Prepare Your Home for a Remodel

You’ve set a budget, decided on a design, and hired a contractor to remodel your kitchen and bathroom.  You are ready to start remodeling, right?  Almost.  Before you begin any major home remodel, there are a few preparations you will want to make to be sure everything goes as smoothly as possible: 

1. Protect Against Dust and Dirt



Any time demolition happens, dust will be produced. Contractors and their employees will also be walking across your floors and through your rooms.  Unless your floors are old and you plan on replacing them anyways, we highly recommend laying down cardboard or plastic to protect your floor from dirty work boots.  You will also want to protect any furniture in the vicinity - even if it is in an adjacent room.  Dust travels quickly and easily; it’s better to over-prepare than come home to a dusty living room!

2. Clear Out the Clutter (and the Furniture)



During a major remodel, anything that is left in the work area is likely to be damaged.  While most people don’t have much furniture in their bathrooms, you’ll still want to remove everything you can from the space - towels, cleaning products, personal hygiene and styling products, and decorations.  If you have a breakfast table in your kitchen, you’ll need to store it somewhere else during the remodel.  Your fridge also might need to be unplugged for a little while during a kitchen remodel, so make a plan to keep perishables from going to waste!

3. Plan for Life Interruptions



Kitchen and bathroom remodels can be especially disrupting to your everyday life - these are rooms you use multiple times a day!  Depending on the scope of your remodel, you might not have a functional kitchen or bathroom for several days or more.  Talk to your contractor about the time frame for your project, then decide if you can work around the remodel (by eating out and showering in another bathroom for a few days) or if you would rather live somewhere else during the remodel. 

4. Prepare Yourself (Mentally and Emotionally!)



Remodels can be stressful, can make you feel like your privacy is being invaded, and are certain to disrupt your routine.  While planning how you are going to live around these disruptions helps greatly, we have found that it still helps to mentally and emotionally prepare yourself.  This will look different for different personality types, so we can’t tell you exactly what will help you the most. However, focusing on the end result, accepting in advance that something will probably not go according to plan, and making sure your calendar is clear during the remodel are great ways to help your mind and heart come out unscathed. 

The larger the scope of your remodel, the more preparations you will need to make to keep your home clean and your mind sane.  Be sure to discuss your preparations with your contractor so that everyone is on the same page, then take a deep breath and get ready to remodel!