If you’ve been in this business long enough, you’ve experienced a ‘time frame objection’. The client who’s surprised that their project will take a month to complete, or my favorite, the ‘builder’ who says, (without context) “I could have had this done in a week!” Last week, we spent an exorbitant amount of time repairing floors and walls and simply getting a space ready for tile. It’s easy to understand how an uninformed eye can think you’re playing games.
On average, a bathroom remodel will take upwards of one month to complete. That means demolition of the old space, fixing old framing and getting it ready to support the load of tile, plumbing, prepping the area with high quality material to ensure a lasting install, flood testing, installing tile, grouting and siliconing. At that point a plumber does the finish stuff, the glass guy comes in and templates, there is probably some granite to install, painting, drywall, and usually the glass install to wrap everything up. That doesn’t include the time involved in picking out what you want and getting it to the job, along with seemingly endless pre-construction planning!
Needless to say, there are a lot of moving parts. We empathize with our customers in regard to having their bathroom out of commission. It can be a real drag! When I run into a “time frame objection” first, I like to express that I fully understand the hassle, then I’ll re-frame the negative by using this example to turn on a person’s rational brain:
Anything that takes a long time to develop is more advanced than something that takes a short time to develop.
Yes, another ‘builder’ could have all that work done in a week, but what corners is he cutting, what steps is he skipping, to get it done?
Let’s take the example of a human compared to a dog. My wife is pregnant, so this is particularly relevant to me. A dog’s gestation period is anywhere between 58-68 days. My wife’s is 108 days. (Generally) That is a considerable difference in bake time! What will be more advanced, a human baby or a puppy?
The Sunday comic ‘Dilbert’ created by Scott Adams can be put together in a week. A story, characters drawn, everything. It’s certainly art. Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel, the majesty, the beauty of that painting, It took four years to paint. Also art, what is more advanced?
So, this helps me illustrate how we’re all dealing in building bathrooms, but one bathroom is better and more advanced than another based upon the time frame it takes to build it and the difference between a craftsman mindset and a volume/production mindset. When a couple days pass and it seems like nothing is getting done, we’re not twiddling our thumbs, we’re accounting for a level of detail far beyond what the other guy is going to do.
The fastest bathroom remodel would be a plastic surround. So, if you’re thinking about speed to finish, that is a great option. In and out in a couple days. Tile takes deliberate planning and careful execution to pull off. More than half the work is going to be behind the tile and no one will see it.
When you’re having your bathroom done think of these examples. Will you get a dog or a beautiful new baby boy or girl. Will you get the ‘Dilbert’ cartoon or the Sistine chapel? Something to contemplate when you’re going down the homestretch into a brand new high end bathroom!