Living in Your Home While Remodeling

You may chose to remodel for a variety of reasons. If you are planning on listing your home sometime in the near future, updating your house is a good way to add value. In addition, living in a long-term home may prompt you to upgrade to get more enjoyment and efficiency out of your property. Whatever the reason, the resulting product of remodeling is often very beneficial. However, the road to get there can be treacherous.

Common Endeavors

Home remodeling poses a few different potential inconveniences. Those are largely dependent upon where new construction is taking place. The most common remodeling projects according to Market Watch include:

1. Bathrooms
2. Kitchen
3. Landscape Projects
4. Reconstructing and changing the location of rooms
5. Additions

Aside from the exterior project noted above, each of these endeavors requires a change in your daily routine and living situation. If you are updating kitchen appliances, you may need to find a new place to prepare and eat daily meals. Or, if your shower needs to be replaced, getting ready in the morning might be a bit more stressful.

Additionally, these changes might need to be accounted for in the budget that you create prior to tackling a project.

Establishing a Budget

Decide on a set budget before diving into any remodeling project, and do not go over it. Ensure that you account for additional costs outside of the obvious expenses. HGTV suggested that you set aside 20 percent of your final budget for unexpected renovation expenses that could occur during the process.

Also, know exactly how you plan to pay for your project. Decide what money will finance the remodeling and be certain that it can be allotted to the renovation of the space.

Making a list of priorities will make it easier to eliminate any low-priority improvements and renovations if you need to make cuts to accommodate your budget.

Know what you are willing to invest in your remodel. Decide if certain aspects of the project can be completed on your own. Have a clear understanding of what jobs require you to hire a professional and what tasks you know you can adequately perform.

As mentioned earlier, accounting for changes to your everyday routine in your budget is important. This is most evident in a kitchen remodel. Eating out at restaurants or ordering takeout may become a more frequent occurrence when your kitchen is unusable. Set aside part of your budget to spend on these types of expenses. If you have an infant, additions and general construction may cut into his or her sleeping schedule. Decide whether a few days at the grandparents' house are an option or whether temporarily renting another space is necessary, and include these expenses in your budget.

Accommodating a Bathroom Remodel

Bathrooms are commonly updated. The inconvenience of moving forward with a project such as this is largely dependent upon how many bathrooms you have in your home. HGTV suggests that if you have only one, get it done as quickly as possible and plan around toilet availability in particular.

Do not allow for delays in installation. Have all materials, fixtures and hardware on site before beginning a renovation. This can prevent delays in your completion timeline.

If necessary, ask to set up a temporary toilet and shower. Make sure to discuss options with your contractor and factor costs into your budget.

Working Around Kitchen Reconstruction

Kitchen remodeling projects leave you with another major inconvenience. Food preparation and eating takes up a large portion of our day. HGTV recommends setting up a temporary kitchen somewhere that provides you with access to a sink.

Planning ahead is crucial to living in your house during a kitchen renovation. In addition to designating a new kitchen space, prepare meals before starting your project if you will be able to use a freezer. This allows you access to convenient meals that will save you time and alleviate stress. If you plan on taking out your cabinets, use them for storage in your temporary kitchen before tossing them out.

Try and time your renovation in relation to more convenient seasons. Summer months allow you to barbecue outdoors.

When you are tired of preparing food in your garage or eating in your laundry room, ask to borrow a friend or family member's kitchen or spend some money at a restaurant.

Living with Room Reconstruction and Additions

Baby boomers are aging and many want to tailor their homes to new needs. Moving heavily used rooms, such as bedrooms or laundry rooms, to the ground level floor is one of the more common renovations. Additionally, adding extra rooms onto an existing home is a frequently performed project. Both of these endeavors have the potential to cause quite a bit of stress while living among the mayhem.

Dust, noise and inconvenience are some of the side effects of these types of remodeling projects. Properly ventilate and give yourself a break from being at home every once in awhile. Take a vacation or weekend trip somewhere peaceful.