Living at Home During a Remodel: How to Prepare Your House and Family
Often you can, as long as you keep a working bathroom, a way to prepare food, and a safe separation between the work area and the rest of the house. Moving out for a while makes sense when the only kitchen or bathroom is out of use, utilities will be off for long stretches, or children and pets can’t be kept away from the work.
The decision depends on which rooms are affected, not only on how long the job takes. Below is how to decide and what to set up before the first day.
Which rooms will be out of use?
A guest bathroom remodel is very different from losing the only bathroom. A bedroom remodel is different from losing the kitchen and the main hallway. List the rooms, entrances, and walkways the work will block, and ask when each one will be out of use. Our schedule guide covers what sets those dates.
What if it’s our only bathroom?
Say so before the schedule is set. Ask when the toilet and shower will be out of use, whether anything can stay connected overnight, and what happens if an inspection moves. If the answers don’t work for your household, plan to stay elsewhere for that stretch. With Landford, telling Adam early means the plan covers when the bathroom will be out of use.
How do we manage without a kitchen?
Set up a small food station in another room with a microwave, a kettle or coffee maker, a fridge if you can, and a place to wash dishes. Ask when the water, gas, and power will be off, and don’t assume you can keep using the kitchen through a full remodel. Our kitchen and bathroom checklists cover the decisions to make before demolition.
Dust, noise, and utility shutoffs
Barriers, floor protection, and cleanup reduce dust, but remodeling is never dust-free. Demolition, cutting, and deliveries are loud, which matters if you work from home. Ask when these could be interrupted:
- Water
- Electricity
- Gas
- Heating or cooling
- Laundry
- Internet
- Kitchen or bathroom use
How is the house protected, and what do we need to do?
On every Landford project, we cover floors and surfaces, seal off the work area to contain dust, keep the site organized, and clean up every day. The photo at the top shows protective board over the floor in Landford’s Los Gatos kitchen. Ask any contractor what they do, and handle the rest yourself:
- Empty the work area: furniture, art, electronics, and everything inside cabinets
- Move fragile items off shelves on shared walls, since vibration carries
- Label anything that stays, such as fixtures or cabinets you want to reuse
- Cover belongings in nearby rooms
- Photograph floors, walls, and doors along the path workers and materials will use
Agree on access and communication
- Which entrance workers use, and working hours
- Parking and where deliveries go
- Keys, gate codes, and alarm instructions
- What happens when nobody is home
- Who your main contact is and how urgent questions are handled
- Who in the household can approve changes
Keep children and pets away from the work
Work areas have tools, sharp materials, open walls, and temporary wiring, and doors open often for deliveries. Set a barrier children and pets can’t get past, and plan where pets will be while doors are open.
When moving out for a while makes sense
- The home won’t have a working kitchen or bathroom
- Several main rooms are affected at once
- Utilities will be off for long stretches
- The work blocks the main entrances
- Children or pets can’t be kept safely away from the work
How Landford Construction works in occupied homes
Adam Yagibekov is your point of contact through the whole project, and Landford updates you after each stage and inspection, so you know when a room or utility will be back. At the end, Landford hauls away the debris, does a final clean, and walks through the finished work with you. The full sequence is in our step-by-step remodel guide.
If you’re planning a whole-home, kitchen, or bathroom remodel, send photos of the rooms involved and tell Adam whether you plan to stay home during the work.
The bottom line
Decide based on which rooms you lose and for how long, then set up access, a temporary kitchen or bathroom, and protection before the first day of work.
About the author
Adam Tamerlan Yagibekov owns Landford Construction, Inc., a licensed general building contractor based in San Jose, California (CSLB #1160801). With 9 years in construction and remodeling, Adam prepares each estimate and stays the client’s point of contact through the whole project.
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