Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

We decided to remodel rather than move and there hasn't been one person who agrees with our decision - everyone says moving is much easier and that going through a renovation is the most awful thing ever and we will totally regret it.

I understand it will be a huge inconvenience to be without a kitchen for a couple of months, and yes I know there will probably be dust EVERYWHERE! But I just feel like in the end, it will be worth it. Honestly I just feel like packing and moving and coordinating closings and unpacking would be just as stressful, if not more.

So for those of you that have gone through it - would you do it again, and what was really the worst part?

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

If you love your location, then it's worth it IMO.

I have been through it twice and I won't lie, it is VERY stressful but, in the end it was definitely worth it. And this is coming from someone who hates renovations, they give me anxiety and I need everything to be in it's place. I will say, try to have a bit of a plan. First house, we weren't prepared and I got very frustrated, going out every morning for coffee, eating out for weeks. Second time, I set up a make shift kitchen, coffee pot, toaster over and microwave. That helped have a little normalcy. Best piece of advice is, don't obsess over the dust or mess because it's going to be like that for a while. But I promise, it will be worth it.

Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

It's as bad as you make it. If you can roll with it then you will be fine. There were days I would get frustrated but in the end my house was what I wanted.

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

It's a pain for sure. The dust, the inconvenience, having people in and out of your house constantly. But in the end it's worth it.

Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

If you're doing the kitchen in warmer months at least you can use the BBQ and yard. When we did our kitchen, we set up a microwave, toaster and coffee pot in the basement and had a table down there to eat when the weather didn't allow us to be outside.
We used paper plates or washed dollar store plastic ones and utensils in the bathroom sink.
We visited family as often as possible for dinner and to hang out as well.

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

We are in the process of a complete home renovation. My advice is to do one room at a time from start to finish, because otherwise it's just too much mess and we forgot to do some things which ate up more time than if we were better organized. Also like a PP mentioned, have some sort of plan for a "kitchen" while redoing that. I seriously gained 15-20 lbs in 2 months because we just ate out constantly with 3 kids 6 and under.

We closed in August, and only have 3 rooms left to do, so we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and it's awesome! We think it was definitely worth it!

Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

Here are my thoughts:

-If you love your location and doing a remodel will not price you out of the neighborhood then stay and do the remodel
-With a remodel you get to do EXACTLY what you want; not settle on a house that was remodeled but maybe not to your liking
-Will it be dusty, frustrating, annoying, inconvenient - YES! but in the end you are getting what you want; your house the way you want it in the location you want

Can you guys move out of the house for the major part of the renovation? When they will be gutting it and re-doing the electric, plumbing, walls? If so, then I would suggest doing that. If not, then plan your vacations to coincide with that part so you will be out of the house.

Rent a storage unit and store every thing you can so the house is basically empty except for essentials.

Before you move back in have a professional cleaning company that does new construction come in and clean the hell outta the place!

You will still deal with some dust but that's normal.

Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

I've done it twice in the past and hope to do it again soon. It's dirty and inconvenient, but worth it. If you stress out over things, don't do it. Also if you have allergies that can't stand a lot of dust, you might not want to either.

I remember getting up to nurse DD at 2 am during the first time and wandering out into the livingroom afterwards to see what had been accomplished that day. I was astonished to see a stray cat roaming around it which had come in under the tarps the guys had placed over the opening after removing the sliding glass doors. Let me add that it was February and freezing cold.

Message edited 3/10/2015 1:07:02 PM.

Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

We haven't even closed yet but here is my 2C..
If you love your home and location I would remodel.

When we were house hunting we saw hundreds of houses online and in person and of those only 1 was remodeled to our exact taste..yes 1. For this reason we gave up on an "updated" house and focused more on a house with good bones in preferably original condition. That is exactly what we found. I love the layout of our home and the location so we plan on doing the renos ourself.

I would definitely stay and remodel to your taste. Plus if you are doing the remodel you know the quality of the materials and the workmanship. I've heard too many horror stories of new construction or gutted flips that are done so sloppy and cheaply. Good luck!

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

It's your decision, not anyone else That said we've been there with 2 houses. 1st without kids, 2nd with and it was difficult for sure but you get by and forget it all once you see how great everything looks

We talk about doing it again but next go round may opt for a house with less renovations. Worst part was dust and mess everywhere

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

I think it depends on the type of person you are. I love construction. I love all parts of it. Does the dust get annoying, yes, but it's worth it in the end. The process also doesn't stress me out.

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

we renovated our entire house. total gut and expansion. we moved out for some of it, entirely out like put all of our belongings in storage. i would do it again in a heart beat. i love our new house and it truly was not that bad to deal with the renovation.

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

Chose to move instead of remodel old house, but did renovations in new house while selling old house. I personally cannot imagine having to live in a construction zone. It was inconvenient enough and we didnt live here. We did remodel our kitchen, which isn't really done yet. So we have lived with no kitchen now for about 4 weeks and it's TOUGH, however, at least my kitchen will be totally done in just about 2 weeks. But to live without a kitchen for months would be torture. Also the dust is always concerning to me (lead dust, allergens, toxins, etc, if you have an older house, which most of us do). I can't imagine my belongings in a house getting major construction, getting covered in dust. We have renovated in the past (smaller projects like bathroom,etc) prior to having a family and the level of dust was very inflammatory to my husband who was very sensitive to it. I vote to move over remodel, unless you absolutely LOVE your location.

Message edited 3/10/2015 6:06:45 PM.

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

Thank you for all the responses!

I should have been clearer - we aren't doing a total gut. We are doing the kitchen and a small extension off the kitchen.

We have looked for new homes to buy for awhile and everything in our price range and our area is not ideal and would also need work.

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

I think it's totally worth it. It's stressful and inconvenient but everything is 'ours'. We made all the choices and customized everything to how we live. So many things people say are "MUST HAVES" I didn't want, and wacky things I wanted are here and where I wanted them Also, every color and design is ours, I feel like you buy new and you still want to change things anyway.

So far we did everything but the kitchen. we did rooms at a time, it was just easier, but def takes longer but less stress. Pretty much the whole house has been gutted and redone, just a little at a time.

We're starting the kitchen now. We ordered everything, demo didn't start yet, probably May when everything we ordered will be in. I know it will be a PITA but we have an outdoor kitchen and we rented a house on the beach for 2 of the weeks to just get out of here and we will make due.

My only advice bec we have done so much reno, order everything first, wait until it's actually in, not promised in, then start. We always wind up waiting on something and we had like 2 weeks of our master bath just sitting half done because we were waiting on custom tile. It was supposed to be in on a date so they started, demoed everything but then the tile was delayed. I don't want the kitchen demoed until everything is here in a storage unit just waiting to be installed. Same with a few other projects, sitting in the construction zone completely inconvenienced and NO WORK is being done is the most frustrating of anything. Also, we changed things as work was being done to more expensive upgrades which we wouldn't have been able to do if we had everything pre-ordered. You get to a point where you think "it's only X more dollars…" so I didn't want to start doing that with the kitchen.

Good luck and take lots of before pictures!

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

Ordering everything first, knowing exactly were you want things, coordinate schedules with electricians plumbers etc are all good pieces of advice but please don't leave during your Reno

More issues come up than you could imagine and often these guy will want you there to answer questions they have
Good luck!

Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

My parents did it when I was 16 and my sister was 14. Started right after 4th of July and went till early November. My sister and I had to move into the office and then we had a living room, my parents bedroom and bathroom. 3 new bedrooms, formal living room, dinning room, kitchen, laundry room, and 1.5 new bathrooms. We survived and honestly it was not terrible. We BBQ and ate outside a lot. We also spent 2 weeks in Cali when they took the roof off. The worst part for me was when school started not having space to do HW and studying. My mom use to complain about trying to figure out dinners. My parents still say they wish they made a food budget for the reno. My parents love the house. Even now they won't move because they could never find a house that is done the way they want it.

Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

We DIY ours. Our house was not livable or mortgageable when we bought it so we did a major reno as we moved in. We've been here 11 years and we've done many big projects along the way.
I think the most stressful were no kitchen and having our floors done. We had pergo but put hardwood throughout the entire house except 2 of 3 bathrooms. We had to move all of our belongings into different rooms as they were working. Then we had to move out for a few days while they did the stain. That was a PITA.
Other than that the dust, debris, tools, etc was all worth it in the end.

Message edited 3/14/2015 8:06:23 AM.

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?

Thanks all. We are thinking of just putting our existing refrigerator, microwave and toaster oven in another room so we will at least have that to use with paper goods. Trying to plan a temporary kitchen area in another area of the house. Did anyone do that?

Re: Be honest - how difficult was it to go through the home renovation process?