5 Ways to Prepare for a Major Renovation

Have you ever considered ripping apart your whole house? Not a rage induced destruction path, but a planned out, on purpose ripping apart of your whole home. A renovation.

The cost-conscious of us have probably wondered if it’s possible to continue to live in the middle of a construction zone, whether it’s because we don’t want to pay for a rental, nor deal with the hassle of finding a short term location, or it’s because we’re going to be doing the work ourselves, every day after we get home from our jobs.

Well, friends, it is possible, though it may not be lovely.

Here are 7 ways to prepare for a major renovation, before you pull the trigger.

1 – Think About the Weather

There is a reason that many renovations happen during fair weather. The risk of rain being tracked in and out of your house is reduced, let alone snow. You won’t be cooped up inside your temporary home or your torn apart house, either. While it may cost more as it’s the busy time of year, it can pay off due to the reduced number of fights you have to break up between your children who are stuck in too close quarters.

2 – Plan, Plan, Plan

The more planning you can do in advance, the better. Whether you’re undertaking this on your own or hiring it out, walk through as many details as you possibly can. Is the renovation going to take place across multiple seasons? Then ask yourself the following questions, just as a taste of the planning details:

• Where will we store our materials when it starts to rain/snow?
• If I put my summer sports gear into storage, will I be able to easily swap it with my winter gear?
• Will any family traditions be disrupted by the
• Are we going to take a vacation from this after a few months?
• …etc!

3 – Save More Than You Think

An extra dinner out because you can’t stand to be in your house.

The opportunity to upgrade something small (or big) while the work is being done anyway.

A major catastrophe like previously unknown electrical issues.

Parts delays so you need to stay in your rental for an extra month (or three).

This short list is full of things that can, and will, derail your renovation budget. Beyond your contingency, save some extra dollars. You may not consider them renovation costs, but things like extra meals out add up over time and can be directly traced back to the, “I can’t stand to sit in the sawdust for another night” and “I need to keep working on this all Saturday, order pizza because I don’t have time to make dinner.”

4 – Move Your Stuff Into Storage

Isn’t the whole point of staying in your house so that you don’t have to move? Yes, yes it is. But, you’re planning to rip apart a large part of your house. Life will go a lot more smoothly if you get a storage locker to store the couch that you can’t use, instead of trying to stuff it into the den, next to your bed, next to your microwave. Take a big load of your stuff away, in particular bulky pieces that you won’t be able to utilize, and keep them in a self-storage facility near you.

5 – Decide on Your Decision Process

Unless you are one of the rare few who live on their own, you and your partner will have to agree on a whole host of decisions about your renovation. Agree may be a bit of a stretch. You will have to reach a decision.

Decide now on your process for how you are going to work things out. Splitting the responsibilities, for example one person gets to call the shots in the bathroom and the other in the kitchen, may be your solution. Perhaps your solution will be to agree upon a process, or a tie-breaking alternating system. Whatever you decide, decide now, before the Mount Vesuvius of fights erupts.

 

By no means an exhaustive list, these ways to prepare for a major renovation should get the wheels in your head turning! What would you add to the list?