Mind you, I think Monster House is a fun show to watch and I've seen stuff I'd love to have in my own house. But it seems like every show has a setback with just a few hours to go, then they work like mad down to the last seconds to get it finished. The last weld is applied as time runs out, or they installed some motorized gadget that doesn't work properly and they have to scramble to figure out what the problem is, only to have it finally work as the clock ticks down to zero.
The last second completions make for some interesting drama, but since it's happening every show, do you think they're doing some creative editing?

Yeah, I've always wondered about that. I like the show, regardless, especially when the builders irritate each other

Ive noticed that on a couple where some of those working have been on previously run a lot smoother. Where the designers/decorators get in about 1600 on the final day.

The ZEN house was done with so much time left over that the construction crew did the decorating as well.

There were 5 minutes left on the Jurassic House.

It's a shame that they kinda have to only do L.A. houses.

Yeah, I was going to bring up the Zen house as an example of getting done early.

But honestly, isn't this how most projects in the real life are? No matter how little or how much time you have, you are usually pressed to finish it in time.

I think the creative editing is probably a big part in the final "impact" of the show. With all the variables and people involved in completing the projects, you never really know if something-or someone (remember the loser who said he was a certified electrician) is going to delay things significantly or if they will run smoothly and get done with time to spare.

I always wonder why they don't seem to "start" until noon on Monday. Whenever Steve shows them the projects and then unveils the ticking clock, it usually says something like 4 days, 12 hours, etc.

It would seem they could get more finished by midnight Friday if they actually started working in the morning on Monday.

On one show, can't remember which one, the crew actually lost.

I've never seen this show but I read an article just today about it saying that if it goes down to the wire on the show that is how it went in real life. They said that the contractors working on this show put in 14-18 hours a day to get it all done in time. They also have a guy on hand to inspect everything to make sure it is up to code. It said that this code inspection is usually more strict because the end result will be on TV and they don't want any screw ups.

The guy that hosts said in the article that the people will often procrastinate and not get moving as quick as they need to, which leads to the rush at the end.