Tips for Living in Your Home during a Major Renovation Project

24 May 2017
 Categories: Construction & Contractors, Blog


Construction projects are messy, noisy and chaotic. Because of this, staying in your home whilst it is renovated can be extremely challenging. Here are two tips which should make this experience less stressful.

Manage the dust

Construction activities like drilling through plaster, sawing wood, installing cabinetry and sanding floors all produce massive quantities of dust. As such, one of the biggest challenges that most people face when living in their home during a renovation project is the constant presence of dust in the air and on surfaces.

This is more than just an unpleasant nuisance; excess dust can also affect you and your family's health (particularly if any of you have pre-existing respiratory disorders). It can irritate your lungs and eyes and, if you have asthma, could exacerbate the symptoms of this condition and trigger an attack.

Given this, it is important to take steps to minimise the amount of dust that you are exposed to. There are a few ways to do this. Firstly, consider investing in a heavy-duty air purifier for the areas of your home that you'll be spending most of your time in. This, in and of itself, will go a long way towards reducing the quantity of dust that is suspended in the air. If you buy this item, make sure to purchase several extra filters, as these will probably need to be replaced quite frequently.

Secondly, ask your renovators if they can perform certain dust-generating activities outdoors, rather than inside the home. Tasks like sawing timber don't usually need to be done indoors. If your renovators are hesitant to do this because you live in an area which is prone to rain, it might be a good idea to purchase a work tent for your garden; this will provide your renovators with protection from the elements.

Create a temporary living space

You'll need to establish an area in your home in which you can perform basic, everyday tasks, like preparing and eating meals. This might need to be in a spare bedroom, the loft or even the conservatory.

Having this separate, private space where you can eat and sleep will help you to manage your stress levels throughout this challenging period. If possible, invest in a few portable items for this area; things like a hotplate for heating up food, as well as a mini-fridge for storing your milk and other perishable foods.

You will also need access to water, not only for bathing but also for washing dishes. If your bathroom is being renovated, you may use bottled water for rinsing your dirty dishes, and go to your local gym to shower whilst this part of the project is being carried out.


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