The Secrets To An Easy Home Renovation
Renovations. Whether it’s building an extension, converting a garage, renovating a ruin or putting in a new kitchen, the word alone is enough to strike fear into the heart of anyone who has ever attempted a renovation.
From lack of water, to climbing over piles of ‘stuff’, from deliveries that don’t arrive to dust everywhere, in the joy of the completed project we sometimes forget what it took to get there. Until someone utters those dreaded words ‘next time’. Planned well, however, renovations can be fun. From looking at plans to selecting colours, it’s often a time for dreams, even if it’s a dream on a budget.
At the core of any good, relatively painless renovation is a solid plan and the acceptance that timelines will need to flex sometimes, from unplanned for national holidays to opening a ‘can of worms’ under the floorboards.
Excel sheets, word documents, sophisticated planning tools – whatever your planning ‘poison’, careful planning to a schedule will help you make sure that walls are knocked through and made good before the painters arrive, that you are an absolute minimum of time with no toilet, shower or kitchen facilities, and that lights are only off during daylight hours. And don’t forget to schedule in time and resources for the inevitable clear up at the end. Even the cleanest of handy folk are unlikely to be doing the ‘white glove test’ over your door frame.
And after the planning comes the prepping. For a short while before starting the formal prep work, note what you really do need and use on a regular basis and pack everything else away. Include in that list curtains, carpets, lampshades, bookcases and books, – anything at all that’s a fixture that, whilst a great comfort, are not totally essential for living for a short while and can gather dust or get ruined during work.
Cover sofas and armchairs with plastics or cloths if they can’t be moved out completely. Don’t forget to move plants to somewhere you can see them (and won’t forget to water and/or dust them in all the fuss) but where they won’t get covered in plaster or paint.
You may have a spare room to house all of the things that you box up, and you may have the time and energy to change which room this is as you go. Including moving time for this in your plan, and make sure, in advance, that things will fit through doors.
If more than one room is the subject of the renovation - for example upgrading electrics or plumbing - you may be better advised to move everything out to allow easy access and get the work done quickly, without having to climb over things.
You may also want to consider short term self-storage to keep belongings safe from damage and dry.
Whatever your preferred organisation methods, make sure you have any necessary packing materials well in advance and aim to get any clearing done a day or two before starting work. Packing is inevitably a bigger job than we assume, and so you’ll be glad you gave yourself a little wriggle room for tea (or beer or wine) breaks and to run out to get things that have been forgotten.
If you finish early, you have earned yourself a little extra time to get on with prepping surfaces etc ready for work to start.
At easyStorage, we’ve already created a number of short blogs, guides to packing up different things safely which may help you pack things up safely:
· Packing other fragile things
Whilst a renovation may not be a full-on house move, possessions still need wrapping properly. Throwing them into boxes with nothing but a pair of socks for protection is unlikely to keep possessions safe from breakage, scratches or mould/infestation.
If you do decide to include self-storage in your plan, to keep things safe and out of the way, easyStorage offers storage at around half of the price of traditional self-storage: no-obligation quotes are available online, 24/7: https://book.easystorage.com
And for all your packing needs, easyStorage Boxes can provide you with reasonably prices storage materials to keep your belongings safe: https://easystorageboxes.com/
But whichever way you ‘renovate’, enjoy - may we at easyStorage wish you a successful renovation.