Image via Flickr by JeepersMedia
Remodeling your home is a great way to improve its value and make your living spaces more comfortable and functional. However, renovations can take months of noisy and messy construction before they’re complete. This can make living in your home rather frustrating, especially if you are updating important areas like kitchens or bathrooms. By taking a few precautions before and during the remodeling process, you can make the next few months of your life more bearable.
Store Unnecessary Furniture and Items
Depending on what area of the home is being remodeled, you’ll probably have a lot of stuff to move. Instead of cramping the rest of your living spaces by shoving it into a corner, why not simply move it to another location? This will help you live clutter-free and protect fragile or easily broken objects. If you live in the Austin area, you might want to consider renting a storage unit at Blue Whale Moving and Storage.
Keep a Few Rooms Untouched
Even if you’re getting your whole home remodeled, it’s a good idea to do the renovations in stages. Leave a few rooms as they are so that you can live in them while the rest of the house turns to chaos. Once those rooms are finished, you can then migrate into those while the other rooms are being torn up.
Create a Schedule for Construction
Having workers milling through your home can be anxiety-inducing, which is why it’s important to create a set schedule for work hours. This way, you’ll know when contractors should be in your house and when they shouldn’t be.
Make a Temporary Kitchen
You might think that having your kitchen remodeled automatically means you’ll need to stay at a hotel. However, there are several ways to work around this. Take advantage of hot plates, toasters, and microwaves for heating up small meals. You can even move your refrigerator or freezer to another room in the home.
Set up Boundaries
Construction work means there will be a lot of dust and debris flying through the air. To prevent this muck from making it all the way through your home, set up barriers between the construction area and the livable areas of the home. Use some painter’s tape to hang plastic sheets from the ceiling, around your air ducts, and in front of any other areas that might allow dirt to escape.
Build Financial Incentives for the Contractor
It’s a well-known fact that sometimes renovations can drag out. Whether this is because of unforeseen problems or a contractor’s lackadaisical attitude, having a monetary incentive for finishing on time can prevent delays in the process and restore order to your home faster. But of course this comes at a cost to you, you may have to find additional finance to complete the project. You’ll have to ask your bank/ lender or use a free lifetime mortgage calculator to see if they’re likely to release the extra funds.
As long as you’re smart about it, you might not even notice the small disruptions that remodeling causes to your home life. Proper planning and organizing go a long way in making the process easier. Even though it will be a stressful time, remodeling your home will be worth it in the end.
DISCLOSURE
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and buy the product, I will receive a very small commission of the sales price at no cost to you.
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