Can You Live in Your House During a Major Renovation?
If you are planning a major home renovation, one of the biggest practical questions is whether you can continue living in your house while the work takes place.
The answer is sometimes, depending on the scope of your renovation, the layout of your home and how the construction needs to be sequenced. Some of our clients remain at home for much of their renovation, while others move out for the full construction period or for particular stages of the project.
Where remaining at home is important, we can explore ways to stage the work and separate construction areas from the parts of the house you are using. It is also important to understand that working around an occupied home can extend the construction timeframe.
From a construction perspective, moving out generally allows us to complete the work more quickly and efficiently because we have greater flexibility to sequence trades and access all areas of the home as required.
We discuss these options with you during the planning process so you can make an informed decision about what will work best for your family.
Can you stay living at home during a second storey addition?
Sometimes, although you are likely to need alternative accommodation for at least some periods during construction.
While much of a second storey addition involves creating new space above the existing house, adding another level involves significant structural work to the existing home. There are stages where we need access to the ground floor, alter the existing roof structure and connect the new and existing parts of the house.
Depending on your particular project, it may be possible to live at home during some stages and move out temporarily during others.
We assess this as part of the construction planning and explain which stages are likely to affect your ability to remain in the house.
If you are able to move out for the construction period, the project can generally progress more efficiently because we have greater flexibility to coordinate trades, complete structural work and move between different areas of the house.
Can you live at home during a ground floor extension?
Living at home during an extension is definitely possible, particularly when much of the new construction can initially be separated from your existing living areas.
A rear extension, for example, may allow you to continue using a significant portion of the existing house while construction takes place at the back.
As the project progresses, we will eventually need to connect the existing home and the extension. If your project also includes extensive renovation of your kitchen, bathrooms or living areas, there may be periods when remaining at home becomes less practical but we do have workarounds such as a temporary kitchen setup.
Can you live at home during a Top-to-Toe renovation?
A Top-to-Toe renovation involves work across a large proportion of your existing home, which means remaining in residence requires careful planning.
Depending on the layout and scope of work, we may be able to divide the renovation into stages so one section of the house remains available while we work in another.
However, staging the work in this way can extend the construction timeframe because we are working around occupied areas rather than having access to the entire house.
If you have the option of moving out, this generally allows us to complete a major whole-home renovation more efficiently. For some families, however, remaining at home is a priority, and we can explore whether staged construction is practical for your project.
Will staying at home make your renovation take longer?
In many cases, yes. An Amerex Top-to-Toe renovation generally takes around 6 months to construct, while a major home extension or second storey addition typically takes around 8 to 12 months.
If we deliberately divide a large project into stages so you can continue living in the house, the construction period may extend beyond these typical timeframes and can take longer than 12 months for some projects.
This is because we need to sequence the work around maintaining usable areas of your home. We may complete one area before moving into another, maintain access to particular rooms or facilities and schedule some activities around periods when you are away from the property.
When the house is vacant, we have greater flexibility to access all areas, coordinate trades and follow the most efficient construction sequence.
For some families, a longer construction period is a worthwhile trade-off because remaining at home reduces the cost of alternative accommodation. For others, moving out and completing the renovation more efficiently is the preferred option.
We can explain how each approach would affect your particular project so you can weigh up the time, cost and lifestyle considerations.
What happens when we renovate your kitchen?
Your kitchen is usually one of the biggest considerations when deciding whether living at home will be practical.
Depending on your project and the space available, we may be able to establish a temporary kitchen elsewhere in your home so you have access to essential facilities while your new kitchen is being constructed.
Planning the construction scheduleis particularly important because cabinetry, benchtops, plumbing, electrical work, appliances and finishing trades all need to come together at the right time.
By coordinating these different elements within the overall construction schedule, we can keep the period between your old kitchen being removed and your new kitchen becoming operational as streamlined as possible.
What happens when we renovate your bathrooms?
Bathroom availability is another important consideration, particularly if your renovation includes every bathroom in your home.
If you have multiple bathrooms, we may be able to stage the work so one bathroom remains available while another is being renovated.
We look at your home’s layout and the complete scope of work when planning the construction sequence so we can identify the most practical solution for your household.
Please be aware that this can add time to your project and sometimes additional cost too as trades need to come to your home on multiple occasions.
How do we separate your living areas from the construction zone?
Creating a clear separation between construction and living areas is an important part of managing a renovation while you remain at home.
Depending on your project, we may use temporary hoarding, protective barriers and designated access points to help separate your family’s living areas from our working construction areas.
We also put considerable effort into protecting the parts of your existing home that are being retained. Floors, cabinetry, benchtops and other finished surfaces are protected as required while construction continues around them.
If you are living at home, we consider how you will access your living areas as well as how our trades will access the construction zone. Careful planning helps us manage both activities alongside each other.
If you have pets and small children the safety aspect of remaining at home introduces risks and needs to be carefully considered. In these circumstances it is probably better to live elsewhere.
What about dust and noise?
A major renovation involves demolition, cutting, drilling, sanding and construction, so yes, there will be periods when your home is noisy and dusty. This is unavoidable.
We do our best to minimise the impact with barriers, protection and careful site management to help contain the impact, particularly when you are living in another part of the house. However, fine dust does have a way of travelling!
The level of activity also changes throughout the project. Demolition and structural work can be particularly busy, while later stages involving cabinetry, painting and finishing work have a very different feel.
Knowing what is coming makes living through a renovation much easier. This is one reason why our weekly communication is such an important part of the way we manage our projects.
How do we manage renovations when you have children or pets?
Children and pets are an important part of the planning when you are going to remain at home during construction.
We create clear boundaries between the construction zone and your family’s living areas, with appropriate separation from areas where building work is taking place.
If you have small children we usually recommend moving out. This is important for safety reasons but also other practical reasons. For example, if your children still have naps during the day, construction noise may disrupt this.
Pets also require some additional thought because construction changes their usual environment. New people may be arriving at the property, gates may be used more frequently and their normal access around the house or garden may change during different stages of the project. If your dog barks at everything, it may be quite annoying for your neighbours!
We discuss these practical considerations with you before construction begins so we understand who will be living in the home and can plan accordingly.
How we keep you informed during your renovation
Communication becomes particularly important when you are living at home because our construction project is taking place alongside your everyday life.
You need to know what is happening, which areas will be affected and what work is coming next so you can plan your week around the construction program.
At Amerex, we provide you with a weekly progress email throughout construction, giving you a clear picture of what has been completed and what is planned next.
You also have direct access to the Amerex team throughout your project, which means you can ask questions and discuss practical issues as they arise.
This regular communication provides greater visibility over what is happening around you and what you can expect in the weeks ahead.
Is staying at home during your renovation a good idea?
For some families, it can be. The main financial benefit is the potential saving on rental accommodation. Remaining at home can allow you to stay in your neighbourhood and maintain familiar routines around work, school and family life.
The trade-off is that you will be living alongside an active construction project and the renovation can take longer when we are required to stage the work around occupied areas.
Moving out generally gives us the most efficient construction schedule. We have greater access to the house, more flexibility when scheduling trades and greater freedom to move between different areas of the home. For example, this can faciliate us scheduling multiple trades at the same time.
Please also be aware that in some cases staying at home is NOT recommended due to site conditions or the project scope. This will be discussed with you upfront and there will be no unexpected surprises.
What should you discuss with us if you want to stay at home?
If remaining in your home during construction is important to you, tell us early in the planning process. We can discuss which parts of your home are likely to remain usable, when you may need to move out temporarily, how we can separate construction and living zones, whether staged construction would be beneficial and how kitchen and bathroom facilities can be managed during different stages.
We will also explain how this will affect the overall construction timeline.
Having these conversations during the planning stage allows us to incorporate your needs into the construction strategy and give you a realistic picture of what living through your particular renovation will involve.
Why does experience with occupied renovations matter?
Renovating a home while people continue living in it requires very careful planning and coordination. We need to integrate new construction with your existing home while considering how our work affects your access, facilities and everyday routines.
Amerex has specialised in major Perth home renovations, home extensions and second storey additions since 1987, so working with existing homes and occupied properties is a familiar part of what we do.
We use professional project management software to schedule our projects, secure materials and trades in advance and coordinate a stable team of trusted tradespeople.
Our trades have been selected for their quality workmanship, positive attitude and commitment to delivering an excellent result for our clients. Many have worked with Amerex for years and understand the additional care required when working in and around someone’s home.
For you, this means the construction, scheduling, trades, site management and quality are coordinated by one professional team throughout the project.
So, can you live in your house during a major renovation?
Sometimes you can, although moving out does allows us to complete your renovation more quickly and efficiently.
For some extensions and renovations, you may be able to remain at home for much of the construction period. During a second storey addition, it may be possible to stay for certain stages, although you are likely to need alternative accommodation at other times. For extensive Top-to-Toe renovations, the decision will depend heavily on the scope and layout of your home and your family.
Remember, if staying at home is important to you, the best time to tell us is during the design and planning stage. We can then consider your living arrangements as part of the renovation itself, including when you can remain at home, when temporary accommodation may be appropriate and whether staging the work is feasible.
With careful planning and open communication, we can work with you to find the right balance between your living arrangements, construction efficiency and a workable timeframe for completing your new home.
Want to know more? Contact the Amerex team today.