As you know we recently renovated our garage to make a quick office conversion and we have another renovation project starting in the new year. Home improvement projects are always something to look forward to, or at least, the finished product is something to look forward to. Before this, though, you may need to live on a building site for a while. It isn’t ideal, but it’s cheaper than booking a hotel for however long you need. So, how can you and your family survive this disruption? Here are four tips that I learnt for living at home during a renovation.
Be Ready for Dust
Dust is more prevalent than you expect, and you may already be well aware of this if you’ve ever lived within 500 yards of a building site. It will get everywhere, even when you take precautions to keep it off our counters and out of your fruit bowl. It could even cause allergies to flare up, which is not ideal for anyone. It’s easy to get frustrated about this at first, but you’ll soon realise it’s not possible to overcome it. So, you may just need to live with it. If you’re concerned about potential problems, keep your doors closed and cover important places, such as your sofa, with a plastic sheet.
Forget About a Good Night’s Sleep
Another thing to worry about is a lack of sleep. As you want the building work to be finished as quickly and professionally as possible, this usually means the builders will be there at the crack of dawn and leave well after sunset. This means you can’t rest the way you used to. You’ll force yourself to wake up early so you can allow the workers access to the site, and you won’t feel properly comfortable at home while the contractors are still working.
Remind Your Kids and Pets to Be Careful
If you’ve got kids or pets or both), you must watch them like a hawk. Although the construction workers will block off any areas they are working on, your kids might consider this a challenge and feel compelled to play. Not only is this dangerous, but it could also damage the hard work they have done. You must make sure they do not step across still-drying Ardex A46 or fiddle with anything that is still setting, so warn them and keep them out of the way.
Prepare For It to Last a Long Time
No matter how early the work begins and how good the construction company is, you will encounter delays along the way. Whether it’s bad weather or struggling to source materials, larger renovation jobs can often take much longer than expected. While it’s tempting to get frustrated about this, you must exercise patience and work with the builders to make sure things move as smoothly as possible
Step By Step
Home renovations can take a while, but the project will be worth it at the end of the day. As long as you remember these tips and consider how to overcome them, you can easily make the most of any issues and look forward to the home you’ve always dreamt of living in.
