Living on a Building Site

Deciding to undertake a big renovation project on your home is no small decision. It’s exciting and hard work but the hope is that the disruption will pay off with the end result. Living off site during the work is an attractive option but not always possible, especially if you have a tight budget to stick to. So, how do you survive living on a building site?

Planning Ahead – The most important thing is to have a plan. Depending on the size of the project, you might be living in less than ideal conditions for a few weeks so think about how you’re going to cook, stay warm, use bathroom facilities and where you’ll be sleeping. Having a plan will help keep the project running as smoothly as possible and help keep stress levels from rising too much. Consider at what point during the work you might be without power or water and also what time of the year all this will take place – heating will be more of an issue in the winter months.

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Comfort – When the initial feeling of excitement and adventure wear off, and it will, everyone needs a place to retreat to. A place of warmth, calm and comfort that doesn’t resemble a building site. Sectioning off one room at a time throughout the house could be the answer to this but if you think a space completely separate from the chaos is needed then you might want to look at temporary accommodation pods.

Safety – If you have children and/or pets, you’ll want to be more vigilant about site safety. It might be worth sectioning off ‘no-go areas’ and designate a safe space for parking the car, unloading the kids etc so there can be no problems with vehicles coming and going and access issues. Most kids love dressing up so why not introduce an element of fun into the disruption and buy them some high vis vests and hard hats? It is also important to ensure that you are regularly check the air quality and dust levels by using a Dust Monitor from a company such as http://www.mattsmonitors.co.uk/construction-dust-monitors.html as high levels of dust for prolonged periods of time can cause problems with breathing and make existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, worse.

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Plan B – As well as planning ahead, it always pays to have a Plan B too. In the event of delays, severe weather or any other possibilities, having friends and family close can be a lifesaver, if you need to spend a few nights somewhere other than on-site.

Storage – One of the biggest questions is where will you store all your belongings while renovations take place? Garages and sheds might be an option if they are weather-proof and not full of building tools. An easier option might be to use the services of a self-storage company. They offer a more convenient, cheaper and more easily accessible service than having your stuff stored in a warehouse by a removals company.

The benefits of remaining on-site include saving money, learning everything about your house, supervising the project, keeping up momentum and developing new skills.