Move out if you can!

This is probably the number one rule of surviving building work. “Move out if you can! We did for six weeks, Then, we moved back. It was awful,” said Andrea who lived with her three small children in the dark and poky basement of their home while it was totally remodelled from top to bottom. Sheelagh agrees. She stayed put when a two-storey, wraparound extension transformed her former police cottage. A mother-of-three, she said: “I can’t believe now we carried on living there at the time. If I did it again, I would start in spring and rent a seasonal pitch at a campsite and live there until it was finished.”

Alex and her family decamped to a holiday chalet on a golf course while their semi-detached home was remodelled into an open-plan layout. She said: “Move out for longer than you think the work will take. We project managed the build ourselves, so still visited the site every day.”

Empty space completely (if possible)

Before the builders arrive, clear as much space as possible before the chaos ensues. Give the area a thorough declutter. If you need to clear a room or two, be systematic. Pack away ornaments, clocks, photos and pictures in cardboard boxes and store them out of the way. Pack them carefully and label each box to give a rough idea of contents.

Kath said: “Put aside things you’ll want to use and think about how to access them while building work is going on.” Think plates, cutlery, mugs  and the TV remote. Consider putting frequently used items in transparent storage boxes, so you can easily find things during building work. If you’re not going to keep all your furniture when the work is finished, now is a good time to sell items or give them to charity. Alternatively, you could rent a storage locker while the build takes place.

Try to make space in the garage, or set one room aside, to act as a storage area for deliveries for items that have yet to be fitted, for example a new bathroom. Otherwise, you will have to navigate your way through a house full of deliveries. Climbing over a bath or edging around big boxes of tiles is no mean feat, especially with a toddler in tow.

Plan for day-to-day living

In most cases, any building project will require you to be living in fewer rooms than normal and these will need to be multi-functional. Think ahead about where you are going to cook and do the laundry. Ask your builders to help get a temporary set-up organised whether it’s a camp kitchen in the sitting room or hooking up a washing machine in the shed. Be prepared for doing the dishes in the bathroom and living off ready meals.

“We ate a lot of takeaways,” said Alex. Her builders used a spreadsheet which showed when different trades people were expected, so they knew who would be coming into their home and, crucially, when the water or electricity might be switched off.

Deal with dust

Be prepared for lots of dust, especially during the demolition phase. “The dust was horrible - it gets everywhere and it's a horrible cement dust,” said Andrea. Possibly learning to accept there will be dust is one of the first lessons to be learnt – no matter how much sweeping or mopping you do.  That said, make sure your builders have plenty of dust sheets to protect any carpets, wood floors and large furniture that can’t be moved elsewhere. It’s worth taking the dust sheets outside to shake them off at the end of each day and even giving them a wash occasionally.

Remember it’s your builders’ responsibility to clear away the worst of the debris at the end of each day. Check if they are going to bag it up and take it away. Do you need to hire a skip or will they? Where will it be positioned?

Keep doors shut

Try to remember to shut doors behind you to prevent dust from the building work spreading throughout your house. If you are knocking through to create a large kitchen diner or go open plan ask your builders to use plastic sheeting with zipped doorways, so the dirtiest area where building work is taking place can be taped shut to stop dust escaping. This will at least help to contain the dirt, a little.

Aim to keep the rest of your home in a liveable condition. Keep your living room clear of piles of boxes so you can watch films or read. It’s important to make the most of peaceful evenings after the builders have left for the day.

Decide their entry through your home

“Decide the builders’ entry and passage through your home,” said Kath who recently had a new kitchen extension built. Minimising movement through your home helps to prevent dirt and dust getting trekked into every corner. Ideally, your home will have a back entrance, or a side passage the builders can use.  If you live in a mid-terraced house, however, this may not be an option. Cover the floor on all routes to the area they are working with cotton dust sheets or stick-on plastic sheeting. Remember to sort out where the builders can park their vans and any permits required.

Be friends with your builders

Be friends with your builders, especially if it’s a significant project and they are going to be in your house for a long time. It may be a stereotype, but builders love a cuppa, so keep it flowing.  “But don’t tie yourself to making multiple cups of tea and coffee. Buy a cheap electric kettle and provide a tray each morning loaded with teabags, coffee, sugar, mugs and a packet of digestive biscuits,” said Sheelagh, adding: “Our build was a winter build, so the week of Christmas I did a run to the local chippy and they had fish and chips for their Christmas lunch.”

Anna added: “Telling them they are doing a wonderful job makes them happy too. If there is a problem, try to go in with a solution. I know that’s not always possible, but it makes it easier to sort out issues.”

But establish ground rules

Alex agreed it is a good idea to be friendly but warned you need to establish clear boundaries. Having a good working relationship with the building team is key to a successful project. “At the end of each week, we bought our builders a load of beer, but we project managed the work ourselves, so we chased things up, kept a close eye on the budget and paid our builders weekly.”

First and foremost, the builders must follow the approved plans for your project.  Anna said: “Set the ground rules. Any deviation from what you planned must be discussed with you beforehand. Any changes invariably come with a financial and time cost.”

Make sure there’s a Portaloo

Loss of privacy can be one of the worst things about having work done with builders in your house day after day. No matter how much you bond with your builders, you probably don’t want to share your downstairs loo or upstairs bathroom with them. “Establish at the start if they will be providing their own Portaloo,” said Sheelagh. “If the extension or remodel is small and they aren’t going to provide one, then it’s worth hiring one yourself. It makes a huge difference and retains some privacy for your family.”

The devil is in the detail

It’s worth taking the time to plan your project down to the smallest detail before the builders arrive. “Think ahead about seemingly trivial decisions,” said Sheelagh, adding: “You will suddenly have to make on the spot decisions about the height of wall sockets or location of knobs on kitchen doors or if you want a double or single socket. Changing your mind later can be costly.”  

Anna agreed, saying: “Think about where you want things to be before the builder starts, moving things like plug sockets, lights and outside taps all incur a cost.”

Plan for pets (and children)

Demolition and drilling are noisy work – and can frighten animals. “If you have pets, have someone you can leave them with for the day when the really noisy jobs are being done. Also, for when building materials are being brought in and out. You can’t expect your builders to prevent your dog from escaping,” said Sheelagh.

Of course, it helps if your builders are pet friendly. Kath’s builder made a temporary cat flap for her moggie to provide easy access to her back garden during building work. Meanwhile Anna partly chose her builder on the basis he was kind to her elderly cat. She said: “If you have pets, they need to appreciate they are family members too!”

Safety is a primary concern if you have kids on site. Ladders, piles of bricks and big holes in the ground can make a wonderful playground. Make sure there is at least one room where it is safe for the kids to play in – and keep a close eye on them. It is the builder’s responsibility to keep a safe building site, but temporary barriers can be moved or climbed over.

Give your builder a key

Relieve yourself of the hassle of having to be there to let your builders in every day by giving them a key. This way you can escape from the noise and chaos for a few hours. If you work away from home, you will have to give them a key. Anna said: “Get a recommendation (for builders) from a neighbour, friend or relative, Check the builder out on the internet. The likelihood is you won’t be there when they are working, so you need to be able to trust them.”

While it’s important you can trust your builders, there will be times during the build when your home may be without doors, windows and even walls. Plus, a range of tradespeople will be involved in the work, so keep valuables locked away in a secured safe within your home or in a deposit box off site.

Be prepared for a long haul

After the upheaval of living on a construction site, it’s exciting to see the final layout begins to take shape. But there will always be one part of a building project that will throw up an unexpected problem and take longer than anticipated. Sheelagh said: “Don’t get too excited when it looks nearly finished, you’re probably only at the halfway mark.” Anna added: “Accept from the start there are likely to be delays on the finish date. No one can predict illness or how much the weather can impact progress.”

Simply staying put means the project is likely to take a bit longer to complete because the builders will have to work around areas being used as temporary living spaces.  

People often underestimate how difficult it is to live on site while their home gets a makeover. Your patience and resilience will be tested by the dust and intrusion. But it doesn’t have to be a complete nightmare living alongside builders. Read our survival strategies and hold on tight to your sanity – as well as your dust sheets. Hopefully, your beautiful new living space will make it all worthwhile.

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