Guides
Choosing materials for a renovation
Materials are not chosen for a mood board. They are chosen in the order the programme needs them, and each one has a date.
The sequence of a renovation decides the sequence of your choices. Anything that has to be made to order — joinery, stone, some imported tiles — must be decided long before it appears, because production sits between the decision and the installation. Anything bought off the shelf can be decided later, but not after the substrate has been prepared around a different size.
Decision guides set out how to judge a quote, a programme or a contractor fairly, so the comparison is made on like-for-like information.
The practical way to manage it is a finish schedule: one list, with each item, its location, its lead time and the date by which it must be decided. It sounds bureaucratic and it saves an enormous amount of friction, because it turns "we still need to choose tiles" into a date that everyone can see.
What matters most on this page
Order follows the programme
Decide what has to be made first, then what has to be installed, then what is only a finish.
Lead time is part of the decision
An imported tile with a long lead time is a programme decision as much as a design one, and it should be taken first.
Approve samples, not screens
Colour, texture and batch vary. A physical sample under the room lighting is the only reliable approval.
What to decide and when
Before first fix
Sanitaryware, shower types, appliance models and anything that determines pipe, waste and cable positions.
Before finishes start
Tiles, stone, flooring, paint colours and joinery finishes. All of them affect the substrate and the sequence.
Late, but not too late
Light fittings, hardware and accessories can follow, provided the switching and fixing points were already decided.
Keep a finish schedule
One list, one owner
Every material, its location, its lead time and its decision date, with one person responsible for keeping it current.
Approve physical samples
Sign off a sample on site, in the room, before the order is placed.
Check what is in stock
Confirm availability at order rather than at installation, especially for tiles that may need a later top-up from the same batch.
Questions we are often asked
How early should tiles be chosen?
Before the floor and the substrate are prepared, so the build-up, the falls and the setting-out are designed around the tile rather than the other way round.
Does an imported tile take longer?
Usually — production and shipping sit between the order and the delivery. That has to be shown on the programme, not assumed.
Can materials be changed during the work?
Before the substrate is prepared, usually at a modest cost. Afterwards, the change costs the work that was already done around the previous choice.
Related guides
- How to choose a renovation contractorAnother decision worth settling at the same stage.
- How to compare renovation quotesAnother decision worth settling at the same stage.
- Renovation payment scheduleAnother decision worth settling at the same stage.
- Villa renovation costThe next question people ask about the same work.
browse the guides, or see all renovation and fit-out services. We work on homes and commercial premises across Dubai.
Tell us about the property
Tell us what you are deciding between and what you have been given so far. We will tell you what is worth checking next.
Phone
+971 56 181 0106Good for talking a job through and arranging a visit.
WhatsApp
Send a messageUseful for photographs, floor plans and measurements.
Next step
Build a finish schedule with us
Tell us the rooms and the look you want. We will set out the decisions in the order the work needs them.