-Construction

BEFORE| Kitchen Remodel | Beverly Hills, Michigan

Once your design is approved and every selection has been finalized, we move into pre-construction — the phase that happens before anyone sets foot in your home with tools.

This is when we order materials, pull permits, schedule trades, and lock in your construction start date. For Oakland County homeowners in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Rochester Hills, and Royal Oak, permitting typically takes 1–3 weeks depending on the municipality and scope of work. Custom cabinetry has lead times of 6–10 weeks from order to delivery. Specialty tile and imported materials can take 4–8 weeks.

We flag all of this during design so there are no surprises. You'll know your construction start date, your estimated completion date, and the sequencing of every phase before we break ground.

Pre-construction typically runs 3–5 weeks for a focused kitchen or bathroom project. For larger scopes involving multiple rooms or whole home renovations, it can run 4–8 weeks.

Nothing moves to construction until materials are confirmed, permits are in hand, and the schedule is set. This is one of the specific advantages of the design-build model — our design team and construction manager work together throughout pre-construction, so there are no handoffs or communication gaps between phases.

Phase 3 — Demolition & Rough Work

This is the phase that looks the most alarming and means the most progress.

DURING CONSTRUCTION

Demo day is when your project becomes real — and when your home temporarily becomes a job site. Walls come down, old cabinetry gets removed, flooring comes up. For homeowners in older Rochester Hills and Birmingham homes where original

plumbing and electrical haven't been updated in decades, demo is also when we discover what's behind the walls.

This is where older Oakland County homes — many built between the 1950s and 1980s — occasionally present surprises. Outdated plumbing that needs replacement. Electrical that doesn't meet current code. Water damage behind original tile that was invisible before demolition. We've seen all of it, and we handle it transparently — communicating what we found, what it means, and what it costs before any additional work proceeds.

After demo, we move into rough work — plumbing, electrical, and HVAC reconfigured to match your new design. This is the unsexy, behind-the- scenes phase that you'll never see in the finished photos. It's also the phase that determines whether your renovation performs correctly for the next 30 years. We take it as seriously as the finish work.

Phase 4 — Inspections

Before any walls close or tile gets installed, we schedule all required inspections — plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and building inspections as required by your municipality.

For homeowners in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Beverly Hills, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, and throughout Oakland County, permitting and inspection requirements vary slightly by city. We manage this entirely — scheduling inspections, coordinating with inspectors, and handling any corrections required before moving forward.

Inspections exist to protect you. They ensure that the work hidden inside your walls is done correctly and to code before it's covered permanently. A renovation that skips or bypasses inspections is a renovation that may create serious problems at resale, during insurance claims, or simply through failure over time. We don't skip them, and we don't work with clients who want us to.

Phase 5 — Drywall, Tile & Cabinetry

This is when the transformation becomes visible — and when most homeowners start to feel the project turning a corner.

Walls go up. Tile gets installed. Cabinetry begins arriving and going in. The shape of your new space emerges from what was, until recently, a collection of studs and rough plumbing.

For Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills projects involving specialty finishes — custom microcement, hand-applied plaster, Venetian plaster, limewash walls, natural stone tile — this phase requires skilled applicators and careful sequencing. These aren't finishes that can be rushed, and the quality of the application shows in the finished product. Our specialty finishing work is done through Costello & Customs, our dedicated finishing division, by tradespeople who do this work specifically and continuously.

Tile setting is one of the most skill-dependent phases of any kitchen or bathroom renovation. Large-format tile, natural stone, complex patterns, and wet area installations all require precision that separates excellent work from acceptable work.

We've completed tile installations throughout Beverly Hills, Royal Oak, Ferndale, and across Oakland County that become the most commented-on element of the finished space. That standard doesn't happen by accident.

Phase 6 — Fixtures, Lighting & Finish Work

The project is close. This phase installs everything that makes the space feel finished and functional — plumbing fixtures, cabinet hardware, lighting, appliances, mirrors, towel bars, and the hundred small details that define how a completed renovation feels to live in.

This is also when paint goes on — final colors, touch-ups, and the ceilings and trim that tie everything together. For Rochester Hills and Birmingham homes with original millwork and architectural details, this phase requires particular care to ensure new work integrates seamlessly with existing elements.

Quality control happens throughout this phase. We walk the space regularly, identify anything that needs correction, and address it before the final walkthrough — not after. Our standard is a finished project you walk into and can't find a punch list item. We don't always hit that exactly, but it's what we're working toward on every project.

Phase 7 — Final Walkthrough & Completion

AFTER | THE BEAUTIFUL RESULTS

You made it.

When construction is complete, we schedule a final walkthrough — just you and our team, going through every inch of the finished space together. Every surface, every fixture, every detail. If anything needs attention, we note it and address it before the project is officially closed.

For homeowners in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, and Beverly Hills who've been living through weeks of construction, this walkthrough is often emotional. The space you've been imagining through design phases and material selections and construction noise is finally there — real and finished and yours.

We schedule a professional deep clean after construction and, for clients who are open to it, photography by Shelby Dubin Photography to document the finished space. These photos become part of your portfolio record and, with your permission, part of ours.

How Long Does a Renovation Actually Take?

This is the question Oakland County homeowners ask most frequently — and the one that's hardest to answer without knowing your specific project.

Here are realistic timelines for common project types in our market:

Kitchen Refresh (Birmingham, Royal Oak, Ferndale): Design: 3–5 weeks | Pre-construction: 2–3 weeks | Construction: 4–8 weeks Total: 9–16 weeks from first conversation to completion

Mid-Range Kitchen Remodel (Bloomfield Hills, Beverly Hills, Rochester Hills): Design: 5–8 weeks | Pre-construction: 3–4 weeks | Construction: 8–14 weeks Total: 16–26 weeks from first conversation to completion

Primary Suite Bathroom Renovation (Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills): Design: 5–8 weeks | Pre-construction: 3–4 weeks | Construction: 8–14 weeks Total: 16–26 weeks from first conversation to completion

Whole Home Renovation (Beverly Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham): Design: 8–12 weeks | Pre-construction: 4–6 weeks | Construction: 16–30+ weeks Total: 28–48+ weeks depending on scope

The single most common source of timeline frustration in the remodeling industry is underestimated lead times during pre-construction. Custom cabinetry takes 6–10 weeks from order to delivery. That time has to be planned for — not discovered mid-project. We plan for it from day one.

Living Through Your Renovation

Most Oakland County homeowners in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Rochester Hills, and Beverly Hills live in their homes during renovation. For a kitchen remodel, this means setting up a temporary kitchen in another room — a microwave, mini fridge, and hotplate go a long way. For a bathroom renovation, it means identifying which bathroom you'll use during construction and making sure it's stocked and ready before demo begins.

The homeowners who have the smoothest experience during construction are the ones who prepare their living situation before the project starts, not on the first day workers arrive. Set up your temporary kitchen before demo day. Talk to your kids about what's happening. Have a plan for your pets during work hours.

We also want to be honest about something most contractors don't say: frequent interruptions to the crew during working hours are one of the most consistent sources of project delays. A tiler who is stopped every 45 minutes to answer questions or show progress loses their flow and sets fewer tiles. We encourage daily check-ins with your project manager at the end of each workday rather than checking in continuously throughout. Your project manager is your single point of contact — bring your questions and concerns to them rather than to individual workers.

Ready to Start?

If you're planning a kitchen remodel, bathroom renovation, or whole home transformation in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Beverly Hills, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Ferndale, Troy, or anywhere in Oakland County — we'd love to start the conversation.

A 15-minute discovery call is all it takes to understand what's realistic for your home, your timeline, and your budget.

Schedule a Free Discovery Call → or call us at (248) 242-5790

And if you haven't downloaded our free 2026 Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling Cost Guide — it includes a complete phase-by-phase cost breakdown and timeline for every major project type in Oakland County.

Download the Free Cost Guide →

Costello & Co Construction is a licensed, women-owned design-build firm headquartered in Birmingham, Michigan — serving homeowners throughout Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Beverly Hills, West Bloomfield, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Ferndale, Troy, Oakland Township, and the greater Oakland County and Metro Detroit area.