Remodels hurt the people that live through it just as much as they hurt the home at first. They bring unforeseen challenges.

1. Advice to Get You through a Remodel
Remodels hurt the people that live through it just as much as they hurt the home at first. They bring
unforeseen challenges.
These challenges can try a family’s patience to its bitter end. Many wish they knew what to prepare for.
Had they known some of the common challenges ahead of them, they would have been better
prepared. Here are a few of the things that can help you prepare for the stress ahead.
Plan to lose the room you are going to remodel. If you’re remodeling the kitchen, then make sure that
you plan for everything the remodeling implies.
The kitchen will have to be relocated. You will have to find a new place to store your food, dishes and
table, not to mention everything else you’ve got packed in there.
Do you know where you would put all of that? Do you know how you’ll keep your food cold?
Food Storage
What will you do without a stove or oven during this
time? You need to not only figure out where
everything will be stored, but how you will replace
the functionality of that room.
One idea is to work out the plan so you can continue
to use the fridge, sink, oven and dishwasher for as
long as possible. You will have to look at your specific
remodeling plan to see if this will be a viable option
however.
Remodeling takes months to get done right, especially if you are doing it yourself. Plan to lose your
room’s functionality during that time.
Plan to be stressed out about the remodel. As much as it seems like a breeze to live with, your home in
shambles will get to you several times throughout the remodel.
At some point you’ll want to be able to snap your fingers and have everything return to normal.
Unfortunately snapping your fingers doesn’t usually get the work done.
Snapping your fingers could get yourself in a car and on the road to some stress-relieving ice cream
though. Or it could be the signal you need to start calming yourself down.

2. Make a plan
Avoid banging your head against the wall and make a plan to deal with the stress when it comes. If you
need to take 10 minutes to take a walk around the block, then make that your go-to plan when you’re
stressed.
Leave the room and take a walk every time you get stressed. This is just a single example of something
you could do.
Think about how you handle stress best, and make a plan to use that several times throughout the
remodel. The construction very much becomes a part of your life throughout the process, despite how
much you think you’ll be able to ignore it.
The Dumpsters
Plan to make large deposits into the dumpster. The things you’ll be
tearing apart and the packaging you will be throwing away will be
far too large for your normal trash can.
If you are planning on putting a corrugated steel roof on your home
as part of your remodel, plan on this taking more time than you had
originally bargained for. Putting a corrugated steel roof on your
home will be quite the project.
However, the benefits you will reap from such a roof will be greater than the costs of getting the roof
installed. Just try to work on staying sane throughout the remodeling of your home, and you will be
good to go.
Photo Credit: Jesse Michael Nix, Tal Bright