Staying home during a remodel has a lot of benefits, from saving money to better project communication. However, it can also be a loud, messy, difficult process.
Here are some of my top tips to make living through a remodel a little bit easier and bring the stress of the process under control.
Establish your relationship early
Communication is absolutely essential. I recommend working with your pros to set clear working hours that everyone can agree on. This will help make your home feel more private in the evenings without preventing progress on your remodel. You’re going to be seeing a lot of each other every day. Ask them their suggestions on how to work around renovation disruptions; they’ve dealt with all these problems before.
Physical boundaries will help keep things under control. While your pros will need to access part of your home during the remodel, you can still keep the other parts of your home private. Talk to your pros at the beginning of your remodel about which parts of the home they will need access to.
Be ready to work around it
Depending on the space you’re remodeling, you may need to prepare some makeshift accommodations to make your home more comfortable. For example, if you’re remodeling your kitchen, you can make a temporary kitchenette with a coffee maker, microwave and hotplate. If any of your bathrooms are going to be blocked or disrupted, build a work schedule that always leaves at least one bathroom available at a time. Work with your family to create a daily schedule that minimizes disruptions and lets everyone get their needs and work done.
Your home has lots of areas you can repurpose, such as turning a dining room or spare room into a space for basic meal preparation. Plan meals that require minimal preparation, and use disposable dishes and utensils to minimize the need for the dishwasher or sink.
Make a backup plan just in case things get particularly complicated, such as a friend to stay with or a hotel you could spend a few nights at in the event something makes it difficult to be in the house at all.
Prepare for noise and mess
Noise is one of the biggest complaints from people who live at home during a remodel. Ask your pros to tell you before they start a particularly loud aspect of the remodel, so you and your family can expect the noise.
Some people also struggle with the mess that comes with a remodel. While there isn’t much you can do to avoid the mess while your home is under renovation, you can bring in a cleaning crew once the project is complete to make your home feel normal again.
