3 things our builder has done that have made living through our extension project more bearable – the renovation essentials I never knew I needed

Home decorator and content creator Leah Hodson is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on overhauling a home with clever DIY and decorating tricks. See the rest of her articles here.

We’re seven weeks into our renovation, the point at which I perhaps naively thought we’d be left with plastered walls. I’m happy to say that the reality is we’re within a hair's breadth!

As a reminder, what initially started off as a small 2.5m x 2m extension, quickly snowballed into an extension, garage conversion and a kitchen renovation; this included removing two internal walls, one of which we only found out was load bearing once demolition started!

If you’ve been following my little renovation series, you’ll see that we have had quite a few set backs, however thanks to our amazing builder (who spotted problems quickly and always had a solution for us when presenting), we haven’t had to worry as much. Despite the end being in sight, during this last week, I’ve started to feel like the renovation was getting under my skin.

Therefore, I wanted to take a step back and call out three things things that our builder has done which has made our lives much more comfortable up to this point.

1. A temporary roof

In the first week of our renovation, there was a serious amount of rain and our builders were digging the footings for the extension. Rather than halt work, they set up a huge temporary scaffold roof that meant they were able to work every day, through 40 days of rain since the start of the year.

As for us, we didn’t feel any of the rain indoors or experience any leaks thanks to the temporary roof - until the scaffolders came back and inadvertently removed the tin roof!

Our lovely builders absorbed the cost for all of this, however with what we now know, we’d have been happy to cover the cost since it meant they kept working everyday, come rain or shine!

2. A temporary wall

If you’re planning on living whilst having a renovation done, a temporary wall will go a long way to saving your mental health!

The temporary wall separated our ‘living’ space from the building site. It gave us a little space of our own for meals and even an alternate place to hang out other than our bedroom. A little breathing room away from the mess, and dare I say a respite from the dust (even though there’s no escaping dust in a renovation!).

Since the temporary wall came down and we have to share the space with the builders, I’ve noticed I’m downstairs a lot less. I find myself scurrying upstairs as soon as I finish my meals for respite in our peaceful bedroom, despite how nice and accommodating they are - another reminder to make sure when quoting with builders, you can get on well with them, as you’ll be be spending a lot of time together!

3. A portaloo

Whilst a portaloo on the drive doesn’t do any favours to how our front drive looks, it doesn’t look out of place on a building site and importantly, is very practical. Imagine the alternative of muddy boots messing up your downstairs loo!

Thankfully this was included in our quote, otherwise it costs around £180 a month to hire one if not included. The last time we did a small bathroom renovation, we didn’t feel the need to hire a portaloo for that project, however I found myself constantly cleaning our cloakroom. With three men working on this build at minimum each day, in and out of the house with muddy boots, I’m glad they have a separate toilet to use!

By the end of this week, most of the walls will be plasterboarded, ready for the plasterer to finish the surfaces and finally move us closer to the fun part - decorating. There will still be jobs for the builders to complete, like levelling the floors, but it feels like we’re crossing into a new phase of the build.

I’m especially looking forward to playing my part now: adding warmth, personality and those finishing touches that transform bare walls into a home.