Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Renovator’s Dilemma
You’re about to embark on a new and exciting endeavor as a homeowner – a major renovation. You’ve signed off on the remodeling contract, and the countdown to demolition day has begun. There’s just one last question to consider before you settle in for the long haul: will you stay in your home during the renovation?
It helps to weigh the pros and cons of your decision carefully, and ultimately the choice belongs to you. However, we know how challenging it can be to live at home when your house is a construction zone.
It’s dusty, noisy, and stressful. You have to learn how to plan your life around the chaos and get used to seeing parts of your abode torn apart. Chances are, you’ll have to avoid using rooms and mod-cons that are generally necessary for your everyday living. Take, for example, the kitchen. If you’re doing a kitchen reno, you can’t eat, cook, clean, or even sit in there. If it sounds inconvenient, it is; and that’s an understatement.
To top it off, home renovations can take weeks, or even months, depending on the complexity of the job.
Benefits of Moving Out During Your Renovation
While the decision is certainly yours to make, our professional experience has shown us the many pros and cons of living at home during a renovation. Is it possible? Yes. Would we recommend it? No. To make an informed decision for yourself, check out our list below, where we discuss the benefits of moving out during a home reno.
1. Stress Reduction
Renovations are stressful. It’s nearly inevitable that the process will come with its fair share of problems, both expected and unexpected. Remodeling is time-consuming, expensive, and strenuous, even without even having to live in the middle of it!
Imagine trying to do everything that you do now with the added strain of living in an unfinished, noisy, crowded home. It’s a lot for anyone to handle. In our experience, homeowners usually benefit from living away from home during a renovation.
2. Less Disruption to Daily Life
Life can be chaotic at the best of times. Living in the middle of a construction zone is bound to make things significantly more so. If you have children and pets, this is especially true, as keeping your typical schedule might not go as smoothly as you’d hope. Construction noises are loud and constant while the crew is on duty. Dust and debris, try as we might to contain it, are likely to get tracked through the house and is easily spread around unwittingly by hands, feet, and paws.
And because of the unpredictable nature of renovation projects, there’s a good chance that things may not go exactly as planned. If this is the case, you may find yourself stuck in the middle of your home renovation even longer.
3. Adding to the Project
When you live at home during a renovation, it’s not just an inconvenience for you. It’s also an inconvenience for the construction crew that’s working on your house. Residing in a home under construction means placing limitations on the crew; they can only be there at certain hours or on certain days to ensure you have at least some privacy.
It becomes a matter of planning shifts around your schedule, spending less time on the site, and having to take additional measures such as establishing containment barriers, planning days when the water will be shut off, and creating temporary kitchens and bathrooms to replace the ones we’re working on.
You Could Save Money by Living Away
While you may think living at home during a reno will save you money, it could be doing just the opposite. If your hired labor has to schedule their work around you, it unintentionally extends the length of your project. You are increasing the amount of time and labor needed to finish the job, and subsequently, the cost.
Living away from the job site in a hotel or apartment is an added item on your budget, but in the long run, it is probably less expensive to move out for the short-term and allow your crew to do what needs to be done quickly and efficiently.
At Winthorpe Design & Build, we want you to have the most painless and stress-free remodeling experience. So take some time away, and come back to a new house that you’ll love. Connect with us today, and let’s talk about it.
