Home improvement TV shows are like fairy tales: the homeowner finds the perfect contractor who is handsome and rich with an entourage of producers, workers, freebie sponsors, designers, and a makeup artist; the remodeling job takes a week and costs $30,000, and the owner lives happily ever after in a dream castle.
But just like fairy tales, makeover shows have background writers who create fictional stories.
The truth is that the owner has very little idea of what he wants and changes the design several times, which adds to the time and cost of the project; materials and labor really do cost money; And because we live in the real world, the remodeling job takes time.
There’s no question that home improvement shows can stimulate the creative process, give us good ideas, and help us keep up with the latest trends, but they also paint a picture (no pun intended) that’s unrealistic.
Here are some key points to consider:
A distorted view of time.
1. When interviewed, some home improvement producers admitted to adjusting schedules and using creative license to keep the show entertaining. In other words, a week-long remodeling project happens only on TV. Don’t forget this is show business. The time lapse is not real. The framing in the concrete that was poured just an hour ago, didn’t actually happen. The concrete was given adequate time to cure before building on it, anywhere from 1 to 3 days, a fact conveniently omitted from the story. This is just one example of how the duration of the remodeling project shown on TV belongs to a story with Prince Charming. The real life schedule is more like a frog that remains a frog even when kissed.
2. The team that appears on camera is usually only a fraction of the total number of people working on the project. For every person the viewer sees, another 5 are working day and night. It’s not uncommon for 15 hours of work to translate into a five minute segment giving the viewer the misconception that the remodel is going too fast.
3. A meeting between the homeowner and the television contractor, presented as a 15-second scene, is shot in 30 takes to make it look good. In real life, those meetings take time and especially if the owner doesn’t have a clear vision of what the final product is supposed to look like.
4. TV shows don’t show the time it takes to get permits, perform inspections, and the time it takes to purchase special materials and build custom items like kitchen cabinets.
TV budgets are not real life budgets
1. To make work faster, it is common to use cheaper materials. For example, hardwood floors will be sacrificed for laminate. But when remodeling the home, one must carefully consider the quality of the materials used, especially if the homeowner plans for the remodel to last.
2. Sponsors will provide free or discounted materials and some contractors will slash their fee, or even work for free, to get free publicity. This alone gives an unrealistic idea of the actual budget needed for a remodel.
In short, home improvement TV shows like fairy tales are fun and entertaining, but when remodeling your home, it is recommended to approach it with realistic expectations. Going into the project thinking it’s all songbirds and gentle dwarfs could end up in the clutches of the Evil Queen, aka Big Disappointment.
