Better Homes and Gardens, July 2006
How to Survive a Remodeling
Home renovations can stress out any family. Learn how to keep your privacy—and your sanity—while the contractors do their job.by Teri Cettina
Shannon and Matt Cherry of Albany, New York, know a thing or two about the stress of renovating a home. In addition to dealing with anxiety over money, mess, and making the right decisions, the Cherrys were also about to become first-time parents. Shannon was pregnant with twins, and the top floor of the Cherrys' 1853 brownstone — with a new double-sized nursery — was scheduled to be completed only a month or so before Shannon's due date.
As if that weren't hectic enough, the couple also faced a mouse infestation, a budget battle with the contractor, and myriad unexpected problems with the electrical system of the old house.
Oh, and the Cherrys are still laughing about Shannon's near-naked run-in with the contractors. "The workers were in the house all the time, so they had keys to go in and out," recalls Shannon. "One Saturday, they came in unexpectedly to pick up some equipment and I was standing in the kitchen in just a short T-shirt and underwear! From that point on, the guys always rang the doorbell before coming in."
Rare sitcom moments like this weren’t really a problem as much as the daily annoyances that proved most nerve-wracking for the Cherrys: the constant rain of plaster dust on every floor, night after night of microwave dinners. Worst of all, says Matt was the feeling that he and Shannon were nothing more than “refugees in a single room with just a TV." Despite all of their planning, the couple didn't anticipate how stressful and disruptive a home renovation could be.
If there is a home remodeling project in your future, preparation and creativity can go a long way toward pulling you and your family together while your house is being torn apart.
Full article text available upon request.
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