Guide
Planning a renovation or new build in Bermuda
Nobody tells you the order things happen in until you're halfway through and discover you needed a surveyor two months ago. This is the order, who does each step, and where to find them.
It's a map, not advice — every job is different, and the people you hire will know the specifics. Nothing on this page comes from or is endorsed by the Government or the Department of Planning.
Get the design drawn up
Who: An architect, or for smaller jobs a draughtsman or building designer.
Almost everything downstream — the planning application, the contractor's quote, the trades' work — runs off a set of drawings. Getting these right first is what stops a renovation growing legs. An architect will also tell you early whether what you want is realistic on your lot and in your parish.
Know exactly what you've got
Who: A land surveyor for boundaries and site levels; a structural engineer if you're touching walls, roofs or foundations; a quantity surveyor if you want an independent cost estimate before you commit.
Bermuda lots are small and boundaries matter — a wall a foot over the line is a dispute, not a detail. A survey up front is cheap insurance, and Planning will usually want a site plan anyway.
Get planning permission
Who: The Department of Planning, Government of Bermuda.
Most building work in Bermuda needs planning approval before it starts, and a building permit before construction. Your architect normally prepares and lodges the application. What's needed, how long it takes and what it costs depend on the job and the zoning, so go by the Department's own guidance rather than anyone's estimate — including ours.
Choose who's building it
Who: A general contractor for the whole job, or a project manager if you'd rather coordinate the trades yourself.
Get more than one quote against the same drawings, ask what's excluded, and ask who's actually on site day to day. The trust checks on a profile here tell you what's been confirmed and what hasn't — read them.
The trades
Who: Electricians, plumbers, masons, roofers, carpenters, painters — usually brought in by the contractor, sometimes hired direct.
If you're managing the job yourself this is where the sequencing lives: masonry and structure, then roof, then first-fix electrical and plumbing, then finishes. Each trade below is a category with real Bermuda businesses in it.
The finish
Who: Flooring, windows and doors, kitchen and bath fitters, interior design, landscaping.
The bit you'll actually live with. Worth deciding early — lead times on windows, tile and fitted joinery in Bermuda can be long, and a contractor waiting on a delivery is a contractor you're paying to wait.
Not sure where to start?
Post the job once — say roughly what you want done and which parish — and businesses in the right trade can come to you. Free, no account needed.