Living At Home During Renovation Work
Are you looking at renovating your home while you are living there? Sure, it may be the cheaper option when compared to moving out and renting or staying in a hotel for the duration of the works. However, it can also get messy, stressful and really intimidating trying to live your life with building work going on, especially if you have some big renovations in the works.
So, what do you need to know before making the decision to live in your home during renovation work?
How and where will you live?
Are you ripping out your kitchen and starting again? Or is a full downstairs remodel? Whatever work you are undertaking, work out the practicalities of how it will realistically affect your day to day life.
It may be that certain rooms are out of bounds for long periods meaning you will need to work out how to move whatever you need from it into a different area of the house. If you can, organise this ahead of the start of the work to get yourself used to living with limited space and facilities.
Storage
It is inevitable that you will need to put some or most of your belongings and furniture into storage. Depending on the works involved, the amount of storage you need will vary. It makes sense to draw up a list of all the things you cannot live without and put everything else into storage. For some, this simply means filling up the garage with boxes and appliances. Others may need to hire a portable storage container to house their belongings for the duration.
How often will you be home?
Well, you live there; of course you are going to be there. But knowing how much time you will spend at home during the work will help you to acclimatise to having other people in your house and all the disruption that can bring. If you think you will find it hard to manage, arranging to spend time elsewhere could help you to get through this stressful time, especially if you have children.
Revaluate your expectations
Things very rarely run smoothly and without any hiccups. If this is your first time living in your home during renovation works, your expectations will be slightly skewed from what the reality will bring. Unexpected problems, supply issues, sickness and emergencies can all play a part in pushing back your end date and dragging the work out longer than anticipated.
Allow a flexible timescale and work on worst-case scenarios to remove the expectation of a smooth job. After all, if you expect the worst you can't be disappointed.
Hire a project manager
As tempting as it can be to project manage yourself it isn't always reasonable. Around your existing commitment, how much time can you dedicate to managing the work and the contractors too? Living in a home during extensive remodelling works can be hugely stressful so removing the need to project manage and hiring someone to take on this role can be a weight off your mind.
