Building & Renovation

How to Survive a Renovation With Kids

Renovating your home is stressful enough on its own, but include children and the pressure can be overwhelming. Here are three tips to help your family survive an upcoming renovation.

1. Establish routines. Keeping life as normal as possible for your children 
will help maintain calm within your home. “As kitchens and bathrooms are 
the rooms most often renovated — and the rooms that must be accessed 
by everyone — trying to create temporary family routines around your 
contractors' working hours will help,” recommends Denise Hayward, 
show manager for the GTA Home & Reno Show.

Making meals in large batches that can be quickly reheated or prepped helps keep your days on schedule. Setting a bathing time that allows all to get in and out of an in-progress bathroom efficiently and without disturbing any unfinished work is a good habit to get into.

2. Safety hazards. Ensure tools are always stored out of little hands' reach and safely put away at the end of each day. New “toys” can be appealing to children who may have seen plastic versions of hammers, drills and saws in their own playrooms, but might not realize how dangerous the real ones are without adult supervision. Sealing off nearby HVAC ducting or vents, using plastic hang sheets, and vacuuming with a HEPA-filtered vacuum twice a day are integral to protecting your family from dust and allergens.

3. Tackle one room at a time. Trying to upgrade more than one space at a time can be a recipe for chaos — or worse, injuries. Choose one room or area to fully complete before moving onto the next. This helps keep potential hazards and air allergens contained to one space at a time, which in turn makes it easier to keep kids away from the area.

If you're planning a home renovation, help and expert advice are available at the Destination Renovation booth of the 2017 GTA Home & Reno Show, running February 17 to 20 at the International Centre in Mississauga. Find more information at www.gtahomeandrenoshow.com.

Attention editors: This article is for distribution in Ontario only.

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