By Corey Philip // Aug 15, 2023

Generally speaking, most of our competitors are straight forward, honest companies when it comes to things like the materials they’ll be using and needs of their clients.  They’ll genuinely tell you what they intend to do, and help you get the materials and other choices figured out.  When it comes to the timeline of the project, things get a little twisted.  Obviously, every consumer wants their project done as soon as possible… the sooner, the better.

(this post applies to projects that require a permit)

How long is this project going to take?

This is a question that every contractor gets, but many don’t answer honestly.  Knowing that the shorter timeline, is going to appeal to that instant gratification need, most sales people REALLY round down the time line.  The timeline we frequently here promised is 4 weeks.  That is, 4 weeks from the time a deposit is given, until the project is fully complete.  The 4 week timeline sure sounds great, but having completed hundreds of projects in the last couple years,  I’ve never seen a project go from deposit, through permitting, to completion in just 4 weeks.

After The Deposit Is Given

Unfortunately for the consumer who was swayed by the short 4 week timeline, once the contract is signed and the deposit is given, the story of the 4 week timeline changes quickly.  The story suddenly becomes “that was 4 weeks AFTER the permit was issued”.  That was a big detail left out.  I’ve seen this exact scenario play out time and time again as we frequently hear from customers calling for our help after their contractor is taking waaaaay longer than their extremely short timeline.  As I mention above there are some administrative & planning steps that must occur before we can even apply for the permit, then we have to wait on the permit to be approved or rejected (and then corrected).  The truth is, no one can guarantee how long it will take to get the permit.

Realistic Time For Screen Enclosure & Patio Projects

When we get asked the question “how long is this project going to take?”,  we always respond with a realistic time-frame, that truly reflects how long the administrative processes that must occur before we break ground, and then the physical scope of work will take.   Our answer is usually something to the effect “well it will probably take us around two months to get the permit, engineering, siteplan, and then … (however long we estimate for the rest of the project)”.   This is a realistic estimate of the time it will be from the date of deposit, until the structure is complete.  Although our initial estimated time-frame is often longer than our competitors, we ultimately find that our we complete our projects as we work diligently to get your project approved and completed.

For more information on the permitting process and timelines, I suggest ready the following posts:

Corey Philip

About the author

Corey began working on screen enclosures as a teenager in 2004 after hurricane Charley devastated his home town of Punta Gorda. 7 years later, after holding positions from foreman, to sales, to project manager, while attending college at Florida Gulf Coast University, Corey and childhood friend Thomas Davis founded Gulf Coast Aluminum in 2011. With a focus on delivering an unparrelled level of service, the company has grown by leaps and bounds under their leadership. Today you’ll find Corey answering the phones In his free time Corey likes training for triathlons, running the trails at Ding Darling park on Sanibel Island, and of course, working on growing Gulf Coast Aluminum.