Living in house during building work!!!!

[Rascal79]

Hi, just after some advice about how on earth I go about living in our house whilst we are having an extension creating an open plan kitchen/living roon. During this time I will have no kitchen for some time.

I have two kids under three and a dog so we will be confined to the upstairs and front room. How will I cook??? Do people buy a cheap cooker? One of those mini ovens? Only microwave or takeaway?

Any hints or tips gratefully received. I can't move out if thats a suggestion!!!!

Our builders set us up a temporary kitchen in the lounge using a few bits from the existing kitchen before they demolished it so we had a working oven. Is this a possibility?

I have to do the same. Sandwiches, kettle, microwave. Hotel the odd day here and there.

Try and have your builders set up a temporary kitchen for you.
Do you have a utilty room which you could use?
Or somewhere you can plumb in a sink so you can wash up without using the bath?
I'd get a cheap mini oven with hob on top, plus microwave etc.

We are about to do the same thing, but I am moving out - four children, 8 and under, very limited access to the garden and no kitchen and with all of the floorboards up whilst they rewire and replumb means that I just can't face it....can you house sit for friends about to go on holiday? go and stay with parents/in laws?!

We are currently 13 ( and last!) weeks into our 10 week build huge kitchen / utlility / part garage extension, extra bedroom upstairs wth ensuite & dressing area. Our builders set us up a kitchen in our conservatory with a sink, washing machine, we moved the fridge into there as well as some of the worktops and cupboards from the old kitchen that we are going to reuse in the utility. I bought a single induction hob from Aldi, we have the microwave, toaster, kettle and rice cooker for the microwave courtesy of Jamie at Home and tbh it's been fine.
Lots of stuff has gone into storage and I've just kept what we needed. Do you have family close that you can escape to? ours promised to feed us if we needed it but somehow it hasn't worked out like that.......

When we did it we bought a very cheap sink unit from Ikea's bargain corner and one of those mini electric hobs. We survived, but it was miserable. Next time I'm moving out. Good luck.

We had no heating or hot water for 12 weeks
no bathroom for 6 weeks (toilet and cold tap in kitchen)
no kitchen for 3 weeks (camping stove and a microwave in the dining room)
kids were 10 and 8 and we both work from home
you cope
only one room in our house did not have a wall taken down
it was worth it
the night they turned the power on in the new bits of the house we ran around flicking lights
PS we were able to wash at the gym each day.

I've renovated to houses - we lived in one and moved out for the other (similar scale work on both occasions).

I strongly recommend you get out if you can!

Rig up a cheap sink unit - bathroom? Mini oven, microwave, and plug in induction hob. We had no central heating last winter and only the shower for hot water - it was virtually burnt out by the end from filling so many washing up bowls! Cardboard boxes and takeaways. Hell for five months. Just try to think of the money you're saving on rent though

we did this last year, put a few small but workable kitchen units in the garage, bought a mini oven/hob off Amazon, and my top tip, borrowed my Mum's slow cooker ( Which I will NEVER return!) Fantastic for chucking ingredients in in the morning and having tea ready in the evening. All in one pot too. I even cooked a whole chicken in it several times. My kids loved the curries I made in it. So easy.

The whole experience was painful but looking back I've forgotten all about it now my house is done. I couldn't have justified spending thousands on a rental. Also my kids enjoyed every minute - the builders, the power tools, the scaffolding! It was just me that moaned a lot.

Our barbecue was worth it's weight in gold. We used it every day. Mind you, it was a proper summer that year.

Slow cooker, lean mean grill machine, and microwave. Good luck, we hope to be doing the same next year...

Toasted sandwich maker, I still use it.

I imagine the dog must be a problem? We didn't have one when we did the extension but I can't imagine how it would of worked?

I've never moved out, first house I was pregnant then newborn with all floorboard up on one floor and wall being knocked down ( I was a bit nervous about the midwives first visit).

Second house large rear extension new kitchen, it was summer my two were both at primary and we went to the park after school a lot, builders tended to finish by 4.30.

Loft extension was not a problem as they were all upstairs.

I like to know what's going on and being on hand as there are always lots of questions so I didn't mind ( although I often went out on drilling days!).

Thank you Soonbesailing for reassuring me that I am not totally insane for planning to live in the house with 4Dc (eldest 5.5, youngest 11wks) while having a 2 storey extension done - will take out kitchen/dining room for some of the time but should all be worth it in the long run :)

Follow our progress on facebook if you like

Yorky, you'll be fine.
Ours was a 3 bed semi.
We took off the whole side and moved it out a metre or so - two storey
took off the back and moved the ground floor out three metres and the upstairs 1.5 metres
and converted the loft
all at once, while living in it.
It took 9 months (of hell) and was the best property investment I could have made as we now have 4 bed, three bath, two reception, office, utility, conservatory, HUGE kitchen diner - laid out how I wanted it.