I was reading a magazine, this afternoon, and the main focus of this issue was remodeling. Being in the middle of a fixer-upper remodel, ourselves, I was fascinated. One thing that really caught my eye was a suggestion from one of the couples. They strongly recommend moving out during the construction work.
With all due respect to that couple, that’s a crazy scheme, at least for some of us! If we, for example, were to move out during our renovations, we’d probably never live here. On our budget and our schedule, tweaking this house is a lifelong project, at least for us, if not also for our children. No complaints here, mind you–I love it! There are moments, every now and then, when the dust settles around at the worst possible time, but it all makes for a better story…better book-fodder, you know…and it’s easy to remember the end goal (or, at least, the end of this phase).
Whether having the work done or doing it oneself, life in a house that is beign remodeled or renovated is something that must be experienced to be understood. Our neighbor, for instance, moved a flight of steps one night, and his housemate woke up to a one-story drop in the doorway that used to be the entrance to the basement. Thankfully, everyone knew what was planned, and no one was injured before the “construction elf” finished off the project, but this is the kind of thing to be expected in a house in a constant state of improvement.
The whole concept of “While You Were Out” is a great one, but extensive remodeling generally takes a little longer than a workday, especially if the focus is on fine craftsmanship. Some renovations, like painting (or stripping paint, for that matter), create quick-change effects that can be pretty dramatic, but the bigger projects like, oh, say, moving a wall, require at least one extra pair of hands and some measure of additional planning. Most of the time, an in-depth project will bridge at least a couple days, so it’s wisest to wear slippers around the house, in case of dropped nails, screws, or errant bits of other random materials. Especially if there are little ones crawling around on the floors, above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty daily (or multiple times a day) cleanup may be a good idea, for the sake of everyone involved.
Since not many people are going to be moving flights of steps in the night, the omnipresent dust is really probably the biggest potential irritant in the whole long process of remodeling. Drywall dust, especially, seems to sift its way through closed doors, throughout ventilation systems,…through walls, I think. Even with the best possible containment system, dust is bound to show up at the other end of the house. Don’t even think about the floors…you might feel ill. Just expect them to acquire a haze that is almost always vacuumable, if you get it soon enough.
Really, it’s not all that scary, and some of the most extensive work can go pretty quickly, all things considered, especially if you can hire someone to focus on the work, full-time. If you’re planning home renovation in Bethesday, Maryland, D.R. Hartman Construction, Inc. offers no-obligation quotes. For a kitchen remodel in Potomac or a new bathroom in Rockville, give them a call or contact them through their website. They would be delighted to talk to you about your plans for building a new garage in Gaithersburg.
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