Demo before Remodel

To recreate your home, you have to Demo or Destroy before remodel

When envisioning your project, its easy to get lost in the final product. The shiny counters with the fresh wood cabinetry; The floor without a single foot print on it. All the lights shining on everything new like in a show room. First comes the Demo before remodel

Before you get to that point, you also have to envision and expect a giant mess in your home. This is the Demo stage. Of course if you can afford it, you could check into a hotel and live off Room Service for a while. You could also spend a few months living by the beach at a rental while your home gets Destroyed or Remodeled.

Planning

Sometimes though, it isn’t so easy to get up and leave. Kids still have to attend school, work responsibilities require your presence or quick availability. If the remodel happens to last longer than a summer, then you’re in for a dusty treat. Communication with your General Contractor or whomever is building your remodel is very important to avoid as many headaches as possible.

Carefully staging and planning your remodel will decide how quickly and more so, effectively your project will end as you expect it. So if you are stuck in your home while you are remodeling, the first thing to do is to establish boundaries and mark your territory.

Agree with your builder on what areas will be sealed (semi dust free) for you and your family. There is no getting away from dust, no matter how many Air Machines or Negative Air with HEPA filters are in place. Your builder will use every available tool to avoid dust, debris and tracking of any of it into your assigned area while the Demo is happening. Hopefully you are not remodeling your kitchen.

Even if you are not remodeling your kitchen, it becomes very tricky if your kitchen happens to be between areas that are getting remodeled. Now if the kitchen happens to be at one end of house, you wont go too hungry. Otherwise, you’ll be eating out a lot.

Executing

One of the advantages of being in your home during the remodel, is that you can see the progress day to day, sometimes hour by hour. As long as you don’t fall into the micromanager category, you should be fine. Construction Workers follow plans and direction from their job supervisor and if they follow your directions because they “know” you are the owner, this may lead to misunderstandings and delays. As an owner, you have to offer input into project, but that should always be directed to the Supervisor or G.C.

Of course even before the first wall or stone comes down, by this point all are in agreement as to what the final product is supposed to look like. With clear communications and expectations, everyone should be happy at the end.