The Smiths, a family
of eight survived fairly extensive renovations while living
in their split home throughout the construction process. Their remodel included an addition of 400 square feet
to both the main and lower levels, creating a great room (family room,
dining area and kitchen) on the main level and a secondary family room
below. As much as they tried to keep the construction zone
contained, living in a home that is being remodeled disturbs the rest of
the house and how a family lives. Tiffany Smith offers some insight
into how she survived living through the remodel with her small
children.
Deciding to stay, The Smiths broke ground for the project when the
youngest of their six children was 7 months old. It took almost a year
to complete the construction, and they lived through it, literally,
right in the midst of the construction zone.
Many families stay in their home during a remodel. One common reason is the budget. On one hand, if a family moves out, they can
theoretically save money because the contractor can get the job done
faster (and therefore more cheaply) if they don't have to work around a
family. On the other hand, the cost of a temporary apartment or a condo tends to eat up any such savings. For the Smiths, it was a hard decision. "I thought
about this so much," Smith said. Even now that the remodel is finished,
she has gone back and crunched the numbers again. "Would it cost more to stay, or is it cheaper to move out? Honestly, I still don't know."
Ultimately, they stayed because they didn't want to
uproot everyone. "Even though it was a weird construction phase, the
kids were sleeping in their own beds," Smith said. It was a constant
among the chaos.
Stay organized (as much as possible)
The problem with staying in the house during a remodel is that it is almost like moving but you don't go anywhere. You still have to pack boxes. Everything from the
areas to be remodeled has to go somewhere else during construction. The
Smiths used a storage shed for some boxes, but most of the stuff ended
up stacked in the den and the master bedroom. "Our master bedroom was the catchall," Smith said.
"Everything had to go somewhere, and our room was floor-to-ceiling with
boxes. I don't know how we survived it."
Check in with reality
The reality is that remodeling is messy, noisy and stressful. "So many people prepared me," she said. "They warned
me about the constant mess and the constant dust. They said you just
have to grin and bear it, and in the end you will be grateful. They
warned me that those days are going to come where you are going to cry
and say, 'How in the world are we living here?' So, when those days came, she was prepared for them.
"There were only two or three days when I threw up my arms and said, 'I
can't stand this; I want my house back!' And that was pretty good for
me."
Getting over the no-kitchen blues
Surviving three months without a kitchen is not easy, especially when you have a family of hungry children. The Smiths' secret: lots of microwaveable and
slow-cooker meals. Smith says one thing that saved her was that her
older kids were back in school during the time when they had no kitchen.
“That way, I didn't have to worry about all three
meals for all the kids,” she said. “Breakfast is easy — toast, cereal or
oatmeal in the microwave. For lunch, the older kids would be in school
so I would only have the younger kids to worry about. They were so
young, they won't even remember how bad it was.”
Make as many decisions as you can upfront: Smith says
it took a year to get all the plans and specifications done. She worked
with the architect and an interior designer to finalize all the
specifications. "I made 95 percent of all the decisions before we even
dug the hole," she said.
"I didn't want to make any last-minute decisions. I
knew with my family responsibilities I wasn't going to have the luxury
of going out and pricing items that the contractor needed the next day."
At the same time, because she was living in the
house, she was accessible for the contractor when there was a question.
“Being on-site made it easy to meet with my contractor," she said. "I
didn't have to pack up the kids to go talk to the contractor for 15
minutes."
Think safety
When you are living in your home during a remodel, safety comes first. "Safety definitely was a concern," Smith said. "You
have to make sure the job is cleaned up every day and that there are no
nails lying around. We had a really great contractor who was always good
about keeping his job site clean.” The family has a responsibility to
stay out of the construction zone for the duration of the remodel no
matter how much they may need that space.
Overall, living in your home during a remodel is not
easy. It will take patience and a good attitude. “Sometimes we just
needed to pack up and go to the park," Smith said.
"My attitude was, 'Just grin and bear it.' I knew it was going to be worth it in the end, and it was. It was all worth it.”
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Article source: desertnews.com
