I enjoy home improvement television shows as much as the next guy, but the one thing I cannot stand is unrealistic or misleading timelines.
When viewers watch major projects being completed in days or weeks, it makes my job much more difficult. It just doesn’t happen that way. The episode is edited to make the project appear to take less time than it did in reality, or even worse, it WAS completed in days and the quality of the finished project is just plain garbage.
In reality, a major renovation project takes months to complete. The average project at Fivecat Studio takes 4 to 6 months to complete the design process (schematic design through construction documents ready for bidding) and another 6 to 8 months to complete the actual construction. I advise our clients to plan on dedicating a full year to their renovation project.
During the design process we take years of our clients’ ideas, hopes and dreams and focus them down to one cohesive concept. Then we develop that concept into a design, which must meet all applicable zoning and building codes.
Then, once the design is complete, we detail the finish work and add information describing the structural, mechanical and electrical requirements. We add notes, dimensions and prepare a set of drawings that eventually become legal contract documents used to prepare bid proposals and ultimately build the project.
We literally make thousands of decisions throughout the process.
So next time you’re watching HGTV or Extreme Home Makeover, remember how much time it really took to plan and execute that fabulous family room, that incredible kitchen and that beautiful bedroom.
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