Living in your home during renovations

Planning to have work done on your house? What about living in your home during the renovations? With some resourcefulness and a bit of preparation, this option may be possible. Here's how.

Along with being financially wise, given that you won’t need to spend on temporary lodgings, it may also be practical because you’ll have the opportunity to closely follow the work’s progress.

Of all the stages of this process, preparation is the one that will help you survive and maintain your sanity. First, ask yourself if it really is possible to live in your home during renovations.

• If you’re planning to rip out the roof and have all the floors refinished, the answer is no. Otherwise, everything is possible.
• Make a detailed plan of the work to be done, as well as a schedule.

If the work will be taking place in the bedrooms, living room or dining room, you can turn another room or the basement into your temporary home.

If the work is going on in the kitchen, set up a temporary kitchen somewhere else in the house where you can prepare meals.

• Bring along your microwave, toaster, toaster-oven, hot plate, coffee-maker and a cooler or mini-refrigerator.
• Don’t forget to bring dishes, cutlery and a folding table and chairs.
• Remember to prepare several meals in advance before the work starts. If your budget allows it, make the most of the occasion to eat out.

If you’re renovating the bathrooms, work on one bathroom at a time.

• Before the work starts, get detailed information on how long you’ll be unable to use that room.
• Find out if you’ll have access to water elsewhere in the house.
• If you won’t have access to running water, rent a mobile toilet, which are used on work sites.

In short, think of the whole experience as camping indoors.

Here are a few precautions you should take to live in your home during renovations.

• Make sure no one is allergic to any substances or materials being used in the project.
• Make sure your living area, and particularly the bedrooms, are well-ventilated.
• Isolate the work site from the rest of the house by closing doors or hanging plastic sheets. The other rooms should be protected from the dust.
• Cover furniture and store non-essential items in the shed, attic or basement. You could also rent storage space that is heated or not, depending on your needs.

If it’s not going to be possible for you to live in your home during renovations, you’ll probably have to rent a motel room or perhaps friends or family can take you in for a few days. Either way, think about how thrilled you’ll be to reclaim your newly renovated house after the work is done.