Why You Should Move Out During a Remodel

(Guest Writer: Trevor Lawson)

Remodelling your home, particularly if the remodel is extensive, is not easy. You have to take care of the budget, come up with reasonable improvements for your home, find the right contractors, and secure building permits.

And that is all only a start! You then need to get through the remodelling itself, which can take a considerable amount of time and work.

Should you, then, stay in your home while the work is ongoing? The simple answer is: NO!

There are several excellent reasons not to try and tough it out. And we will discuss all the reasons why you should move out during a remodel in more detail!

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Safer For You And Your Family

One of the commonly made mistakes during renovation is assuming that the process is perfectly safe. You must understand that, while your contractors are professionals, they are only human.

Trying to tear down a wall or a roof is by no means risk-free. That is not even mentioning the little things like scattered nails, tools left behind by the contractors, or potential holes left in your floor as they try to get to the wiring or plumbing. Tools lying around represent fantastic tripping hazards. 

Each and every one of these things can be a severe hazard to even an adult. Now, imagine your kids running around between paint thinners, ladders, and dangerous tools.

By moving out during a remodel, you remove the chance of accidental harm befalling your loved ones.

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Belongings Could Be Damaged

While trying to enhance your home, do not forget to take care of your belongings! We have discussed outright danger to people, but just imagine what the renovation would do to your furniture and items just lying around if you decide to stay at home during the works.

You would not be able to put them away safely in storage since you would need to use them in everyday life. Many of your belonging can suffer irreparable damage during the remodel. 

Disregarding the chance of breakage or damage, consider this: the dust, dirt, and debris produced during a remodel. Even dust coating your sofa, clothes, books, and cutlery would be a nightmare.

Image having paint splattered over them by accident. You would incur even more costs as you try to replace everything that had been ruined.

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Your Health Could Suffer

A desire to redesign your space, try out new materials and colours is understandable. And wanting to be there to see if everything is going according to plan is more than expected.

However, remember the dust, dirt, and debris we have mentioned earlier? Add to that paint fumes, brick dust if you need to take down any walls, and similar work products. Inhaling all the dust and fumes is detrimental to your health.

Altogether, they do not paint a promising picture for someone suffering from allergies or more serious issues like asthma. In fact, they would be in one of the worst positions they could possibly find themselves in!

Once remodelling starts, you realize just how much dust is constantly produced and that it never vanishes until well after the work is over.

By then, you could have been suffering over a month of constant attacks and discomfort, offering a pretty good reason why you should move out during a remodel.

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Stress Would Accumulate

Another good reason why you should move out during a remodel is the stress you would suffer. We have gone over the health hazards, and they can drain the patience of even the healthiest individuals.

In addition to all that, consider the constant noise of remodelling. The noise and dirt will undoubtedly cause you some stress and frustration.

The banging, sawing, bustling of workers, and sounds of machinery. It gets loud. You might be fine for a day or two, but are you ready to suffer through it for weeks? Especially since contractors start their days early and finish very late. The ringing in your ears and constant headaches, be it due to noise or dust, will not leave you chipper.

You might claim that moving is just as stressful, but you really only need to book a room in a local hotel. Besides, moving is not that bad with the proper tools to help you speed up the process. In addition, you can rely on the help of a moving crew and save yourself even more trouble.

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Your Work And Your Children’s School Could Suffer

Now, with the stress and the health issues we have just described, imagine being a functioning adult. Feeling exhausted, sick, and more or less perpetually feeling dirty, you would likely not be able to focus properly on your work. This would only add to your exhaustion, and even your relationships with your coworkers could suffer.

Now imagine yourself in your children's shoes! They would have to learn, do their homework, and suffer limitations to what they can do. You would likely not want to let them play freely with the hazards we have mentioned earlier! 

Constant noise and mess will reduce your productivity and possibly affect your children’s school results. It would be a small wonder if their school work did not start to suffer for it.

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Workers Will Be More Efficient

A more pragmatic reason why you should move out during a remodel is the decrease in cost and increase in efficiency. Basically, workers’ efficiency will increase if you stay out of their way.

If your contractors have to constantly try and stay out of your way, looking out for your safety and trying not to disrupt your daily life, their work will likely start to stall. No one wants to accidentally injure someone! As such, your remodel will last even longer, compounding your misery.

If that were not enough, you would have to pay them more because the duration of their work is extended. This means that, by insisting you stay in your home during a remodel, you will potentially hinder both your and their work, incurring a financial loss as a cherry on top. So, it will likely cost more than renting a room at a hotel anyway.

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Final Word

Now that you have read why you should move out during a remodel, it should be obvious what the right decision is.

If you insist on staying in your home, you risk your and your family's health, hindering the progress of your own remodel, making your daily life more complex, and making the whole thing cost more.

All of these should very well outweigh the benefit of getting to track the progress of the remodel yourself, especially when you can just visit occasionally.

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Author Bio:

Trevor Lawson is a freelance blogger with over six years of experience who enjoys writing for various businesses. He likes to write pieces meant to help people and enjoys knowing his work is helpful to someone.