Best Time to Renovate is BEFORE You Move In

I have personally lived in two homes during large scale renovations and let's just say, it's not my favorite experience.

Firstly, this article is about a large scale renovation. When a home needs new plumbing, electric, HVAC and the whole floor plan needs to be changed. If you want to update a kitchen or a bathroom this is not the same thing. Having been through this experience two times with a small budget and doing everything DIY, I would emphatically tell you if you can avoid living in a large scale renovation then do it. Move in with your in-laws, your best friends, or rent an RV. Seriously, whatever you can do to avoid it I would. If I could go back and moved in with my parents for 6 months, my husband could've finished the house without babies and toddlers waddling around trying to kill themselves.

That being said there were some pros to the live in renovation experience:

1. We were able to purchase a bigger house in a better neighborhood than we were living before.

2. The neighborhoods proximity to downtown and the campus kept the property value high.

3. The slow renovation saved us a lot of money and when we sold the property we tripled our investment.

4. The slow renovation gave us time to get the know the property and be WAYYYYY more creative with the design.

5. We had the renovations paid off before we sold it.

However, had we taken a loan my husband would've been able to put his full attention on our renovation business and been able to hire more of the work out to just get it finished faster. We still would've recouped our money when we sold the house because of the likelihood of increasing our income and paying down all the loans.

Things that were really challenging while living in the renovation.

1. Things take a lot longer than you anticipate.

2. Getting used to being disorganized (Where are the cookbooks? Where is the cabinet that had all our bandaids? Where did my spices get packed away?)

3. Constantly cleaning dust.

4. Not feeling like you can entertain anyone (and being judged when you do). (Bday parties, Christmas, Thanksgiving need to be held elsewhere)

5. Only being able to live in certain sections of the house at a time.

6. Playing musical rooms. Moving all your things around the house so that you can renovate the next space.

7. Having to do cycle through the trades over and over again because you are in the way.

Number 7 is the biggest reason I would not want to live in a renovation again. Instead of getting all the demo finished at once and put in a dumpster, then plumbing, electric and HVAC, then drywall and paint. You have to keep bringing all these different trades people back to start in a new area of the house. It can feel like you aren't getting anywhere.

What happens if you want to renovate your home and you don't have the option to move out. Is all hope lost? No. It just needs to be very well planned out and executed with speed in mind.

Here's a few ideas to make it easier.

1. Have the entire project planned out from the beginning all the way to finishes. So that even if you take breaks after each area you are being consistent and creating a cohesive look.

2. Plan out phases for the work that make the most sense and help to keep your home as functional as possible while the construction is taking place.

3. If you are renovating the kitchen set up a new one in a different room to allow the household to function while the renovation is taking place.

4. Get your budget in order. Make sure you have funds to do the entire project BEFORE you start. Nothing will stop a project faster than non-payment and you might not be able to get the subs back on your project afterwards.

5. Build temporary walls to protect the rest of your home from the dust created from the project.

6. Build an addition for the new space you require.

   Good luck on your renovation goals. If you have a project in mind and want advice from people who not only do it for others but have lived through it themselves. Give us call or email us.