Interior finishes scheduling on multifamily projects is where most project schedules lose time. The individual finishes trades are each aware of their own predecessor conditions. The cabinet sub knows they need drywall and paint before they can install. The countertop sub knows they need cabinets before they can template. What often gets missed is that the trades need to be sequenced correctly against each other, with appropriate durations and predecessor linkages built into the master schedule from the beginning.
When interior finishes scheduling is built backward from the projected occupancy date without accurate duration assumptions and without the predecessor conditions modeled correctly, the schedule works on paper but not in the field. The superintendent discovers that the flooring crew cannot mobilize because cabinets are still being installed, or that the countertop sub cannot template because the cabinet sub scheduled delivery three days after paint completion instead of same-day.
Predecessor conditions by trade
Building the correct predecessor conditions into the master schedule is the most important scheduling step for interior finishes. Every finishes trade has specific conditions that must be true before they can mobilize.
Division 6 cabinets. Predecessor: drywall complete, prime coat of paint applied on the floor to be delivered to. If base trim is installed before cabinets, confirm whether the trim or cabinet installation sequence produces a better result for the specific unit design. In most cases, cabinets before base trim reduces the chance of trim damage during cabinet installation.
Division 12 countertops. Predecessor: cabinet installation complete on the floor being templated. Duration from template to delivery: add ten to fourteen days for quartz fabrication plus two to three days for delivery scheduling. If the schedule cannot accommodate this duration between cabinet completion and the floor completion milestone, the countertop fabrication needs to start earlier, which requires either pre-templating an earlier floor’s dimensions or accepting schedule compression.
Division 9 flooring. Predecessor: cabinet installation complete (LVP should not precede cabinets), substrate inspection and moisture testing complete, paint prime coat applied. Duration: LVP installation in a standard residential unit runs two to four hours per unit for an experienced crew. On a thirty-unit floor with two crews, flooring takes three to five days.
Division 10 accessories. Predecessor: paint complete (all coats), flooring complete in the unit. Duration: accessories in a standard residential unit typically run one to two hours per unit depending on the accessory count.
Division 11 window treatments. Predecessor: paint complete (all coats), flooring complete. Duration: measurement and order must precede delivery by the product’s lead time, typically one to two weeks for standard products. Installation after delivery: two to four hours per unit depending on window count and product type.
Division 8 shower doors and mirrors. Predecessor for shower doors: tile complete and grouted in the shower. Predecessor for vanity mirrors: cabinet installation complete. Duration from shower door measurement to delivery: two to three weeks for standard frameless and semi-frameless. Mirror delivery is typically one to two weeks.
The critical path through interior finishes
The critical path through interior finishes on a multifamily floor runs: drywall and prime coat complete, cabinet delivery and installation (three to five days on a thirty-unit floor), countertop template (same day as cabinet completion), countertop fabrication (ten to fourteen days), countertop delivery and installation (one day after delivery), plumbing trim-out (one to two days after countertop installation), floor completion.
The countertop fabrication period is the longest fixed-duration item in the interior finishes critical path. Every day of delay in template measurement extends the floor completion date by one day. Every day of delay in cabinet installation extends the template date by one day, which extends the floor completion date by one day.
The schedule should model this chain explicitly, with a finish-to-start predecessor between cabinet completion and countertop template, a fixed duration of ten to fourteen days for countertop fabrication, and a finish-to-start predecessor between countertop installation and plumbing trim-out.
Duration assumptions for scheduling
Production duration assumptions for interior finishes vary by project scale, unit type complexity, and crew size. Reasonable baseline assumptions for a thirty-unit standard residential floor with an experienced finishes sub:
Cabinet installation: four to six days for a full floor including all unit types, with two installation crews. Countertop template: one day for a full floor (all units of all types). Countertop fabrication: ten to fourteen days, non-compressible. Flooring installation: three to five days for a full floor with two crews. Accessories installation: two to three days for a full floor. Window treatment installation: two to three days for a full floor after delivery. Shower door installation: two days after tile is confirmed complete.
These durations assume the predecessor conditions are met at the start of each trade’s work. A floor where cabinets are delivered to five units at a time over a ten-day period rather than delivered to the full floor before installation begins extends the total cabinet duration and delays the countertop template date.
How Innergy provides scheduling input
On Innergy projects, we provide scheduling input at the preconstruction meeting: our duration assumptions by trade for the specific project’s unit type and floor count, the predecessor conditions we require before mobilizing each trade, and our countertop template-to-delivery lead time for the specific product being installed. This information allows the GC’s scheduler to build a realistic interior finishes schedule before the project starts rather than discovering scheduling problems when the first floor is ready for finishes.
For GCs in TX, WA, OR, CO, UT, or NM who want to discuss interior finishes scheduling input for a specific project, contact us and we respond within one business day.
The scheduling input Innergy provides at pre-construction, duration assumptions, predecessor conditions, and countertop fabrication lead times, costs nothing and is available before the master schedule is finalized. GCs who build interior finishes schedules without this input discover the schedule variances in the field, where they cost time and money. GCs who build the schedule with accurate finishes input discover them on paper, where they cost a schedule revision.