GOLDEN, Colo. -- October 29, 2009 -- A national survey released by ServiceMagic.com indicates a rising trend in boosted tension and heightened stress levels within the family during a home remodel within the last year. In a time when remodeling is on the rise, up 13.5% from Q3 2008, ServiceMagic.com experts looked at the current trends and found surprising results from an exclusive homeowner survey.

“When going through a stressful home improvement project, people either roll with it, or endure. But for some, having their routines disrupted can put them, and perhaps even their relationships, on edge,” said David Lupberger, ServiceMagic.com’s Home Improvement Expert. “Fortunately, there are things families and their contractors can do to alleviate the potential for permanent relationship damage. Preparation for the remodel is the key to minimizing the stress of any project.

Results from an exclusive national survey of nearly 700 homeowners and 260 remodeling contractors show that prolonged projects can lead to tension:

• 78 % of home remodeling professionals witnessed an argument between a couple either in the planning stage or during a home remodel project in the last year.
• On a scale of 1-10, (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest), stress levels for the homeowner reach an astonishingly high average of eight during the remodeling process.
• 64% of remodeling professionals say they witnessed an argument between their clients and had to play the role of relationship counselor.
• 79% of remodeling professionals have walked away from a work order because of excessive client arguing at some time in their careers.
• 69% of home remodels most significantly affect the stress levels of the mother or wife in the household.
• 82% of professionals said that a kitchen remodel is the project that causes the most stress among homeowners.
• Reassuringly, after the remodeling project was completed, 60% of couples’ relationships sprang back to normal and became exponentially less stressful

The survey from ServiceMagic.com, the leading online source connecting homeowners to prescreened professionals, indicates that stress levels during the construction process are significantly increased due to three main sources of frustration within the family: