How to survive home renovations...

I touched on this very briefly through our social media stories last week as I showed our ongoing mini renovations in the upstairs of our home to accommodate for the nursery space. I think as long as you go into a renovation with the proper mind set and expectations, then a renovation doesn’t have to be stressful. We try our absolute best to minimize the impact on our client’s day to day life, as well as prepare our clients for what to expect.

1.     Have a space that is put together throughout the renovation.

We have done full home renovations on client’s homes with them still living in the house. Although it is not an ideal situation, sometimes it is the only option and we try our best to accommodate. In a circumstance like this we opted to renovate the main floor first, so our clients could predominately live in the basement and then we switched after completing the main floor and worked our way through the basement. With smaller renovations, the same principles apply, our house for example, Jax’s room and the nursery were a disaster, so I made sure our bedroom and bathroom were neat, tidy and clean. Then at night we could shut the doors to the spaces being renovated and it didn’t feel all consuming. It’s easy to let rooms become dumping zones or messy because your “in renovations” but I truly believe if you have a space to go to that feels “normal” it can reduce stress in the process.

2.     Wait to clean.

Okay, this one feels like it contradicts item 1, but let me explain. We try our absolute best to keep a client’s home clean during the renovation process, but we only have so much magic up our sleeves and it will never be perfect. We clean up at the end of each day, vacuum, sweep, tidy up, etc but no matter how many matts go on the floor, plastic goes up to barricade rooms, dust gets everywhere. It just does, it doesn’t matter what we do it just does. So coming from a person who is very OCD, I get the need to want to clean, but honestly if you can, just wait. Wait until we are gone, the dust has settled and you can clean productively in your space.

3.     Communication is key.

Sometimes we laugh and say we over communicate or over explain things and our client’s are trusting us with the process and don’t need to be bothered with the particulars. But, we try really hard to involve the client every step of the way and ensure continuous communication. That is also a two way streak. If your in a renovation and you have a question about the project, speak up and ask, I would rather a client come to me when we have laid the first tile and say I really wish we had laid it the other way, then after we have completed the entire room. Don’t be afraid to speak up, ask questions and be a part of the process.

4.     Pack away your valuables.

I think in every teenage rom-con movie there is always the scene where the teenagers are packing away the valuables in their parent’s home before throwing a house party. Although we will not be showing up with a keg, the same principles somewhat apply while doing a renovation. We will help our clients by moving large items that they may not be able to move, couches, fridges, etc but for the most part we ask the space to be clear during a renovation and that involves packing away valuables as well. A lot of things are replaceable, thankfully we have never run into this situation in the past, however, I can’t replace your great grandmother’s tea pot. Even area’s that are not being renovated but are in the path of travel for the construction team should be cleared away so that no accidents occur.

5.     This is not HGTV

Don’t get me wrong, if we had a little t.v magic that would be wonderful! But the truth is we don’t, there is no such thing in the real world as a kitchen done in two days, we can’t do a bathroom for $3,000 and we surely can’t point at something and expect it magically be completed. HGTV is wonderful, full of amazing, talented trades, it is a fantastic place to draw inspiration from but when it comes to renovations in the real world, it really is different, so please don’t expect it will be like what you see on t.v.

All and all, I think the most important thing is to choose THE RIGHT TEAM, if you are working with a company that you trust, it makes the entire process run that much smoother. There are defiantly ways to set up your expectations, but working with a great team makes all the difference.