© Malorie Currier, Page1Design, Inc., 2018
If you have the option of any of these--a short-term rental, hotel, visiting with friends or family,
residing in your second home, house sitting, or taking a vacation--you are well-advised to take
it. If not, you may have to consider living on the site during at least part of the renovation.
However, if you work at home or spend much of your day there, this situation will likely be
both intolerable and unhealthy; and I would rule it out entirely.
Here are 3 things to think about as the bare minimum to subsist at home, keeping in mind that
it will get worse before it gets better:
1) A clean place to sleep and a usable bathroom
If your bedroom is not part of the renovation, this room will become your oasis. Buy some blue
painter's tape about 2-3" wide and tape your bedroom door shut to keep out the dust when
you leave in the morning. If your bedroom is part of the renovation, arrange with your
contractor to do it separately, either first or last. It will be inefficient for him, but it will make
you far more comfortable.
If your bathrooms are being renovated, demolish and complete one bath at a time. If it is a
single bath residence, can you leave early to use the facilities at your building's gym or laundry
room, your office gym or bath, or a neighbor's bathroom (though, understandably, few will
welcome you)? Otherwise, the requirements of personal hygiene will be impossible.
Bathrooms take awhile to renovate, so this will be a considerable inconvenience to you.
2) A reasonable place to pile boxes and storage
Look into hiring an affordable moving/storage company that will pack and store everything for
a month or more. Otherwise, start packing well in advance, keeping in mind that boxes
remaining on the premises will need to be placed in a space that is out of the way of
construction activity and equipment. Furniture, covered or not, will accumulate some dust.
Good advice is to pack a little at a time. I don't know anyone who enjoys this task, but it does
have a bright side. It gives you an opportunity to toss and donate things that have outlasted
their usefulness to you. Choose a charity that will pick up and give you a donation form. Keep
track of the items you donate. The form will come in handy on April 15.
3) A tolerance for some dust and disorder
Ask your contractor to provide zippered plastic enclosures to curtain off areas not designated
for renovation. However, the need for workers to go in and out through these partitions
generally defeats this plan to some extent. Buy plastic drop cloths to supplement your
contractor's, and require a reasonable cleanup at the end of the day and a thorough one at the
end of the week. An orderly workplace is one measure of a good contractor. And keep a supply
of lightweight masks to wear when you are on the site.
Living at home is usually challenging during demo, for health and safety reasons. After debris is
removed, the construction phase will start; and you can take up residence again. While it is an
advantage to see your work daily so you can "catch" problems at an early stage, the disorder
and dust can be daunting. So good advice is to consult with your contractor and think it
through before you make a decision to live on site. Remember, you can always opt out if the
going gets rough.
Tip: Do We Have to Move Out?
Friends, family, hotels, rentals--
none are ideal because of the
cost of relationships or the cost
in money. Unless you are
renovating due to damage by
flood or similar, you will be
paying for accommodations, and
it can mount up, especially if
there are delays or other issues.
Be prepared to move out for
demo and cleanup. But under
some circumstances, with
careful planning, you can live at
home.
>Can I Live at Home While I Renovate?