The satisfaction of seeing your dream new rooms come to life when you undertake a renovation project is very rewarding. Unfortunately, the process itself can be dirty and messy, so to minimise the impact on your daily life and avoid a cleaning marathon when the work is complete, consider taking steps to avoid as much mess as possible.
Space
Unless your project requires gutting your house, or there are safety reasons not to remain, you are likely to be resident in your property during the renovations. However, the builders will need room to work, and you will want to avoid any of your possessions getting damaged, so the more you can clear from the room the better. If you can, relocate your belongings to other rooms in the house, or a secure exterior building. Most renovations require a spacious residence to be manageable without constantly tripping over things, so if you have a convenient self-storage location near you, this could be the solution. Look for a service that provides dry, well-ventilated units such as Morespace Storage and their self storage in St Neots, to ensure your stored items don’t suffer any detrimental effects from damp or cold.
Dust
Sawdust, plaster dust, cement dust, there will be clouds of tiny particles drifting around your home unless you keep them under control. If you are having a single room renovated, take out anything you’re likely to need to avoid having to use the room and seal anything that needs to stay with plastic sheeting. Then keep the doors to the rest of the house shut and the dust should be contained. If you are having multiple rooms renovated, or there aren’t doors to isolate a room, invest in some plastic door sheets, preferably the ziplock variety that forms a complete seal. You should keep your windows open so that dust can escape, and fresh air circulates the room.
Floors
Builders are bound to be tracking dust, dirt, and building material residues around the area they’re working, and if they have to leave the room and walk through other areas of the house, for example, to get to the bathroom or back outside, a trail will soon form on your floors. Lay down any old carpet, old sheets or rubber matting along walkways to avoid dust contamination or the floor getting marked. Shake the protective coverings out when work has finished for the day, to minimise the tracking effect; it will save a lot of effort at the end of the project and help avoid any damage.
The rest of the house
Bear in mind that adjacent rooms may be affected by vibrations coming from the room undergoing renovation, and dust has an amazing way of spreading through the tiniest apertures. It might be worth removing anything that is likely to be affected by the building work, such as pictures and wall-mounted objects, and cover the remaining furniture just in case the dust spreads.
With a little planning and forethought, the clean-up operation following renovation work won’t be too arduous, and you’ll be able to start enjoying your new rooms straight away.