ARE YOU READY?
Living in the mist of a major renovation can be one of the most stressful things you can do. It pays to be prepared and organise your surroundings so that you are better able to cope with the building process once it gets underway.
We all know the term ‘my house my castle’. Imagine your castle being invaded by foreign knights, (builders), carrying swords and shields (skill saws and protective head gear) alongside battering rams (demolition equipment) siege towers (scaffolding) and an assortment of archers and various common army folk (electricians, plumbers and other sub trades) and you will have a fairly adequate idea of what it means being ‘invaded’ for a renovation project.
Be realistic about your own ability to cope with having to crawl over building equipment, timber framing stacked in the hallway, cooking on a hot plate for months on end and sleeping on a mattress on the floor. You may be perfectly happy to live amongst the sawdust and not want to be without it; however safety with respect to your family is another point to consider.
It may not be safe to have a two year old crawling around if you are cutting holes in the floor. The process can be very stressful for some children, they feel insecure as the thing they understand as reliable and constant (their home) is undergoing change.
It may pay to move out for a while to keep your sanity and create a bit of distance between yourself and your renovation project so that you are both happy to see each other after you finish.
