How long will my construction project take?

If you did not ask this question, you might be the only customer on the planet. Even those that don’t ask are thinking it from the day they consider a remodel or are hit by an unfortunate disaster. We understand the driving force behind this question, and ourselves have had disasters in our own homes, and have also planned remodels. The force at work here is the immediateness of the discomfort. Everyday the incomplete work stares us in the face, the waiting for a schedule or an update invades the space in our mind that would rather be thinking of something else… anything else.

The cold-hard fact about a restoration project or remodel in our homes, is that it is like watching water boil. The longer and harder we stare at that pot of water the longer it takes to boil. This isn’t because it really takes longer to boil, rather our perception of time slows dramatically. The mere fact that something isn’t happening yet drives us crazy and it truly feels like it is taking forever. Yet if we walk away for a few minutes and forget about it low and behold when we come back the water at a raging boil.

It would be too simplistic to merely suggest that one walk away from the project and come back shortly after and viola it is done; however, it is not a bad idea to stop focusing on the damage and watching it until complete. Dealing with how long a construction project will take is a process of compartmentalization. We need to do a few key things at the beginning of the process.

Talk with our contractor and discuss a projected timeline for the project.
Accept the timeline; not hope it won’t take that long, but truly understand it most likely will and it could take longer.
Assist the contractor with access (Make it as easy as possible)
Make selections of materials in a timely manner
Do your best to not change the project along the way. Adding more work adds more time and cannot be considered part of the original timeline.

Like anything in life, dealing with an active construction project in your home is 90% mental. This is not suggesting that a contractor get a free pass to complete whenever they feel like it. Certainly not that they can communicate when or how often they choose; It is a general guideline to having a good relationship with your contractor, and to understand the less we watch the water the faster it will boil.