We do advise moving out for the duration of your renovation – but if you plan to live at home for some or all of yours, here is our guide to what to expect and how to survive.
Living in for the whole thing
Some things to consider if you’re thinking of living in your house for the duration of your renovation works;
The renovation will take longer, and will probably cost more, because the contractor will need to work around you; e.g. getting the water, heating & electricity working by the end of each day, and making the space safe to use at the end of every day.
The work will be incredibly dusty. We can’t stress this enough. There are measures you can take to protect areas of the house that aren’t being worked on, but the dust will still get through. You will likely feel slightly grimy for the duration.
Previous client comment;
"I'd thought the dust would stay in the rooms where the work was taking place, hand't appreciated how it goes everywhere and in everything. You (APM) had warned me but yes thought you were being OTT"
Contractors will be in your house during working hours (usually 8am – 5pm) every day including Saturdays unless you arrange otherwise. It will be noisy and won’t feel private.
Space- the work will take up more space than you think as the builders will also need to store their tools, materials and have space themselves. Work will probably impact more than just the area they’re working on at that time.
Talk with your contractor about;
Site Safety; The lead contractor is responsible for overall safety on site, so it is important that they tell you what their safety practices are, and that you then follow the site rules. You will most likely need to stay out of the working zone unless you arrange to ‘visit’ – and wear protective clothing when doing so.
Protection; Confirm what they have quoted for in terms of protecting the areas of the house they are not working on. If necessary this should include an allowance for putting up protective sheeting and taking it down again at the end of the day.
Tool & Material Storage; They will need space for this. If the renovation is in a limited area (e.g. a kitchen) they will likely need a space in another room.
Programme of works; There will be some times when the house will be particularly un-inhabitable. E.g. they may need to turn off the water for a period of time. Find out how they plan to work so you can where possible make arrangements for this and explain clearly that you are doing so. Be prepared to be flexible if/ when the order of works change- this can happen for a multitude of reasons- good communication will help all parties here.
How to prepare;
Plan your escape; We recommend planning a holiday during the works so that you have something to look forward to… but also working out what your options are for a short-term, last-minute escape when you need it (e.g. if the shower will be out of action for a week or it all just gets too much).
Put things in Storage; Renovation work will take at least some of your rooms out of action. Storing the things from those rooms in your house will further reduce your space (and make it difficult to find any of your belongings). Avoid this by properly clearing the space to be renovated and putting your belongings in storage.
If you are having work done on the kitchen, it is worth creating a workable temporary kitchen elsewhere – e.g. using parts of the old kitchen, and something like this (which you may be able to source second hand).
Neighbours; many neighbours dread building works, understandably. Whilst you might have better oversight to answer their questions, living on site makes it harder to avoid an unhappy neighbour. Ensure you speak to the neighbour positively about your plans and put in place Party Wall Agreements well before work is due to commence. Be vague or realistic (ie add extra time) with completion dates, as delays could occur and neighbours can’t tell the difference between drilling during main works and drilling during snagging! Remember it is usually better to keep neighbours on side (after all you have to live next to them once the work is completed) but you don’t have to go to unreasonable lengths to placate them. Most people will undertake renovations at some point and ‘neighbourliness’ works both ways.
Moving in before completion
What about moving in a few weeks before the works are done? This can seem like a good option if the timeline has extended, or your temporary accommodation isn’t working well.
What you’ll have to contend with;
Essentially, all the things you’d experience if you lived in for the whole thing, but for a shorter time! In particular, prepare for dust, clutter, and having to wash up in the bath.
Lots of things won’t be working when you move in. You might expect the work to be ‘nearly done’ – but in reality a lot of the work to make a house liveable happens in the last few days on site. That means that even if the contractor brings work forward to prepare for your return you can expect challenges with e.g. heating, internet connection, lights not being connected.
You’ll want the work finished as soon as possible – so may end up making decisions based on what gets the work finished quickest rather than the best long-term option.
Work will slow down further if you move in early. We know that’s the last thing you want to hear. But as above if work has to be completed out of the usual order in order for you to move in and the house needs to be tidied/ cleared etc area by area- this will slow the builders down.
Anxiety & Stress. Moving into an incomplete home will give you, the builders and other professionals working on the project, cause for stress and worry. There are things which won’t have been finished or might need tweaking/ fixing after you move in. This is normal but when you’re already stressed and have nowhere to escape to from the stress, these issues become worse and may feel like the end of the world. This can change your relationship to the overall house and renovation. When issues arise all parties will need to work together to resolve and it’s important that this is done calmly/ professionally. This is no easy feat.
Talk with your contractor;
Tell them when you will move in, and keep reminding them as the date approaches. They will usually be focussed on the actual end of the project rather than your move date, so will need reminding to prepare for you to come back.
Discuss your key priorities for move-in – bearing in mind they won’t be able to finish everything. So what will be really life changing? For example; which rooms definitely need doors by then? Which appliances are vital vs. nice to have? Run through the status on your priorities in every site meeting in the run up to move day.
Agree how to approach snagging. If you move in to a finished house, everything incorrect or incomplete should go on the snagging list for the contractors to address. If you move in early, it may well be meaningless to prepare a snagging list as nothing will be finished! So discuss with your contractor how and when it will be useful for you to start sharing with them issues you have spotted.
How to prepare;
Again, do put things in storage, even if only for a few weeks. If you bring things back with you from your temporary accommodation, and already have a house full of things, you will have very little space and can expect to live through several weeks of not knowing where to find anything you need.
Get a doormat (or put down a towel) for the threshold of rooms you are trying to live in, and some ‘renovation shoes’ e.g. sliders or similar that you can wear in the dustiest parts of the house and kick off when you go into the ‘clean’ zones.
Tips for moving out
If at all possible, go somewhere you can bear to be for the duration of the works (and allow for the works to over-run) i.e. avoid living with anyone you’ll want to murder.
Think carefully about packing. What will you take with you? For everything else, is there anything you will need access to? Will you be moving in/ unpacking in phases? Make storage arrangements accordingly.
Even if you are moving somewhere furnished, work out what you need to take with you to make life work. During my renovation, we took our desk (to avoid working at a dining table), our own bedding, and our TV. The flat had a TV but we wanted to avoid having to properly pack it away, and it meant we didn’t need to set up all our accounts again. Other items could include;
Warm lightbulbs
A good knife or sharpener
Smart speakers
Houseplants
If you are considering renovation works, we can help you think about these kinds of practicalities as well as doing Interior Design and overall management of the project. Get in touch!