Preparing Your Home and Family For A New Extension

Baby Touching Woman's Face by Daria Shevtsova

When we start planning to extend our homes, we can feel much excitement. Not only is this process enjoyable, but it's also something you must have been looking forward to for some time. Additionally, there's a real sense of satisfaction when your careful planning is able to realize something as worthwhile as planning your dream home. This is not a luxury many people are afforded, and so having this all work out in your favor is something to be grateful for.

However, it's also something that you earn. Of course, this will not be a complimentary task attended to by the services you utilize, and you'll need to carefully plan this new build if you hope for it to be a seamless addition to your current home. You'll learn a lot through this process, but you'll also become a better person by the end of it, rewarded with a better house.

And yet, in most advice columns dedicated to helping you with your planning of said extension, rarely do they explain how to best prepare yourself, your home and your family for this wonderful eventuality. We're breaking that trend, and doing so in the following words:

Dust Sheets
It's important to understand the true utility of dust sheets when caring for a new extension. There has never been a 'clean' construction site on this earth since the dawn of time, and yours will be no different. This means that in the rooms closest to the extended area, you will need to ensure that furniture is either moved, or covered with these sheets. Additionally. placing them on the door frames, on the tiled flooring and under crevices can avoid your entire house becoming dust-filled or retain the smell of construction too deeply. For such a small investment, these sheets can be truly valuable.

Ventilation
Dust in the air and other pollutants that construction efforts often raise can permeate your household, and that means the need for good ventilation. This is especially true if you have the elderly or infants within your home. Air purifiers, opening windows, ventilation units and also deep frame covers can help prevent the spread of said dust, allowing the rest of the house to become a little more breathable. Additionally, construction work should be attended to with open windows, allowing said dust to escape the confines of the house. However, you may find that you also need to:

Find Temporary Accommodation
An extension is often costly enough, to the point where any excess expenditures can be a worrying idea. However, sometimes, needs must. If most of your home is being restructured, you have small children to think of or those with sensitive medical needs, getting away from your property may be an important factor. This can prevent you from breathing in those aforementioned toxins, dealing with the heavy noise pollution (it can be bad enough coming from a neighbors home, let alone yours) and generally practicing important safety measures.

Of course, not all work will last months and months to complete. It may be spending one or two weeks at your parents with your children or in a hotel could give you a slight reprieve for a time. This might cost you money in rent, politeness or a nightly lodging bill, but health is often the most important priority. Again, this is for work that suggests heavy renovation, where half or more of your house may now be open to the elements. Additionally, you may not have water, heating or other essential needs, such as:

Security
Unfortunately, homes under construction can often be targeted for valuables. This is because an entire wall may be open and unprotected, or windows might leave easy access to a property. Additionally, floodlights, fences and other security implements may have been disabled or moved while work takes place. If thieves do not wish to target the valuables inside your house, they may wish to consider the valuables the builders have left outside, such as cable or other sellable items. This can be troubling for you and your family for a range of obvious reasons.

We would recommend installing temporary security cameras, putting up temporary security fencing, and also installing a temporary construction alarm to ensure no one enters your property. Spending some time clearing the home of valuables may help you also avoid the worst if taking alternative lodgings for the time being.

Hire Skip Services
When conducting a renovation, there will be plenty of mess created. Skip bin hire allows you to throw all of this into a carefully selected receptacle, allowing you to keep this work as neat as possible, and also in throwing out some of the belongings that you may not wish to keep. They are a vital consideration for any construction work that takes place in this environment, and so hiring your own solution can help you have a greater say over how said implement is used, compared to what construction services might wish for, and charge you for additionally.

Notify The Neighbors
Of course, sometimes preparing your own house and family isn't the end of the story. If you have neighbors, it's customary to explain to them what you are planning to do with your home. This is a basic requirement for many, as many housing authorities require that you place your intent to extend or construct outside, proudly showing the planning permission notice document. This gives your neighbors time to complain to the council or ask questions, depending on where you live.

However, far from anything else, speaking politely to your neighbors about this, discussing how long this is to go on for, asking them to let you know if there are any problems (such as workmen parking in their driveways) and a few other considerate offerings can help everyone relax and know you have the best intentions in mind. For the most part they will cause no trouble, because many will want the same treatment when they come to plan their own home extensions.

With this advice, you're certain to enjoy a better construction effort by preparing for it in kind.