You can, but it’s not always easy. Some people choose to get temporary accommodation during their renovation. It depends on the scope of your project and your family situation, the age of your children, whether you work at home, whether you have pets, and so on.
If the renovation is confined to one room ‒ for example, the kitchen ‒ your life will be disrupted. There will be lots of noise, dust, and inconvenience, but it can be manageable. If you plan to stay, do some careful well-thought-out planning. If you can plan meals beforehand and freeze them, it will help. So will a good takeout menu.
A good contractor will provide dividers and covers and clean the site well at the end of each day.
Pack up items you don’t always need and have cleanable tubs handy that contain everyday items. Consider moving some of your furniture into storage. You might want to set up a temporary room or section of the house, ideally away from the most noise, especially if you work from home.
Most importantly, speak to your contractor about how they will manage your project, right down to the kind of barriers used and the details of cleanup throughout the project and after it’s over. Forearmed is forewarned.
Be prepared. Ask yourself the questions that will most affect your lifestyle and the project and come up with a plan. An experienced renovator will help you plan, too.
The moment you first start thinking about a renovation is the best time to begin your list of questions. If you can, speak to others who have gone through a major renovation and ask about their biggest challenges. This will be especially important if you have a young family or anyone with mobility or health issues.
Once you have an idea ‒ a Plan A and a Plan B ‒ for each possible situation, you’ll find your renovation will go much more smoothly. Preparation is a major stress-buster.
Renovation can be fun, especially in the early stages, when you’re dreaming of all the ways you can make your home more functional and more beautiful for your family. But it doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, it often takes several months, and the “who” of your renovation is as important as the “what”. There are many things you can do to make sure you hire the Right One. They include the task of researching for reputation, warranties, methods, and processes.
That depends on the company you hire to do the renovation. The most professional renovators with the best reputations take it as a matter of pride that they leave your worksite tidy and safe at the end of each day. It’s a good idea to discuss this at length with your contractor and to have the “tidiness” factor spelled out in your contract beforehand. Good renovators use tarps and plastic dividers to contain the mess and protect your walls, floors, ceilings, stairs, entrances and yard. Not only that, but they protect new work from damage too. There’s going to be a mess at times, sometimes lots of it ‒ no doubt about that. But good professionals will discuss beforehand with you the best ways of protecting furniture as well as keeping children and pets safe. They will also tell you how they will dispose of materials.
If it’s a large-scale renovation, you might consider moving to a temporary location during some of the “messiest” or disruptive stages and work this into your overall budget.
Determine what makes sense to invest in that takes into account your overall family budget. Decide the scale of your renovation. Will it be a whole-home reno or just a room? Will it be phase one of several new improvements? Will it be a new addition? Not sure? An experienced designer can guide you. Decide which company you wish to work with before designs begin so everyone is working as a team in your best interest to achieve your goals.
Your budget should be generous enough to allow for upgrades required for electrical, plumbing, roof, or foundation. If you have an older home, any toxic substances discovered during demolition will have to be professionally and safely removed, so this will need to be accounted for in your budget as well. A renovation budget is a big but essential first step.If you love your home but you’re just getting tired of it, there are many things you can do to make it brighter, happier, and more functional. You might consider:
- Wider doorways
- Seamless one-level flooring
- Curbless showers
- Stairs that can accommodate future lifts
- Flex design so you can just live on one level if you wish
- Bigger windows or new skylights
- More efficient storage
- Better lighting
- Indoor-outdoor integration
- Energy-efficient upgradesThese are critical topics to consider when you’re thinking about hiring a renovator:
- Budget
- Design
- Getting EVERYTHING in writing
- Categories and selections
- Permits
- Cost overruns
- Hiring a professional
- What lies beneath
- Insurance
- Warranty
- Testimonials
- Safety
- Associations
- Contract
First, take care of the basics. Drafty electrical outlets and windows, cold and hot spots, cold floors, inadequate water flow, water leakage, and mould are just some things that affect your comfort. Not addressing these basics could make any newly-renovated space still uncomfortable.
Other improvements can make your home more comfortable. For example:
- A bathroom renovation
- A kitchen renovation
- A new living room or family room
- An updated backyard
- Some of the areas that first need to be addressed are often roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC (heating ventilation air conditioning). Sometimes the very structure of the house needs adjusting.
- If there are toxins present during any demolition, they need to be removed with care and expertise.
- There could be issues with underground plumbing and off-level floors.
- They require a designer, contractor or renovator who has experience with older homes.
Here are a few things to consider. Keep a journal as you go. You’ll probably want to adjust your ideas and plans as they develop. Ask yourself:
- Why do you want a renovation?
- What are your “nice-to-haves”?
- What are your “must-haves”?
- Is this your “transition” or “forever” home?
- Are you downsizing or expanding your family?
- How easy will a new renovation be to clean and maintain?
- What is your end goal?
Net Zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible. A Net Zero home produces as much clean energy as it consumes. Net Zero homes have superb insulation, windows and airtightness. They can be as much as 80 per cent more energy efficient than today’s usual new homes. Net Zero building is profoundly important to the environment and the future.
- Misunderstanding, bad communication, lack of experience, not getting things in writing.
- The size of your project and how complex it is.
- Updating your home’s foundation, or its electrical and plumbing systems to accommodate new appliances, lighting, bathrooms and kitchens.
- Septics, water lines, heating systems, designated substance remediation, appliances, landscaping, furnishing, and window coverings.
- A lengthy project involving demolition and structural reconstruction.
- Possible relocation for several weeks or longer; storage for furniture.
- The kind and quality of materials you use.In general, these are the parts of your home you might consider for value-based improvements.
The basics:
- Foundation, roof, furnace, electrical and plumbing systems, windows, doors and exterior finishes.
Kitchen:
- Space, natural light, storage, work areas, sinks, paint and finishes, islands, seating, and appliances.
Bathroom:
- Curbless showers, benches, hardware, flooring.
Curb appeal:
- Entranceway and landscaping
Here are a few questions you might ask:
- Is my proposed new space going to be comfortable?
- Should I have an energy audit? Are there rebates?
- Will the renovation impact other spaces – for example, a finished basement?
- Will the renovation impact mechanical systems?
- Will a building permit be required?
- What kind of warranty do you have?
- Exactly what do you put in writing?