Some advice please

[Housereno2023]

We are doing a house Reno and feel very lucky but also very overwhelmed!

it’s a small extension and kitchen / bathroom renovation. Plus whole house plaster and chimney removal. Also knowing down a wall in the dining room.

any tips of how to get ready please ? We are packing all our stuff and putting it into storage. We will try to live here whilst we can but may move out (where?!) if it gets too difficult.

any tips and advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you

When and how long do the builders estimate for the work? It's a pain being without a kitchen. You could stay with friends, rent an airbnb or caravan if it's winter rates. Knocking down the wall will create mess everywhere from the dust and if the builders attempt to clear up it'll be "builder's clean", i.e. they'll remove a bit and tramp the rest everywhere. Still as our builder pointed out paying a cleaner costs less than paying him.

You can try to live upstairs while they work downstairs, hang dust sheets on the stairs.

Pack as much as possible but keep eg important documents somewhere accessible. Try and keep one room (your bedroom?) as calm and stress-free as possible so don’t use it for storage, set up a tv and chairs if there’s room, so you don’t have to spend all your time sitting on the bed. Sheet over the door is a good idea.

Presumably you’re not going to be completely without a bathroom at any time? Set up a kitchen area in a room that won’t be affected too much - fridge, kettle, microwave and toaster at minimum, air fryer if you have one. Washing-up bowl and lots of tea towels. You only need two plates, forks etc but lots of mugs. Be prepared to compromise with things like microwave packet rice, tins, and so on but I managed five weeks without takeaways. Call in any favours from friends who owe you meals! And if it gets too bad, a few days in an Air B’nB or visiting friends or family will give you some respite.

Put dust doors on as many of the other rooms as you can. You can get plastic sheet zips in order to seal up the room but to add a zip down the middle so that you can get in and out. Dust will find its way through door gaps otherwise.

I lived in my current house with no bathroom (apart from toilet) and a wall being knocked down. I found that the upstairs bedrooms stayed reasonably clean and tidy. I used one as a living / dining room and left the main bedroom as my sanctuary. I didn't do the kitchen at the same time, though.

I wouldn't be too worried about the cost of eating out / takeaways, as you will be saving a fortune by not moving into a rental / Air BnB.

One tip: move anything sensitive / important / valuable upstairs and ideally in a room with a lock. (Even if your builders are trustworthy, your front door will be open much of the time if my experience is anything to go by.)

If you dont currently have a vacuum cleaner that can cope with lots of dust consider hiring or buying one. If you use a vacuum with bags buy extra ones and a spare filter if it has a washable filter as you may want to change it more often. Mopping is often more effective at removing dust.

If you do move out your insurance becomes invalid after 30 days - and may be invalid anyway during renovation. Check your builders do have insurance.

Some people think the occasional bacon butty works wonders on builders, I dont personally think it made a difference, they didnt seem to appreciate the offer. I do always have good biscuits on offer, milk not dark chocolate.

Good point about the insurance @anyolddinosaur .

For my current renovation I was able to maintain standard insurance for 90 days with the property unoccupied, subject to weekly inspections, after which it was cancelled. Specialist renovation is needed after that. It's expensive, but you can pay for a short period and extend on a monthly basis as necessary. Mine is about £250 for 3 months.

NB It may be preferable / simpler to go for the renovation insurance straight away.

Agree on the biscuits etc. Leave plenty of supplies and get a cheap kettle if yours is a nice one, then tell them to help themselves so you don't have to keep making large rounds of tea if you are in the house.