We had a side return extension plus loft conversion done, which was started on about 1 September last year and finished at about Easter this year. When it was planned, I intended to find a shot let, so that we could move out, but this proved too costly. I had also wanted the loft done first, so that we would have more space, but the team who work on loft conversions were not available until later in the year.
It is possible to reman living on site, but it is a bit like camping and you have to be prepared to be very flexible in your living arrangements.
We had a kettle, microwave, fridge and slow cooker (that also steamed and boiled) in our living room.
We ate a lot of ready meals but also found ways to make meals from scratch using the equipment available.
We sometimes slept on mattresses or the sofa.
It does get really dirty and dusty. Luckily we were out at work/school most of the day, but the builders quite often worked on Saturday mornings.
Although we didn't move our, I couldn't face sharing a toilet with a team of builders and there was only one available. We therefore paid the builder to rent a portaloo.
We still look back and laugh at some of the experiences that we went through. It was worth it to save the thousands of pounds that we would have doesn't on rental. The other thing is that the work over ran, so we would gave incurred even higher costs if we had rented.