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With any home restoration project comes some woes. However, while some choose to remodel before moving into a home, other homeowners choose to remodel after deciding what needs to be fixed and upgraded, whether it’s antique hardware or appliances. While the latter is a wise choice, it’s not always convenient. Furthermore, between the dust, noise and contractors, it can interrupt your daily lifestyle.
So can you, your spouse, kids and pets survive a remodel? Absolutely. Here are some tips for living in your house while remodeling, saving your sanity and keeping everyone calm and healthy.
Table of Contents
Hire a Reputable Contractor
As you prepare for a remodel, it pays to do your research and find a reputable, reliable and honest contractor. Not only should they be efficient and professional, but they should also be empathetic to your soon-to-be living situation.
Ultimately, your contractor should listen to your needs and concerns, devise a work plan and take safety precautions into significant consideration. Qualified contractors should be equipped with everything they need to ensure your family’s safety and know all the protocols and laws in place to protect everyone involved.
Create a Detailed Timeline
Work with your contractor to put together an estimated time for completion, as well as a general timeline of milestones along the way. Have a start date so you can prepare for contractors to arrive, moving and placing furniture into storage if need be. Knowing what tasks are being completed when and where can help you and your family stay safe and isolated from the construction area with minimal interruption.
However, it’s important to note here that you should be flexible. Even the weather can prevent specific remodeling projects, and we all know we can’t change the weather. So be patient and realize there are lots of moving parts. So long as your contractor gives you some advanced notice of changes and complete transparency — and nothing arises suddenly — you should be able to shift plans and coordinate, making both your jobs go smoothly.
Seal Off Construction Areas
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With a schedule in place, be sure to designate the construction zones and seal off any areas to keep family and pets out. Make a plan for a makeshift kitchen, if needed, and shift toiletries to a second or third bath temporarily. In addition, ensure everyone has an alternative footpath and a safe emergency exit from the home, too.
For a major remodel, it’s critical to keep you and your loved ones healthy and safe. Closing the door to a room that’s being remodeled is one thing. However, speak to your contractor about how they plan to keep dust, noise and other dangers contained. For example, they can provide services like HEPA vacuums and air filters, along with protective gear.
Shift Necessities and Creature Comforts
Your remodel project might mean minimal access to certain areas of the home that you frequently use — for example, your closets. So be sure to pull out enough clothes to get by. It might even mean you need to find a different place to sleep at night. So whether you treat yourself to a hotel room for a few nights or crash on an air mattress in the living room or secondary bedrooms, sleep is essential to surviving a remodel.
Food and cleanliness are essential, too. Order takeout or shift cooking supplies into another area of the home so they are readily accessible. Gather your bathing supplies too and set them up in a secondary bathroom, planning schedules around the kids or your spouse.
Generally speaking, having your creature comforts can truly save your sanity. However, to survive a remodel, flexibility and creativity can go a long way.
Keep Kids, Pets and Elderly Protected
As mentioned, keep your family members safe. The last thing you want is for someone to become sick or experience respiratory issues due to dust. So, prioritize your kids, pets and elderly first, sealing off areas and dedicating a footpath for them and the crew.
One way to do so is by designating the front or back door for workers. This way, your family can use the other. Kids won’t come in contact with tools and equipment and pets won’t accidentally escape through an open door as contractors work. Kids and pets need room to roam and restricting them can compromise their mental health.
Find Activities Outside the Home
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While your house is being remodeled, take the opportunity to find activities outside the home. For example, during a kitchen renovation, explore some local eateries and restaurants. Need to escape the construction noise? Head to the library for a quiet afternoon.
Outdoor activities are an excellent way to get everyone out of the house, too. Take a walk in the park or spend some time exploring local hiking trails. A playground for the kids or a dog park is a great idea, too. Even if you want to stick around the house, you can transform your patio, deck or backyard into a temporary oasis. In fact, if you don’t have a kitchen, make use of the barbecue grill and cook outside for a few dinners.
Stay Focused on the End Result
During the home stretch, a remodel can seem never-ending. The noise becomes grating and you’re just plain tired of eating out all the time. It might even reach the breaking point for rambunctious kids who just want their room back or even your pet who goes hiding as strangers enter the home. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Stay focused as completion nears. Think of how amazing your remodel will look once it’s complete. At this juncture, it’s all about attitude and staying focused on the end results. Once construction comes to a close, you will have your home back to normal and, what’s more, a brand new kitchen, bathroom or whatever kind of remodel you hired your expert contractors for.
