9 Expert Tips For Living At Home During A Remodel

The pros are offering their best advice to help take some of the stress out of home renovations.

If a home remodel is on your horizon, you're probably filled with excitement. Everyone loves a new residential design, but in order to get there, you have to get through the demolition first. Some home renovations can take up to a few weeks or months to complete depending on how intense they are, and in rooms like the kitchen or bathroom, this timeline may not seem feasible.

However, with a little planning and proactiveness on your end, you'll find that living at home during a remodel is easier than you think. All that's required is mental fortitude and these expert tips from some of our favorite contractors. We spoke to three experts about the best ways to prepare for your project for an enjoyable experience.

Meet the Experts

• Johnny DiBlieux is the owner of SouthFace Renovations in Birmingham, Alabama.
  

• Chris Smith is the CEO/Salesperson of Keith Smith Construction in Stokesdale, North Carolina.
  

• Jonah Canter is the owner of Canter Construction in Charleston, South Carolina.

Order Your Fixtures Ahead Of Time

Every remodel will face unexpected problems that can delay the project's completion. One solution all three experts voiced for preventing delays as much as possible is being proactive with ordering your parts. "Make sure you're prepared for the project by having all your parts selected and ordered prior to the start of your project," Diblieux says. "Either having a lead time as to when they'll arrive or already having them on site makes a world of difference."

If you're remodeling a kitchen or bathroom and are looking at upgrading your vanity, hardware, cabinets, and countertops, having the fixtures selected ahead of time is going to save you a few headaches during the demolition phase. That way, you're not left with a mess in your home or with everyday rooms out of use for longer than they need to be.

Can't decide between several finishes or fixtures? One helpful resource Canter has at Canter Construction is an interior designer who assists the clients during the selection phase prior to the project. "She works with our bathroom and kitchen clients to help with selections and is the buffer between homeowner and contractor. Working with an interior designer that helps with picking the details is extremely beneficial."

Think Ahead For Meals

The biggest inconvenience in home remodels is extensive downtime in the kitchen. Other than the bathroom, the kitchen is one of the most used rooms in the house. It's the heartbeat of every home, but sadly, you can expect those comforting home-cooked meals to be non-existent during a renovation. But, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy any home-cooked meals. You can still cook at home with a kitchen remodel going on, you will just need to tweak a few things.

DiBlieux recommends creating a makeshift kitchen in another room. "Have a coffee maker, electric griddle, and a plastic table to set up elsewhere in the home. You also will need to relocate your fridge with the help of an extension cord."

Of course, there's always the obvious option to eat out, but if you have a grill out back, Canter says a kitchen remodel is the perfect time to fire it up. "Cooking is going to get funky in a kitchen remodel. Plan out meals for grilling out, date nights, or family nights, or invite yourself over to a friend's house for dinner."

Canter also recommends investing in a stash of paper plates, cups, and silverware for the time being until your kitchen is somewhat back to normal.

Expect Your Normal Routine To Vanish For The Time Being

The final product of a brand-new remodel is always exciting and worth every second, but getting to the finish line is very challenging. Before starting a remodel, it's important to understand that your daily routine will not go back to normal until the project is over. This can be more frustrating for households with families, but preparing for this interruption beforehand will help you stay sane in the process.

"When it comes to renovations, it's not just about planning the remodel; it’s also planning social schedules as well," Canter says. "It doesn’t matter if everything is going 100% right, you still have people that are showing up to your house daily. A lot of the time the inconveniences are not that the project is going bad, it’s the thrash to the everyday life of living in a construction zone."

Turn Your Remodel Into A Staycation

It's no secret that with remodels comes demolition, which means there's going to be a lot of noise in the house, plus a scattered mess. For those who work from home or are looking for relaxation after a long day's work, you should go into the project understanding there won't be peace and quiet until the project's over. Or, a clean and tidy house.

"Be prepared for there to be a mess throughout the project. No matter how much attention your contractor focuses on keeping it clean, it’s still a process, especially during the demo phase," says Smith. "This phase is going to be a mess, dust, all of those things will be there. Going into it with the right expectations is important."

Luckily, Canter has a solid tip for getting away from all the racket. He recommends planning a vacation around the start of your project. "At the start of the project, there’s no need for homeowners to be there for the demo. Go get a beach house, take the kids for a month, and enjoy a staycation. You'll be reducing a week of stress in your time." Though he says it's an extra cost, he's found that it's worth it for some clients.

DiBlieux has a similar echo for those who are undergoing a larger remodel that may be consuming the majority of their house. "If you're making a major layout change to the floor plan or adding onto the home and you don't have a basement, you may want to find an Airbnb."

Keep The Air As Clean As Possible

During the demo phase, you can expect there to be a lot of dust in the air coming from sanding and other work. To keep those dust particles from traveling into your ductwork and coming back out into the air, Smith says there are preventative steps you can take. "If you’re working in a bedroom with a return duct, tape it off—though it's not ideal for permanent use—when demo is happening or sheetrock is being sanded, anything that creates a lot of dust should be blocked off." Although your contractor will take their own preventative steps to keep the rest of your home dust-free, this step can be a big help for keeping your air clean.

Remove Furniture And Valuables

This might seem like a no-brainer, but one important aspect of living at home during a remodel DiBlieux and Smith stressed is protecting your valuables. Smith says the best thing to do is remove large pieces of furniture out of the construction room or you can wrap them in protective wrapping to keep them free from dust and paint.

Most of the time, contractors will put up a temporary zipper wall that goes all the way up the ceiling from the floor. This will keep the dust from escaping the room, but for added protection, Smith says his crew always puts down protective flooring, which comes in handy if you already have brand-new floors. For carpet, they'll lay down a plastic roll-out covering, or rosin paper for hardwood floors.

Demo One Bathroom At A Time

Unlike the kitchen, bathroom renovations shouldn't cause too much of an inconvenience, especially if you have more than one full bathroom in the house. Working on one bathroom at a time is the best way to go about these projects so you at least have one full room for your showers and other needs. However, that doesn't mean delays can't occur in the one you're remodeling that's going to set back when it becomes available again.

"If plumbing is being moved or electrical work is being done, this will extend your downtime," says Smith. "It depends on how intensive your remodel is. If you're tiling a shower, you can expect the project to take four to five days longer to complete. If you're adding a custom glass enclosure to the tile, this will extend your time by five weeks after the tile is installed."

Knowing the timeframe your project is expected to have before the demo starts is another way to prepare yourself for what to expect. "Minor bathroom remodels where you're replacing the countertop, hardware, and paint, you're looking at six weeks. More invasive bathroom remodels that are seeing new tiled floors, vanities, countertops, toilets, and showers take around ten to fourteen weeks."

Stay Out Of The Construction Site

Have children or pets in your home? You're probably wondering how safe your house will be during construction. Smith says that as long as you've hired the right contractor, the house is generally safe. "Most of the time, it’s safe to live at your home during a remodel. The few times it wouldn’t be safe is if asbestos is found. If your contractor suspects asbestos, they will do a test prior to demoing materials."

While Smith says his crew cleans up the site at the end of every workday, there are some homeowners who are fine with tools being left behind. "We have conversations with homeowners to get approval with leaving tools. If we are actively on their site for several days, we will leave tools if the homeowners say it's okay to leave them, but we make them organized." If your contractor asks for your approval to leave tools behind, Smith advises to ensure there are no nails or screws left on the floor when your workers leave, especially if you have children running around.

Choose A Trustworthy Contractor

Living at home during a remodel is not for the week. Projects take a while to complete, there's a lot of racket, and dust plus power tools are going to be everywhere. One way to reduce the stress is by choosing a trustworthy contractor from the start. "Check the licensure board in your state for an active license and read reviews online," says DiBlieux. "Going to job sites and observing current or finished projects is also a great idea."

No matter what kind of renovation you're undergoing, it's important to work with a contractor you feel comfortable communicating with. "When I leave a job site, we're friends now," DiBlieux jokes.

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