apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Tape and plastic. If you can block off the doorways being renovated from those where you want to live, that should cut down on it somewhat. Inevitably, you will track dust and dirt into other parts of the house but its possible to lessen it. I lived in my apartment while the kitchen was being renovated. Taping the entryways shut helped

If you need use the doorways, cut a slit down the center of the plastic for entry/exit. When you are not at home and they are working, tape the two edges to the floor or place a heavy object on it to hold the edges taut to prevent dust from getting in. Blue painters tape is probably the best to use as it will not damage your walls and plastic drop cloths can be purchased at Home Depot/Lowes. Good luck.

I'm in the middle of replacing my kitchen/bathroom floor. It's taking two and a half weeks, partly because I'm doing it with a friend and we're mostly working evenings and weekends, and partly because I'm living there and didn't want to have the entire floor unwalkable at once (so we've done it in stages).

So living there may make things take a little longer, but that may be balanced out by the greater control you'll have over the process.

I personally haven't lived thru a renovation but both my sisters have. It definitely works to your advantage in that you are there to oversee. My sisters were lucky in that they were there to catch some pretty serious mistakes before it was too late to remedy it. On the negative side you are a 'slave' to constantly cleaning up the dust and debris in order to live in the home and does but a hugh stress and strain on you and the family.

A lot depends on your budget.

If you've got a lot of money stay somewhere else. Make sure the contractors are all lined up and have schedules. Stop in during the morning and the end of the day to see how things are going and if they need anything.

I would not stay around all day while they are working because you are not a contractor and they know you are not a contractor. (If you were a contractor you would do the work yourself.) Contractors do not like "supervisors."

Regardless of whether or not you stay during the construction, the evenings are great for cleaning up. You can organize the workers' tools which are probably scattered throughout the places and you can clean, clean, clean.

I would get the kitchen done first. Then, get one bathroom, probably the master? Because that's attached to your bedroom? finished first. So, you'll only be down your kitchen for a little while and will have one bathroom for the contractors and one for you. Then, have them redo your master bathroom and be done with it. That way you'll have your bedroom and bathroom done and no more dirt and dust in your private domain.

Finally, finish the second bathroom.

The one thing I'm absolutely sure about the whole situation is non-stop cleaning. At first it will seem like it will never end but remember, it will reach a point where it will cease to get messier and will begin to get cleaner.

I lived in our reno (kitchen, plus apartment-wide electrical and flooring) throughout. My husband did most of the work himself, so we were able to control the timing of the work, the mess, the products/chemicals used, and the dust.

Since our apartment is only 350 square feet, it was hard to live in the space. But it took us less time than if we had used a contractor (2 months total), and we were able to arrange the workload so that we could use our kitchen for the maximum amount of time -- I think we were eating off paper plates for 3 weeks, largely due to an unexpected co-op plumbing issue.

We got rid of as much stuff as possible before the renovation, especially furniture. Then after work was completed, we had all our linens, curtains, and clothing cleaned to remove dust.

My husband and I are in the middle of renovating sections of our house. We assumed these areas could be "contained" with plastic and the like and we would be able to remain in the house. And while our contractor is superb and his team incredibly careful and efficient, sharing one bathroom with the entire construction team, the dust, noise and emotional weirdness of seeing all of our personal belongings wrapped up in plastic and drop cloths was just too much to take. So, after the first few weeks, we moved out and now visit the house for weekly site meetings. Needless to say, this was a larger job, but nothing overly elaborate. I had a similar experience when renovating my teeny kitchen and bathroom in my old apartment, so I could just be a weakling, but if you can, I recommend trying to get out at least during the demolition period and whenever there is any sanding or sheet-rocking going on. Good luck!! I will be worth it!

Oopsy...that last line should read "IT will be worth it!" :)

One way or the other, I'd recommend you plan to stop by the construction site *every day* that they've worked. You might only make it 4 of 5 days of the week, but you will catch mistakes that they've made before they get covered up and changes you want to make before they require the dreaded change order.

Also, before the drywall goes up, take many pictures so you know where the electric and plumbing is located.

I renovated and lived in. I wouldn't do it again.

I had a phenomenal contract with a very nice, efficient, and clean team. I still would not do it again. Move out, do daily visits.

try four years of my life, eh? living and working from home, too. shoot. and we're still not done with the bedrooms ahhhh.

ok, you'll basically have to clean things a gazillion times, so if you're really a stickler, either move stuff into storage or into a room by itself, then tape, plastic, seal, vaccuum pack, nasa-fy, you name it! renovation dust is like...like...it just gets into everything. period. no matter what you do. your sinuses and lungs will understand. seriously, if that's an issue, then go for a vacay!

our bathroom reno was incredibly hard but we do have a half bath and birdbaths heh, so that was more annoying than living w/o a kitchen...because, well, i love delivery and hate doing dishes! it's hard to say that about showers.....unless you have friends in the building. we don't. ahah.

as to BEING here...well, i was here the whole time and so was my brother, the guy who did it all! he's a general contractor and all-around amazing artist and designer and carpenter and looksee my flickr acct and yes i'm sellin' it.

and yes, me and my bro are roomies. and what?? ;)

also, look into zip doors (plastic zippered temp doors) at the hardware store....easier than hanging plastic and taping the openings...

My apartment is currently being renovated and I am living with my boyfriend while this is happening. I am doing a full scale renovation and it is going a lot more quickly because the contractor does not have to clean up at the end of every day. I go by three times a week and talk to him on the phone every morning. It is going very well, and I am not stressed at all!

Is there any way to stagger the work, so you have one bathroom available while one is in progress, and the kitchen is a separate phase altogether?

As for the kitchen, get (or rent) a mini-fridge and a microwave and locate that in a make-shift temporary kitchen area, away from the kitchen mess.

I renovated and lived in. I wouldn't do it again and neither would my husband. Gut reno very bad allergies are not a good mix no matter how much they try to contain. I had a very bad experience and highly recommend staying somewhere else, visiting everyday at different times to ensure the job is progressing and the key players are there.


Can anyone recommend a contractor to resurface our balcony so it drains correctly and then put floor tiles down??

Kdkaboom,

You are to be congratulated.

I see you all the time on this site but I've never noticed your renovation work.

Kick ass!

I would not live in while reno is being done. I have seen friends who did it and their lives were hell the entire time. I would also advise paying the contractor in incriments at the end of each week to make certain things are being done and done well. I paid my contractor in advance for the first week and then paid for week two at the end of week two and so on. Minimal problems in getting things done in a timely way and done well. Photograph, photograph, photgraph at the end of every day...reduces the likelihood of disagreements.

just finished a reno and we lived in it, through it and underneath it. the dust, i cannot express how toxic that stuff is. i caught a common cold and then couldn't get rid of the cough forever. it was from the dust. i think that the work could get done faster if youre not living there. your health should be the priority. stay with friends, many friends.

there was an article in the ny times recently about a guy who lived in his studio while renovating, and said every day he had to vacuum his pillow:
http://tinyurl.com/2636vh

and a video slideshow about it:
http://tinyurl.com/276p9g

Hmm, I lived in an 850-s.f. apartment while a gut remodel of the galley kitchen took place, and it was completely fine. The fridge and microwave were placed in the dining area so I could continue to use them the whole time, and the kitchen was completely usable after around 3 weeks (the counter was not yet in, but I laid down plywood on the cabinet bases).

I also did not notice much of a problem with dust even though I lived in an apartment with dark wood floors. Since the cabinets were Ikea not much sawing, etc. took place onsite and although I did have both electrical and plumbing work done (adding under-cabinet lights, a dishwasher and new ceiling fixtures) there was not much drilling through plaster either. I would basically lock the cat in the bedroom all day, then remove the dropcloths from my living room furniture when I got back at night and continue to use my place as usual.

Overall, I think having a separate room where you can keep the door closed will be key - you can put pets, valuables and anything that should be kept dust-free in there, and also spend your evenings there if the rest of the house is not workable. It also helps if there is a bathroom available for emergency use somewhere else in your building (e.g. laundry room).

meganificent,

I think that house was a contender in the smallest coolest contest? If not, I'm pretty sure it was featured somewhere on this site.

Another beautiful renovation. One that has definitely inspired me.

One more tip on living through rehabs. Cover and protect your floors during the process.

My husband and I doing it now, and it is dang close to a gut renovation. In the past year, we've had the brick repointed, a new roof, new windows, new gutters, demolished partition walls in the basement, total rewire and the hvac guys are here right now installing my high velocity ac/heat (good bye space gobbling radiators). I've personally demoed (all tile, wall board, fixtures, walls removed) the most disgusting bathroom you can think of which was added as an afterthought and jutted into my dining room.

I currently have no kitchen (I have a room I call the kitchen, but it is gutted to the brick after the plaster ceiling pretty much collapsed on an electrician during the rewire, bumping up our plan to work on it). The half of the ceilings in the house are down. The other half of the ceilings are full of holes.

To survive the kitchen, we moved the fridge into the dining room. Our kitchen just had stand alone ikea units (there was a wall mounted sink in the kitchen when we bought the place...that was it...literally...and it fell off the wall one day when I was doing dishes and my husband was out of town), so we moved those into the dining room too. The dining room abuts where the old gross bathroom was, so we got out the plumbing torch and plumbed in the sink and even the dishwasher. The stove is in here too, but not hooked up. But I have grown to further appreciate our crock pot and rice cooker. We don't eat out much or do takeout. Its been so warm, I'm still partial to sandwiches and salads for dinner.

After HVAC is complete, we should be able to do the rest of the work (which includes patching, new kitchen, renovating one bath, adding a brand new 3/4 bath) ourselves.

We don't have kids, but we do have three cats. We close and tape doors so dust stays localized. If we have outside contractors in, we always label the room the cats are in for the day. And we make it a point to laugh a lot. We've had cleaners come in and do deep cleans twice. The cleaner comes every other week to do a more general cleaning.

Staying in the house through all of this isn't ideal, but it is the only way we can afford a our brownstone. I also can't say how many mistakes we've caught early by doing more than walking through everyday. Some things look OK when you walk through them, but turn the more you think about then them, the more problematic they become (or when you try to do something that looks fine, like open a window, and find it is not straight)

If I had the money to live elsewhere, I don't think I'd do it (I think I'd spend it on a heck of a vacation when we're done).

If you move out, definitely check in with your renovation team regularly! Some friends left town for one month and came back to find that their new cedar shingles were painted with a finish that was not appropriate due to a communication mix up, i.e. $10,000 down the drain.

thanks, art :)