Home remodeling projects are exciting. The dream of a new kitchen, bathroom or family room brings smiles to the whole family’s faces. But remodeling projects are disruptive by nature. A favorite coffee cup can go missing, cooking meals in a microwave gets old and the loss of that convenient shower can be frustrating.
A few easy prep steps can dramatically reduce the disruption of any home remodeling project. The better you prepare your home for the displacement, dust and traffic in your house, the smoother your project will be.
1. Gather supplies. You will need boxes, newspapers, packing materials, packing tape, masking tape, quart size and gallon size plastic storage bags and markers.
2. A week before the project begins, start packing up the contents of your cabinets, beginning with the least-used items. Unpack in reverse order – it will streamline the process. If you’re remodeling your kitchen, pack eating utensils in the gallon size plastic storage bags. Use a bag each for knives, forks, spoons and cooking utensils.
3. Take down window treatments and wall decorations. Put the hardware in plastic storage bags and label them. This is a good time to clean and dust the items if you will be using them again in the remodeled room.
4. Move any pictures, mirrors, furniture, and other items in neighboring rooms away from walls adjacent to the room to be remodeled. Vibrations from the construction could knock them off and break them.
5. Set aside things you don’t use anymore for donation. Make a list and estimate the value before you take them to your local donation center. Throw out anything broken or unusable. This is a great time to reduce clutter.
6. Protect what you can’t remove; floors should be covered, dust curtains hung and a pathway defined for workmen to enter and exit the workspace. Use plastic sheeting and tape to seal off doorways into other rooms and cover bookshelves, furniture, and electronic equipment. If you have a basement below the demo area that is open, cover anything there as well.
We’ll do our best to make the remodeling process as pleasant as possible. With a few extra steps, you’ll be enjoying your new room in no time!