There are two key pieces to know about timing: how soon the contractor can start your project, and how quickly the plans, permitting and material selections can be completed. If this is your first call to a pro, it may be months before the plans and permits will be ready since you haven’t interviewed a design professional yet.If you have plans in hand for anything bigger than a bathroom, it will probably be a month or two — or longer — before you have selected a contractor, received pricing, signed a contract and construction can begin. This is a good time to talk with the contractor about the length of the planning process and the firm’s current work backlog