When clients bid out jobs, they occasionally will get several quotes. It never ceases to amaze me how long competitors quote lead times for projects.

The last job we completed was a major renovation of a two-bedroom, two-bath condo. This renovation took us six weeks to complete. The competitive bid quoted FOUR MONTHS.

So why do many contractors quote unreasonably long construction times? The typical reason is that most contractors juggle multiple jobs, so that they land as much work as possible without losing potential jobs. For example, it might be that the entire crew shows up on the first day, with only 1-2 workers showing up the second day, none on Days 3 and 4, 1 on Day 5, and so forth. Business practices like these leave clients frustrated, with the work area in disarray over long periods of time.

Most of you know that Eagle River does not operate in this fashion. I schedule clients one at a time, putting the maximum number of workers on the project in order to complete it as quickly as possible. It’s the way that I want to be treated (…probably something I picked up while being raised in northern Indiana).

If all cabinetry, fixtures, and other construction materials are present at the beginning of the construction phase, then the following is a general rule of thumb for the time it takes for renovations:

Baths: 1-3 weeks, depending on the complexity
Kitchens: 3-5 weeks
Wood flooring installation: About 1 week, including removal of existing flooring

Of course, project timing depends on many factors, including materials selected, finishes, whether or not all fixtures are present at the time of construction, complexity and detail of the design, and the number of different subcontractors used.