Renovating your home sounds exciting when you’re choosing paint colors and looking at ideas online.
Actually living through a renovation? That’s a little different.
Once the work begins, your home suddenly feels like a building site. There are people coming and going, tools everywhere, doors being left open, and dust somehow appearing in rooms nowhere near the renovation site.
And, if you have children or pets, you might find yourself saying, “Don’t touch that,” more times than you’d like.
Of course, you can’t make a renovation completely disruption-free, but with a little planning? You’ll keep your family safe and make the experience easier to handle.
Keep reading to find out more.
Move Out if the Work is Major
For a small project, staying at home is manageable. You can probably live around a bathroom update or a few days of painting.
Major work is another story.
Maybe walls are coming down. Perhaps floors are being removed. Or contractors might be carrying out extensive electrical or plumbing work. No matter what’s happening, it might be better to get the family out of the house temporarily. Construction areas can be dangerous. You’ll have to keep children or pets away from tools, wires, and unfamiliar workers – and that’s exhausting.
For longer projects, Toronto furnished rentals for month-long stays give your family somewhere comfortable to live while the work is completed. Having a proper kitchen, bedroom, and space to relax feels much more like normal life than trying to squeeze everyone into a hotel room.
Moving out is inconvenient – that’s obvious. But sometimes, it’s easier than trying to make dinner while someone is drilling through your kitchen wall.
Protect the Things You Care About
Even careful contractors can’t stop every bit of dust from traveling.
Before work begins, move fragile and valuable items. Keep them away from the construction area. Put family photographs, important documents, electronics, and sentimental belongings somewhere safe.
Cover furniture that has to stay. Or more it to another room if possible. For a large renovation, temporary storage might even be worth considering.
It also helps to ask your contractor how they’ll keep dust and debris under control. Will they put up barriers? Which entrance will workers use? How will they protect the rooms that aren’t being renovated?
These are small questions. However, they are worth asking. Do so early on to avoid discovering a fine layer of construction dust on everything you own.
Set Firm Boundaries
If your family is staying in the house, make it clear which areas are off-limits.
Children are naturally curious. Pets don’t always understand that a room full of toys and wires isn’t somewhere to explore. So, do these three things regularly:
- Keep doors closed,
- Use physical barriers when necessary,
- Talk to your contractor about which areas will be active each day.
Pay attention to open doors, too. Contractors carrying materials in and out may leave entrances open more often than usual. This can be an easy escape route for a child or pet.
To conclude, renovations do make life feel chaotic – at least for a while. There are certain things you can do to keep your family safe while work is being carried out, as explained above.
Marissa is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist turned stay-at-home mom who loves sharing her tips, tricks, and ideas for navigating motherhood. Her days are filled starting tickle wars and dance parties with three energetic toddlers and wondering how long she can leave the house a mess until her husband notices. When she doesn’t have her hands full of children, she enjoys a glass (or 3) of wine, reality tv, and country music. In addition to blogging about all things motherhood, she sells printables on Etsy and has another website, teachinglittles.com, for kid’s activity ideas.
