Traveling While Your Home Is Renovated? Here's How To Prep The Property

When the home is being renovated through and through, it’s actually one of the best times to book a vacation. After all - you get to skip the mess, there’s a chance you’d be spending on hotels anyway, and once the home is done, you probably won’t want to leave it for a while.

However, while you may have agreed with the contractors on every piece of work to be undertaken, and while it might be that someone you know is there to oversee them or perhaps your partner is going to meet you later after doing so, it’s a good idea to prepare the home so that the work can be carried out somewhat undisturbed. This way, no obstacles will get in the way of productive management, and of course, you won’t return to broken possessions or your prized items coated in construction dust.

If you’re preparing a home for renovation while you leave to travel, look no further than the advice in this thread. We hope to make this process easier for you to deal with going forward:

Switch Off Your Power & Water

Of course, it’s a good idea to make sure you switch off your power and water so that the contractors can more easily rewire and replumb the building. This means shutting off the fusebox and making sure the water mains is turned off, too. The contractors will no doubt check this before they commit to work, but it’s a good idea to turn it off anyway.

Furthermore, make sure every power outlet is switched off, and that you’ve unplugged anything you deem to be important. This way, power surges or other issues are unlikely to harm your possessions.

Put Your Precious Items In Storage

If you have precious items, or even property you’d rather not see damaged (we’re guessing this is the case), then it’s important to make sure they’re stored away from the main action. Placing them carefully in the garage, the attic, or anywhere else deemed to be ‘safe’ will be a great use of your time.

From there, you may consider the possibility of putting your items in secure storage. There are many services that offer secured spaces for you to do exactly that. Of course, contractors do all they can to prepare for a home renovation, and will do their best not to damage your home or any of your possessions. But it’s much easier if those possessions aren’t between them and their construction approach in the first place.

Of course, it can also be worthwhile to use this opportunity for a little clear out. With a Breeding Roll Off Dumpster, you’ll be in the best situation to keep all of that debris in one place.

Use Dust Sheets As Much As Possible

Dust sheets can make a big difference, especially if you think some possessions are worth keeping in the same place. A family television, for instance, might be fine in the living room, and hard to move, especially if they’re only knocking through the opposite wall. Dust, especially dust in electronics however, can be its own risk.

For this reason, it’s a good idea to place dust sheets on top of goods you’d rather keep safe. They can also protect upholstery like your furnishings. This can also limit the amount of intensive cleaning you have to focus on when you come back.

List Your No-Go Areas

Of course, your home is your home, and you don’t have to surrender every single area of it to contractors just because you’ve planned a given renovation. Of course, they might ask for access to a certain room if they need to rework the plumbing, or if they see that a certain issue has occurred and they need better access to work a solution.

However, it might be worthwhile to list in advance where you’d prefer them not to go. Locking your home office door, or your infant’s room, can be a good idea. You’re well within your rights to add this stipulation, so don’t be afraid todo so if it will provide you enhanced peace of mind.

Prepare The Bathroom Facilities

Preparing the bathroom facilities will allow the contractors to work on the job with ease. They’re probably going to use it anyway, so you may as well place an air freshener in their, place a protective rug down so boot marks don’t scuff the floors, and add a few hand gel dispensers or tissues so that they don’t use your towels to dry their hands or go around without washing them in the first place.

Agreeing on this in advance will certainly be a good place to start.

Leave Any Special Requests & Contact Information

It might be that you need to communicate a few requests before you head off, and so making sure that you communicate with them to ensure this is followed is key. For instance, maybe you’ve worked out a deal with your neighbor that because they have a newborn, the work will stop at 3.30pm each afternoon.

Placing your contact information and the contact point of one other person you trust can also be a worthwhile way forward. It means that in the event of a real issue, you can be notified immediately.

Work Out The Security Strategy

If your walls are being demolished, or an opening is being developed in order to add a secondary corridor to an exterior structure, then it could be that your home is easier to access .It’s good to work out a security solution in advance with the contractors you’ve hired - such as how and where they’ll place security gates each evening, and how they will stabilize them.

Take Photographs Of Everything

Of course, you no doubt trust the contractors, but trust and being able to apply accountability are not necessarily opposed considerations. Taking pictures of the whole house and areas you deem to be valuable, as well as some of your property, will help you get a better view of what they’ve moved, where certain damage may have occurred, or if they’ve followed any requests you may have had.

With this advice, we believe you’ll be more capable in preparing your home for that aforementioned renovation.