Preparing For A Home Remodel

Almost every time the construction portion of a project begins, homeowners ask us for advice on how to prepare. We rattle off ideas and examples that have helped people in the past, which helps a bit but is a lot to remember.

In lieu of verbally listing suggestions, we thought we would document our thoughts and experiences, and invite you to comment with your own experiences and feedback!

Decide if you will stay home during the remodel.

Remodel work is dusty, loud, and disruptive. It may be worth renting a space, taking an extended vacation, and finding a family member or friend to stay with, particularly if this will be a major renovation. 

If you decide to stay, determine which spaces will be your spaces during the remodel. If possible, consider one access for you and one for the construction team that does not overlap. This can reduce the stress of construction and keep the space you will be occupying as free as possible of dust and debris.

Kitchen remodel? Plan your meals.

A kitchen remodel means that you no longer have access to a sink or dishwasher for washing dishes. It’s amazing how much we notice that we rely on these things when we don’t have access to them! 

With no pots, pans, dishwasher, oven, or refrigerator, how will you prepare your meals? Consider each of the important day-to-day appliances you use, and consider what you will do instead.

We often hear that the summer is a great time for kitchen remodeling because the barbecue can be used. Keep in mind that the summer remodel may extend into the fall and/or winter. A simple aesthetic kitchen remodel can be expected to take 3-4 months on average. Adding intricacies like removing windows, adding doors, and skylights, rerouting HVAC for a new hood location, etc will prolong the remodel.

Pack Up

Pretend you are moving, at minimum in the space that will be under construction, and preferably in the immediate vicinity. Take valuable art off the walls (consider the vibration of walls adjacent to the space and remove hanging items so these do not fall and break) and pack up all important items. Stash anything that might be mistaken as a construction asset- crews will absolutely confuse your step ladder with one of their own thinking another crew member brought it. 

If possible, rent a storage unit for your packed items. The best prevention of damage is to remove items from the site completely. 

I would even say to go as far as to label items that the crew should not touch. It may seem like common sense that you don’t want them to use your sink or put items in the pantry temporarily, but just in case- leave a note/sign.

1. Remove curtains and any other dust-collecting items.

2. Remove fragile and sentimental items.

3. Cover upholstery with a tarp or old bedsheets.

4. Attach plastic sheeting to the front of large open shelving units, to prevent items on the shelves from dust build-up

5. Remove items from cabinets/closets.

6. Keep doors to other rooms closed to reduce dust.

If items are left that will need to be moved and/or worked around, particularly if these items need to move frequently, this will add expense, sometimes exponentially!

Develop a plan for pets and kids

We will want to work together to define our workspaces. While sometimes our work area and your living area may overlap, it is important to clarify as much as possible where one begins and one ends. This definition will also help in terms of pet and child safety. Both pets and kids will be curious and construction is dangerous. Develop a plan to keep both away from the construction zone and ensure they are capable of handling the noise and disruptions. 

We highly suggest moving all animals and animal-related items (toys, beds, litter boxes) to an entirely different floor where possible. Crew members may have allergies to animal dander and waste, and while we don’t notice in our own homes, the ammonia from litter boxes can be very intense for others.

The noise of construction may cause pet anxiety, and make nap time difficult. Determine how these issues will be managed prior to construction starting.

Be Prepared to Clean

We ask that a reasonable amount of cleaning be done prior to the crew’s involvement. Remember, this is now their workspace. While it’s very important for us to create a safe, clean and healthy environment, our team needs the same. We may bring a cleaner in early in construction just to give us a clear look at what we’re starting with. This is a courtesy, and not meant as an insult (we bring a cleaner in at our own home prior to construction start!)

We offer cleaning at the end of each project, and do everything we can to keep a job site tidy, but as mentioned in #1, construction is messy and while the crew may clean up after themselves, they are not a cleaning crew. They are a construction crew. Having been through construction in our own homes, we understand the frustrations of feeling like there are grown children in your home, not cleaning up their messes. Keep in mind that their focus is on keeping the space clean enough for safety purposes (preventing falls, damage, etc.) and on getting the work done. They can take 30 minutes to an hour out of each day to clean… or they can get your job done that much faster.

We just followed the crew after each visit and anticipated some clean-up behind them (dusting and a few missed scraps here and there-  it should not be excessive).

Plan for Outages

Electricity and Water will need to be shut off for safe construction at times. Sometimes this will need to continue into the next day or more. Coming up with a plan and knowing how you’ll operate if there is an extended time without power or water will save stress and heartache in the long run.

We’ve heard that this is a great time to join a gym so that you have a backup place to shower in case of such outages, as well as a place for mental health escape!

Plan for the unexpected

While every contractor wishes they had x-ray vision, we simply cannot know what to expect when we open up the walls. We will even make discoveries when furnishings are moved and expose issues we were not aware were there. 

Your contractor may provide you with a timeline and/or estimate for the work. This timeline is based on ideal conditions, and let’s be honest- most conditions are not ideal.

We suggest setting aside an additional 20% for unexpected challenges and unanticipated changes. Unanticipated challenges are not considered change orders and are difficult to provide an estimate for. This is a good place to keep an eye on your invoices as well as our communications (we will notify you when things are taking longer than expected).

Communicate!

We know how important it is to hear from us and we check in with our clients each week to let them know what the plan is for that week. It is equally important for us to hear from you. What is difficult for you? What are you concerned about? 

Your contractor needs to hear your questions so they can alleviate concerns. They also need responses from you so they can move forward in a timely manner. Little things might seem insignificant, or we may think that we’ve mentioned them verbally (always in writing!), but the last thing we want is for you to be dealing with that item every day over the course of months. 

We’re happy to accommodate as we can to make sure you are as comfortable as possible.

IMPORTANT: We respect your home and your space, and we also know that last-minute adjustments need to be made sometimes. Our crew will often share their personal cell phone numbers. Please do not text them after hours and on the weekend unless there is an emergency. They are very eager to please, but we want to ensure that they get their personal time, as we’re sure you understand.

Keep Your Receipts

We often get the question “How are we doing on budget” and while we can give you an idea of what you’ve spent to date and provide an initial estimate, creating custom reports to compare line items is not an expectation for a time and materials service. 

We offer a client portal, which will give you a good idea of financials. HOWEVER, technology is technology and glitches and synchronization errors do happen. We do our best to keep it up to date, but please let us know if you notice a discrepancy. Your best resource will be the line-item invoices we send with receipts attached.

Instead, utilize your detailed receipts to do your homework and determine these points. Additional financial reports will likely cost you additional administrative time from the contractor as it is time that was not initially anticipated.

We know that preparing for construction is a stressful and busy time, and the last thing you want to be doing is reading MORE information, however, preparedness prevents SO much stress and heartache. So, we thank you for making it this far, and highly recommend reading our blog post on construction expectations here.