Building works starting - tips please

[PoshWatchShitShoes]

Evening all,

Our building work is starting in the next few days. I'm feeling very nervous. It's a 12-week project and costing an enormous amount of money.

Any tips please? We've lived here for a few years and it's so strange to walk around the house tonight and think that everything is going to change quite drastically!! The staircase is moving, the walls and doorways are changing. The ground floor layout is changing entirely. All of the bathrooms and windows are changing.

To be honest, it feels like it's too much change and too much money.

We're moving out for the duration of the work, so everything will look different when we move back in. What if it all goes wrong and my ideas of changing so much turn out to be a massive mistake? What if the staircase should just stay where it is? What if I hate the new kitchen?

Even though I've been planning this for a couple of years, I suddenly don't feel ready.

Any advice welcome please. I don't think I'm ever moving again. I feel sick with worry 🤦🏼‍♀️

Hi, it's normal to feel apprehensive I think, I certainly did when our building work started. We're now 3 weeks away from moving back in after being out for 5 months and I'm beyond excited to be going home and not having to make a million decisions every evening on bathrooms/tiles/taps/door handles/all the things.
There have been times when I've doubted what we're doing, but as things have moved along the doubts have waned. Fingers crossed you feel the same for your project 🤞

My tips would be to try and visit regularly (every day if you can) to keep an eye on things and mention anything you are unsure of at the first opportunity as it’s much harder to change / fix things later on.

Take time over decisions, I rushed numerous ones because the builders piled the pressure on and it’s very very hard renovating an entire home like you are doing. I think it’s much easier to do room by room. Often they would claim they needed something next day and I sometimes compromised on what I really wanted for ease/speed of delivery. I would take your time to find the exact things you love for fittings that will be a pain to change.

Make sure that your plumber and tiler don't use your BRAND NEW toilet and sink to plonk all their tools etc (cover them up with towels taped in them) The scratches they can make....................................................................................

My tip is it will take longer than you think, so be prepared for that. Your doing a lot of work in a short time frame and it will only take one thing / trade to be held up and things will start to go pear shaped , Good luck 👍

It’s normal to feel nervous. I’d ensure the following:

1. That any personal items you are leaving in situ are safely boxed up/wrapped. Tradespeople do not carefully move your goods from one room to another so remove as much as you can to storage. It also speeds up how quickly trades can get their part finished.
2. Materials/goods are in short supply. Check with whoever is managing the project that everyone has what they need on site on time. If you are responsible for ordering check you don’t have any delays which could hold everyone up. Do not leave items on site which are not yet require. Builders leave the door open to your house all day and if several trades are on site it’d be unclear who is responsible if anything goes missing/gets damaged.
3. Definitely try to visit daily/every other day. Check what decisions (if any) are needed for the next day/week.
4. If anything can be resold/reused be clear with your project manager who has the right to sell said items (copper/lead scrap materials etc)
5. Buy cheap toilet brushes and bleach. Leave on site. But provide portal ops when your old sanitary ware is removed. Then be very clear with your project manager that when your new sanitaryware

Is installed it is not to be used (if that is your preference). Make sure new kitchen surfaces are wrapped after installation to avoid stains but builders mugs etc.

1. Once flooring is laid install correx or similar to protect it. Also buy over boot covers for once the correx is removed.
2. Be nice to everyone on site (buy the odd round of bacon rolls/teas etc) but if you see something you are unhappy with, tell your project manager as soon as you notice it.

Good luck!

Understandable to be apprehensive OP. It’s a big change. Try to go with the flow, there will be issues and the project will probably over run so be adaptable. But it will get done and in the end you will have the lovely home you designed. Good luck OP.

I would say make sure you have made all your decisions on final fittings and get them ordered, you can waste away hours of time looking at plug sockets and light fittings etc so make those decisions ASAP.

How exciting! Completely understandable to be apprehensive though. Would be wrong to go into it blasé.

Communication with your contractor or project manager is critical. If they haven't already arranged it, ask for a weekly site meeting to be updated on progress as a minimum.

Expect the project to take longer than 12 weeks. Even moreso at the moment with supply delays which will make co-ordinating trades and materials challenging. Everyone will be under enormous pressure and are only human.

Expect the unexpected and you'll be fine.

Seeing the job take shape will be amazing. You'll see it bit by bit so won't be walking into a massive change all at once.

Oh and leave a massive box of tea bags and ton of coffee. Plus regular supply of decent biscuits really helps. Occasional doughnuts works too!

Loo roll. Lots of loo roll, unless they have a portaloo on site. And liquid soap. And bleach.

Don't leave your mugs or cutlery around. You'll never see it again. Not out and out theft but it'll all get used and inadvertently kept in a van. Perhaps by a box of cheap mugs and teaspoons instead.

A trip to Costco or similar is a sensible move!

Ask your project manager for a list of upcoming required decisions so you're not caught on the hop.

If you're going into rented, ask for a monthly rolling contract so you can extend your stay if necessary. It will take enormous pressure off you.

If you and your builder are aiming for Christmas completion, please don't make plans or make Christmas the most important date in the diary. While it's good to aim, try not to make it the be all and end all.

Your fabulous house can be enjoyed when it's ready.

Good builders will spend 30 mins at the end of the day bagging up waste material and cleaning tools etc. Accept that the place is never going to be 'clean' but equally don't accept crap everywhere causing a hazard or fire risk.

Sorry, your builder may have built in a few weeks contingency within your 12 weeks for delays, so I may be talking codswallop!

If I can add one thing to this it would be to keep the neighbours informed about anything likely to be noisy or disruptive. We found out our neighbours building works were starting when scaffolding was delivered at 7.30am and then jackhammering at 8am. It would have been nice to have been warned.

Visit regularly. Expect it to take longer than planned.

Friends installed a motion camera on their gate that notified them when it was opened as they were sick of their builder not showing up (project due to be completed early July - still going).
The first stages where you often can’t see any progress seem to take forever.
Let your neighbours know what is happening.

Make sure the house is kept secure - builders won’t be as careful as you at locking doors

Above all, any issues stress or pressure are only temporary.

Accept you will be worried, that's natural. If anything is bothering you, raise the question asap. What you think might look wrong may be part of a process. It's not worth losing sleep over when a simple explanation will sort it. I overthink everything and it's horrible to stew on stuff which you later find wasn't worthy of your stress after all!

It's also worth making a list of questions for your meeting. And emails to clarify conversations are important.

I'm sure you've covered everything but have you informed your house insurer? They'll need to know.

Thank you so much for the advice and support above. We spent all day sorting and moving out, so only just seeing the messages 😊

I had the first site meeting with the builder this afternoon. The delays have already started on some materials 🤪 On the plus side, I just got an email saying that the range cooker I ordered forever ago is being delivered next week (to be safely stored away in the garage, which is now a mini warehouse for deliveries) 👏

Next week is a big week for deliveries and finalising orders.

So many good tips above. Thanks again for the words of wisdom!

Excellent news on your range and great timing!

You can hug it if you ever need a reminder of why you're doing the work

To be honest, moving out will have saved you 80% of the stress.

Enjoy watching the transformation! Very, very exciting

Good luck! Definitely ask your builder to inform you in advance of the noisiest phases so you can warn your neighbours. Once the work is all done you have to live next to them and they won't have the chance to live elsewhere during the process.

We have now done two major renovations (one was an extension, and the other was a top to bottom refurb including structural/layout alterations). Both times I have been quite emotional at the start of the work, I think that’s normal and I don’t really like change anyway. There is a point where you have basically destroyed your home, and it’s not really worth anything in its current state, which I always find quite emotional, but I’ve always liked what we have created more than what was there before.

We have also always lived in the building throughout but I think if the staircase is going you are right to move out.