I'm not sure I want to think about it. I've done 7 hrs some Saturdays, and this has gone on since November. I don't regret the kitchen stuff. I would say that most of my KITCHEN research has been productive, even in researching things I ruled out, because I now have piece of mind.

BUT - My kitchen is part of a whole-house renovation loan that was REQUIRED by FHA guidelines for the mortgage, though, so we can always count those non-productive hours on the phone with the bank. They actually have a line that has no voicemail, but only gets picked up about 5% of the time. Fun stuff.

Better more research BEFORE the project than research to fix problems AFTER the project is underway. I've probably talked to 500 people (no joke, no exaggeration) in the past two months in an effort to FIX my project.

Yes, there is a lot of time wasted talking to people who are dead ends, but that it part of the process.

If I had to make a guess, I'd say easily a thousand hours. I count the research on things I've decided against, too, because it was a part of my weeding out choices. Choosing a sink took forever! And the faucet. And the countertop. Choosing each thing was a project. Going into this, I wasn't aware of the GW forum but thankfully I found it before I had gone very far. If you want to count those hours, well, good luck! Imagine how much time would have been involved without internet access! And I wonder what my kitchen plan would have been without all the options I had to investigate. Certainly cheaper! I would have replaced my cabinet footprint with new oak cabinets just like I had 45 years ago. And little would I have known where/how to buy a farm sink! I hated my double bowl but had no idea single bowl sinks were available new. I had an old single bowl w/drainboard way back then and hated it beyond words because it wasn't modern. I've come full circle.

I use web site "contact us" buttons all the time because I know I'll get an answer the next day. IF I call, I might not get the right person answering. And the multiple choice phone answering machines you get on every 800 number you try is too time consuming. Better to shoot them an email and move on to something else while I wait for an answer. And I have the answer in writing so I can reread it as many times as it takes!

You can over-research things and drive yourself crazy. Sometimes you just have to say "What the f*ck" and make a decision!

Oh my. I don't want to add it up. On and off for five years, then over the last year 3 to 5 hours per night? Plus ocassioanlly at work over lunch. Then the zillion trips to various stores. But it IS a lot of money and we only plan on doing this once.

Probably over a thousand now. There is no way to count.

Not to cause you to research more, but have you heard about the new Electrolux slide-in induction range (available in March)? It costs quite a bit more than the GE, but it looks awesome and has some great features.

Here is a link that might be useful: electrolux induction range

Absolutely countess. Been researching for 3 years now. Any appliance place, cabinet store, or flooring store I've gone into I've known more then the salespeople.

Pudgybaby, I saw that info but I was looking for a freestanding rather than a slidein.

Agree about the pulls. It's so hard to find the right one, and I already have basket of rejects.

Oh, I'm easily at 500 hours. But what I love is that once I arrive at a decision, there is no revisiting. It's just done. I probably spent the most time on: (1) cabinet layout, (2) backsplash selection, (3) countertop selection.

What's funny is that there are certain things that I couldn't care less about. Case in point: the faucet. We just went to Lowe's and I picked out one that looked modern and had a stainless tone that worked with the appliances. Five minutes. Done.

Second case in point: fridge and range. I'm not too persnickety, other than I wanted gas, and french door with no ice/water through the door for the fridge. We looked for a couple weekends, but were in no hurry. DH stopped at a Sears that was closing and called me while I was out of town on business. It was a super close-out deal too good to pass up. I OK'd it over the phone, sight unseen. They're Kitchen Aid and I love them.

Agreed with previous posters - very hard to determine. Began the process in ernest in August and very intensely since November as I wanted to have everything lined up to go by mid February. Recently took a major step back since I thought I had my cabinet maker and when we got into the process, he does mostly framed and I think I now want frameless. Every night I spend hours online on this forum and researching products, went to cooking demo's for Miele and Wolf, met with over 10 cabinet companies and got quotes from about 7, visited every wholesaler of granite in Massachusetts and one in NH and one in CT, met and talked with several granite fabricators,and god only knows what else. Easily 30 hours a week since November,times 15 weeks is 450 hrs plus August through October I probably another 250 hrs. putting me at 700 hrs. and I still haven't finished the planning. Like many on this board, I tend to be more thorough and detaily than the average person doing a renovation. Good luck and try and enjoy the process! Most of it is very exciting - I loved looking at the granite slabs.

I have no idea. Almost 3 years on GW alone, one summer I swear I spent the whole day almost every day engrossed on this site. But it is SO worth the planning. My GC said he has never met anyone who has thought out everything to the minute detail as I have, which saves TIME and MONEY.

You can't over research as far as I am concerned. In the end, you will get exactly what you want within your budget. Without doing all the legwork, you will no doubt spend more, and not have a kitchen that works as well for YOU, IMO.

Amy

Way over 1,000 easy over the last 2 years. I am a researcher at heart anyway. It's even more fun doing it for a new kitchen.

Hundreds of hours, I'm sure. I love to research as well, but man, it can eat away at your time. Mostly just fun though.

Well I'm obsessed and not just with kitchens. Since we're building new and haven't started yet, but bought the lot about 18 months ago, I spend hours (like 5 or 6) every day "looking into" things house related. My DH has actually forbidden me from talking to him for ONE WEEK about anything having to do with the house. It's about to kill me, especially since an artist in Maine just e-mailed me pictures of some luscious tile that I'm dying to show him!

I have no idea but it was A LOT. I was obsessed with the whole thing. I researched and planned for months and made pretty much every decision and choice before the project started. Now I'm doing the same thing with my bathroom - it just goes on and on and on.

I also found that the contractor did appreciate that I'd considered nearly every detail in advance. It prevented surprises and delays along the way.

Don't ask. :-) I'm on kitchen #2. I'll be building all the cabs for this one, so there's SOOOOO much more research...