Why nine weeks matters more than 5% on the rate
Take a family renting at ₹32,000 a month while their new flat is done. A nine-week programme costs them about ₹74,000 in rent. A twenty-week programme, which is what a self-coordinated job on a walk-up building routinely becomes, costs ₹1.65 lakh — a difference of ₹91,000 on a ₹16 lakh project. That is close to six per cent of the contract value, and it comfortably exceeds any saving available by hiring trades separately. Speed on a small flat is not a luxury; it is the main economic argument for a single contract, and it is why we publish a programme with dates at quotation stage rather than a duration.
| Week | What happens | What the client does |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Survey, drawings signed, society file lodged, all material ordered | One two-hour session |
| 1 – 2 | Demolition, debris out, rewire, plumbing, waterproofing | Nothing |
| 3 – 4 | Ceiling, first-fix electrical, tiling, bathroom | One session for fittings |
| 5 – 6 | Joinery installed, kitchen carcass, counter templated | Nothing |
| 7 – 8 | Shutters, hardware, counter fitted, painting, light fittings | One session for paint and soft goods |
| 9 | Snagging, deep clean, handover file, deposit recovery | Walk the snag list with us |
Nine weeks, published as dates, not as a duration
Worked example: 700 sq ft two-bedroom, Borivali West
A 1981 four-storey building, third floor, no lift, bought from an owner who had not renovated in decades. Family renting nearby until handover.
| Scope | ₹ lakh | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Design, drawings and the society file | 0.55 | Full set; NOC with a marked demolition drawing and crew list |
| Civil work and full rewire | 1.46 | Aluminium wiring replaced; masonry cupboards removed |
| Joinery | 6.82 | Wardrobes in both bedrooms, lofts, TV unit, entry storage |
| Modular kitchen | 2.37 | 9 running feet, granite counter, loft above |
| False ceiling and lighting | 1.16 | Cove in the living room; surface fittings elsewhere |
| Electrical fittings and points | 0.73 | 26 points, new DB, dedicated AC circuits |
| Painting | 0.83 | Full flat, two accent walls |
| One bathroom, fully rebuilt | 0.75 | Waterproofing re-laid; the original membrane had failed |
| Soft furnishing and loose pieces | 0.91 | Blinds, curtains, bed frames |
| Debris, festival-calendar planning and handover clean | 0.49 | Pre-dawn delivery slots; programme around society closures |
| Project management | 0.12 | Nine-week fixed programme, single point of contact |
| Total, ex-GST | 16.19 | ₹2,313 per sq ft carpet |
Add 18% GST. The rewire is not optional in this stock, and doing it in week one rather than discovering it in week five is most of why the programme holds. The rate band on this page is drawn from compact-flat contracts Greenbox has completed and invoiced, held at October 2026.
Three things that keep the programme to nine weeks
- Everything is ordered in week zero. Ply, hardware, tiles, sanitaryware, the counter stone and the light fittings are all ordered before demolition starts. The commonest cause of a stalled small project is a three-week wait for a tile that was selected in week six.
- The stair carry is sequenced, not improvised. In a walk-up, only so much can go up in a day and it has to go up in the right order. Flat-packed carcass before shutters, counter pieces after the carcass is set, nothing large after the ceiling is closed. We plan the carry schedule alongside the works programme.
- The society's calendar is in the programme. Several Borivali buildings suspend construction during Paryushan and Ganeshotsav. Those dates are known a year in advance, and a nine-week programme that runs straight through one of them was never a nine-week programme.
Living in it, or not
About a third of our Borivali clients live in the flat while it is renovated, usually because the alternative rent is what they are trying to avoid. It is workable on a compact flat and it changes the programme: bedrooms are done one at a time so the family always has one, the kitchen goes out for twelve days with a temporary cooking point set up elsewhere, and the bathroom rebuild is timed for a week when they can use a relative's flat nearby. It adds two to three weeks overall. We will tell you honestly which is cheaper for your situation — on a 700 square foot flat with one bathroom, moving out for nine weeks is usually both cheaper and considerably less unpleasant than staying for twelve.
A word on what the turnkey premium buys on a small flat specifically. It is 9 to 12% over a self-managed job, and on a ₹16 lakh contract that is around ₹1.6 lakh. For that you get the design and drawings, the coordination of six trades in a nine-week sequence, the society file and deposit recovery, protection, debris, snagging, a deep clean and one warranty with one number to call. On a large flat that is a convenience. On a compact flat where the whole project is nine weeks, it is the reason the nine weeks happen at all.
For the suburb as a whole, see interior designers in Borivali. For the contract structure, payment stages and warranty, see turnkey interior contractors in Mumbai.
Turnkey delivery by Greenbox Design Studio.
Frequently asked questions
Can a 700 square foot flat really be done in nine weeks?+
Yes, if everything is ordered in week zero and the stair carry is sequenced. The same flat under five separate contracts routinely takes four to five months, mostly waiting: for a tile chosen late, for a carpenter who is on another job, for a painter who cannot start until the electrician finishes. One contract removes the waiting, not the work.
Is a fast programme more expensive?+
No. It is the same work in a tighter sequence, and it saves you rent. On a family paying ₹32,000 a month elsewhere, eleven weeks saved is ₹91,000 — around six per cent of a typical contract here, which exceeds anything available by splitting the trades.
Does a walk-up building slow the programme?+
By two to three days, if the carry is planned. Only so much goes up a stair in a day and it has to go up in the right order — flat-packed carcass before shutters, counter pieces after the carcass is set, nothing large once the ceiling is closed. Unplanned, it can cost a fortnight.
Should we live in the flat during the work?+
On a 700 square foot flat with one bathroom, usually not. It adds two to three weeks and the twelve days without a kitchen and the week without a bathroom are genuinely difficult. Where the alternative rent is high we will plan it room by room, but we will tell you which option actually costs less.
Do you plan around Paryushan and Ganeshotsav?+
Yes, and we put the dates in the programme at quotation stage. Several societies here suspend all construction during those periods. A nine-week programme that runs straight through one of them was never a nine-week programme, and finding that out in week five is nobody's idea of a good conversation.