Budgets being what they are, most people don’t have a second home they can relocate to when they do a whole home renovation project. If you do, great! But most people don't. So, can you live in your house while it’s being remodeled? Of course, the answer is yes. But the core truth is that it will be loud, messy, and sometimes quite stressful for everyone in the family. A living home construction project is something you have to prepare physically, financially, and mentally to endure. (And maybe you can write a good adventure story about it later.) Here at Corvallis Custom Kitchens & Baths, we do everything we can to help our clients have a happy story to tell about living without a kitchen (or a bathroom) for a while, or how we aren’t the contractor who left dust everywhere—as dusty as the renovated home can be as the process unfolds. Clean-up is important to us! So, here are 6 tips for getting through a whole home renovation with your sawdust sanity intact!
But Wait: Should You Move Out During a Renovation?
If you can, it’s probably a good idea. But it isn’t feasible for most families. Consider the following: does your budget have room for renting another place? If you do, then it is a very good idea because it is so easy to become overwhelmed by house renovation noise, dust, and inconvenience, especially if you have kids and pets.
Or, do you have family or friends who would be willing to put you up for several months, or for at least part of the renovation? These are rare and precious people, so make sure you do everything you can to help out and make their lives easier while you’re there, if you have that option.
If neither of those situations fit your scenario, then we suggest the following things for living alongside the process and reducing renovation stress at the same time:
1. Set Up a Home Inside Your Home
During the planning and design phase, we have a very meticulous process where we work with our clients to plan which areas get the hammers first. You can live in the areas not being worked on in the meantime, since remodeling happens in stages and not all at once. For example, if we start in the kitchen, you can still live in the other, untouched parts of the house. You can set up a makeshift kitchen during remodeling well before the work begins. That means you may need to wash the dishes in a temporary sink during remodeling (probably one of the bathrooms or a laundry room, if you have a sink there). You can also use recyclable paper plates, bowls, and cups to minimize the dishes you have to do.
2. Pack It All Up
To protect your belongings during a whole home renovation, it’s a good idea to pack everything you absolutely don’t need and put it in storage until the process is done. This will protect items from damage, dust, and mishaps. This also gives you peace of mind if you are uncomfortable with leaving contractors alone in your house. Our team is highly professional and extremely careful with our clients’ homes (our reputation depends on safety and honesty, and it’s just the right thing to do), but we totally understand that different families have different comfort levels with this. So, just be sure to just pack everything you don’t need and store it somewhere safe so you won't have to worry about it.
3. Take Short Vacations
There are some occasions when we will need to shut the water and electricity off in order to accomplish certain tasks, which means you won’t even be able to flush a toilet or flip on a light switch. During the scheduling process, we can discuss when those times are likely to happen so that you can schedule some time away at the coast, or at a local vineyard inn, or spend a short time with family and friends.
4. Keep Living Quarters and Construction Zones Separate
Our whole home renovation process includes this process for your protection and that of your family. We use plywood, plastic sheeting, and zip panels to keep the dust confined to one area at a time. This also helps keep pets and children from wandering into areas where they shouldn’t.
5. Choose the Right Renovation Contractor
Because whole home renovation gets right into your personal space for long periods of time, it’s important to read reviews and ask a lot of questions. For example, how do they do “dust abatement” to protect your home from potential health hazards? How will keys be exchanged, and what other security measures are in place during a renovation? Choosing Corvallis Custom Kitchens & Baths gets you the top contractors with the best security and safety measures in the business.
6. Prepare Mentally and Emotionally
There’s no getting around it: whole home renovations are tough. It’s dusty, it’s loud, your lifestyle, privacy, and schedule will be disrupted significantly and you may have to move several times to different sleeping, cooking, and bathroom areas of your home. Talk with friends who’ve been there and ask for their advice. We also have a lot of advice too, having done this for many homeowners throughout Corvallis. And we do want to make it as easy for you as possible!
Consult the Oregon Kitchen and Bath Renovation Experts
Of course, the renovation process won’t last forever. In the end, you’ll get to see all of those design plans and renovation dreams you’ve wanted to make for years come to fruition. And once you walk through and see the results, you’ll be glad you did it. So, are you ready to talk about a whole home renovation? Schedule a consultation today and let’s talk!
