Should I move out whilst building and kitchen done?

[Lilipot15]

Internal wall being knocked through, bifold doors being put in, kitchen being redone.
I have a 4 month old and a 20 month old. Toddler naps after lunch in her cot. Will sleep in car / pram but not as well.

I could take the kids to my parents for the duration. I think this is probably the most sensible thing and then come and go a bit (they are 3/4 hour away) to keep up activities where we live. Is this being over the top? I've never had this amount of stuff done. Slightly dreading it as you can tell, but very excited about the outcome!

[Lilipot15]

About to go out but I will read responses later. The more I think about it the more I think I'm right to leave them to it for a bit. Thinking of sorting kid's food and sleeps etc.

[duckyneedsaclean]

We're doing pretty much the same now, and yes, I've moved to my mums!

She is a lot closer to me than 3 hours though - so I can pop home in the evenings.

[duckyneedsaclean]

Main points in favour :
Kids can nap without banging etc.

Kids can eat something other than microwave meals

You don't get plaster dust etc all over them.

You don't have to worry about toddler getting in the way/being stuck upstairs.

[Lilipot15]

It's three quarters of an hour away, I realise I made it look like 3-4 hours! DH can pop in as he works nearby.

[LuluJakey1]

Having just been through it without the kitchen but and stayed with a 10 month old, my advice would be go. It was awful! The rest of the house was a tip because everything from those rooms had to go into the rest of the house. It was awful, awful, awful. Worth it in the end. Thank God the weather was nice and we had the garden.

[LizzieMacQueen]

Do you mean 3/4 hour = 45 minutes

or 3 to 4 hours' drive away.

Either way I would say move out for the duration; I bet your mum will love having the babies around (that is NOT being sarcastic btw)

[LizzieMacQueen]

sorry xpost

[VeryPunny]

We had whole back half of house redone, started when DS was 6 weeks old and DD was under 2. It was (just about) fine - but DD was at nursery 4 days a week and getting well fed there. We had no proper kitchen - just a Baby Belling, microwave and rice cooker -for about 4 months and survived. DS was fine as he wasn't mobile and now sleeps through anything. We did put stuff in storage though.

Once the old kitchen and floor was out, it wasn't too noisy, but we were able to effectively close off the entire back of the house so even though it was indoor camping there was minimal disruption from the builders. We had absolutely nowhere to move short of renting a place so didn't really have a choice!

[silversixpence]

I'd move out if I were you. We will be in the same position when we move but our only option is moving in with MIL who lives over an hour away (more in peak London traffic) so might have to rent locally or just live through it.

[roses2]

I am about to go through this in January although my soon to be three year old will be at nursery and a new born due in February. Lots of family nearby so can get cooking and eashing done, will literally just be using the house to sleep.

Can you cope with no cooker and washing machine while the work is being done?

45 minutes away is not too far. You can always just do what I am doing and go to relatives during the day and sleep in your house at night?

Someone definitely needs to keep an eye on the building work to make sure it is being done to your satisfaction. Will your DH have time to do that?

[roses2]

And if you stay then invest in a multi cooker like this so you don't have to live off microwave meals:

www.amazon.co.uk/Morphy-Richards-48615-Intellichef-Multicooker/dp/B00DF0E6IO?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Or batch cook at your relatives and bring it back for the freezer?

[yomellamoHelly]

45 minutes and I'd move out. But we recently finished the same work and stayed and actually it was fine. Few noisy and dusty days and disruption to services, but generally pretty calm.

[Lilipot15]

I think we will prob move out, but pop back frequently to keep an eye, and DH may stay here quite a lot as he works nearby.
Toddler gets clingy to me when unfamiliar people around so it's just thinking of the practicalities of getting through the day, plus washing and cooking! It will be over in a few weeks.....

[ohidoliketobe]

We had a fair bit if work done to our house earlier this year. Me dh and then 7 month old ds moved out for 5 weeks to my parents. Was so much easier

[Mum2KSS]

We are in the midst of an extension and renovation at the moment. Initially I was adamant that I did want to live in the house during the works but am sooo glad that I listened to others and have moved out. Ok it is costing money to not live there but so much easier with 3 children and also the money saved by staying there would have been a fase economy really as the work would have taken so much longer.

[SkyFoCrumbo]

Staying with your mum sounds sensible.

We stayed in our house for the beginning of a big renovation project on our house and it was hellish. Dust, noise, no privacy, builders coming in and out, wires dangling from walls etc and we were living on microwave meals and takeaways.

I was heavily pregnant and had a 3 yr old. Madness! .

Eventually we admitted defeat and rented a short term let for 3 months. Expensive, but SO worth it.

[PigletJohn]

the dust is a problem. Put your domestic hoover in the boot of the car and don't bring it back until after the house is cleaned.

All your belongings, especially tv, pc, electronic items, cooker, books and clothes need to be encased in plastic sheet and sealed with tape. flopping a dustsheet over the top will not do. Wardrobes are not enough. Plastic crates with tight fitting lids are useful.

[Lilipot15]

The building work is being done in the large kitchen which is off the hall with a door to close - it might be a bit more complicated than originally thought to move out (long story).
Nursery can have toddler for full days if needed, and she eats well there. Baby not yet weaned. We have a microwave and small grill, thought we could buy lots of paper plates etc to save on washing up. Washing machine can be kept in for a while (but I am aware that it will prob be unusable whilst dusty stuff being done) but I can think of some folk I could turn up with laundry and sit and natter with baby whilst a quick wash is on.
Piglet John - we shouldn't need to cover up stuff in our lounge should we? Across a small hall but obviously got its own door. I am anticipating a difficult few weeks but I am assured it will be done by Xmas!!

[PigletJohn]

hahahaha!

Dust gets everywhere.

[Marmelised]

I had similar work done ten years ago and we stayed put. with hindsight I would have moved out.

Apart from anything else the builders can work more quickly if they don't have to keep things liveable for you.

Oh, and listen to pigletjohn - dust gets absolutely everywhere.

[Lilipot15]

Thanks. The issue is that we may not have anywhere to stay. I shan't go into the reasons.
Kitchen company and builders think it is doable, but I will think very carefully about what goes where and do my best to cover things up / keep doors closed with dust sheets by doorways. I may be grey by Christmas!

[cherrrycola]

If we had somewhere to go I would've gone! We muddled through bu was hard living upstairs with a toddler. Simple things like getting a coffee or doing a load of washing were hard work. I did have older dc who could watch the toddler while I nipped downstairs so the helped.we did eat in he local cafe and have too many take aways because cooking was too much work!

[yorkshapudding]

We are about to have our kitchen done (no walls being knocked down. They do need to cut into the ceiling to sort the electrics but are not taking it down) and have a DD who's just turned 2. We have been told it should take 10 days to complete. We had been planning on staying put but after reading this thread I'm panicking slightly!

Like you, OP, I had been under the impression the living room would still be usable (there is a large dining room and two doors between the living room and the kitchen) but if the dust really does travel that far then we're stuffed. The thought of living upstairs (which is already a mess as we've only recently moved in and all the bedrooms except DD's are full of boxes) for two weeks with a very active 2 year old sounds too stressful. She's used to having lots of space to roam around and isn't old enougj that I can explain what's going on. We won't even be able to access the garden easily as you have to go through the kitchen to get to it.

DH doesn't want to move out and stay with my parents as it would add considerable time onto his journey to and from work. Would it be awful of me to bugger off with DD and leave him to 'supervise' the building work?

OP, even if you can't stay with family, is there anyone who would have you for the daytime so you would just have to go back to the house to sleep?

[Lilipot15]

I spoke to our kitchen company and builders - they are going to give me a breakdown of what's going on day by day, flagging up the really dusty/noisy days.

I am planning to be out most of the day. Will ensure I have stuff to read in car and good podcasts so I can park up once kids asleep - I can see us having some wintry walks by the seaside. I managed with decorators, carpet fitters, plumbers and electricians for a few weeks when we first moved in - DD1 got to know them. But now I have a baby to add to the mix. Never a good time to get this work done though.

The weird thing was that the builder seemed really surprised I was planning to take the girls away and acted like I was getting overly-anxious about dust and noise!

Yorksha, your DH could unpack the boxes whilst you're away as well
I think it is entirely reasonable to leave him to supervise - sell it to him that he will have nice peaceful evenings!!