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How to Prepare for the Disruption of a Renovation

Perry Hiiman
April 10, 2018
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How to Prepare for the Disruption of a Renovation

Renovating in NYC can be a major disruption to your daily life. In the end, it’s worth it. But while your space is being remodeled, there’s no question that you will need to deal with certain inconveniences as rooms become off limits, appliances are removed, and plumbing and electrical are disrupted. That’s before we even get into the fact that you will have workers in your home throughout the day.

As the General Manager of NYKB Kitchen & Bath, I always like to be open with my clients about the inconveniences that come about with any New York City Renovation. The last thing I want is for my clients to be surprised by these issues as they arise. This is why I like to give them tips on how to prepare for the disruptions that come with their home renovation. Here are five of my personal tips:

1. Fully schedule your renovation before construction begins. Keep in mind that everything revolves around this one tip. If you know the schedule, then you can plan to reduce inconveniences. Of course, things can and will change during the process. The shipping of materials can be delayed. An unseen issue might be uncovered. Etc. But in general, having a well-thought-out schedule that’s agreed upon by you, the homeowner, will significantly reduce the disruption it causes day-to-day.

2. Check your daily routine versus the remodeling schedule. Now that you know what the schedule is, you need to check it against your daily schedule. Maybe the whole family is out at work or school all day and this isn’t an issue. But if you work from home or have young children, your life will certainly be disrupted by the renovation for a few weeks or months. Some families decide to move out of their home during renovations. Others find ways to mitigate the disruption while remaining in their residence. The choice is completely up to you.

3. Store large or fragile items that are in the way. If possible, it is often a good idea to get a storage unit for some of the things that will make the remodeling project harder to complete. You can also store them in a room that is not being renovated. This is especially true for items that are breakable. Yes, my crews at NYKB- Kitchen and Bath are extremely careful. And yes, we have insurance. But if you clear the area for us, it will help us get your project done quicker, which will reduce your inconvenience and the amount of time it takes for our crews to get the job done.

4. Focus on food. One of the biggest inconveniences of having your home remodeled is that your kitchen may end up being unusable for a certain amount of time. But since we’ve scheduled out your job in advance, you’ll know when that is. Now you can prepare for it, whether that means pre-preparing meals, going over to a friend’s house for dinner, cooking at a neighbor’s home, or just eating out every night. Whatever you decide, the key to keeping yourself well-fed is to prepare ahead of time.

 

5. Familiarize yourself with the project manager. Being comfortable with the people who will spend weeks in your home is incredibly important. That’s why I always want to be sure my clients get to know their project managers. At NYKB our project managers are trained to familiarize our clients with the project and stay up to date with updates as well as any obstacles that might arise. It is extremely important that you find a renovation firm that can provide the same service. A firm that has knowledgeable project managers is just as important as a working with a firm with expert designers. In fact, designers heavily rely on their project managers to ensure that the work is being carried out to their exact specifications. Our goal is for you to hand your project manager the keys and let them take over from there.

 


To learn more about our full-service design team, please give us a call at (212) 242-3500, or click here to fill out our online form. We would be more than happy to sit down with you and discuss your goals. We also provide a free in-home consultation service, to give you a better idea of how our design team can assist you.

The goal of renovation and remodeling is to ensure satisfaction upon completion of your project. Construction can be very frustrating, and without a professional contractor, things can go wrong.

About Author

Perry Hiiman

Perry Hiiman was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. He planted his roots in Manhattan, New York in 1992. A few years later, Perry met his wife and had three lovely daughters. Perry has always been excited about home improvement and design. He has been in the service industry for over 25 years. Perry and his partner founded New York Kitchen and Bath in 2001. They pioneered the One Stop Shop concept of home improvement and design firms. In addition, Perry is a New York State licensed contractor, OSHA certified, and a New York State licensed mold assessor. He specializes in custom design and is genuinely passionate about what he does—bringing people’s dream projects to life.

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