Home Q&A: Should I stay in the house during our extension and deep-energy renovation?

'If it is possible for you to live at home during the renovation, remember building work creates two things in abundance — noise and dust'

Should I move out of my home while renovating? File picture

Question

Should I stay in the house during our extension and deep-energy renovation?

Answer

This will depend on a few things. First of all, I would direct you back to your contractor, who may or may not be the registered one-stop-shop provider carrying out your SEAI grant-aided work. They will have a good idea just what sort of disruption is likely and can tell you flatly if it’s just not possible to stay in the house. 

They can advise you on sealing off a suitable private apartment, too. Kids may be prey to dangers on a working site, and animals will certainly be distressed (I’ve always chosen to board them out). 

If it is possible for you to work and even live at home, I would strongly suggest thinking about the following. 

Building work creates two things in abundance — noise and dust. 

You need a kitchen/small living space/bedroom/private bathroom isolated from both — preferably in a cluster with independent access, where you’re not wandering around the building. 

Now, if you’re working from home and can wear noise-cancelling headphones without a problem, isolating yourself at a further point from the chaos may work. 

When taping up plastic curtains, set onto Velcro strips across the internal doors to minimise the small particulate matter floating around in the air, is a great help here, but I would still cover furniture and insist the contractor’s workers have all available doors closed to keep you off to one side of the house. 

Vacuum-clean regularly to keep on top of the gypsum fog. Keep in mind, the water and power are likely to be turned off from time to time, which will kibosh your internet connection with a mobile hotspot working off your phone and a laptop with a full battery. 

Don’t use your presence to supervise the work several times a day or disrupt the workers with aimless chat and too many offers of tea — just let them get on with it. This is not a binary decision. 

You could debunk to friends or family or throw down money on an Airbnb for the most dramatic week or two of the reno.