One of the questions I have been asked the most during this period of renovation is, "how is it living in a construction zone?" Some people who come through the house are positively shocked that we are living there while completely gutting & renovating the main floor.
To be 100% honest, it's been fine. It hasn't been great & it certainly hasn't been glamorous, but it also hasn't been terrible. It's been fine.
QUESTION #2: How are you keeping the rest of the house clean?
For starters, to limit dust circulation we had to shut off the AC when we began demo. No air conditioning in Burlington in August would normally be unbearable, but I think we are the only people who have welcomed the unseasonably cooler temperatures.
Evidently the main floor has been the hardest to keep clean. One thing that has really helped is doing a sweep of the main floor at the end of every day. No matter how late we finish work for the day, I always make sure the garbage is run out to the bin and the floor is swept. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, just a quick sweep. In addition to stopping transfer to other areas of the house, it allows our pets to have free run of the house at the end of the day and in the early mornings. An industrial fan and two window fans have also really helped clear the dust out of the air.
QUESTION #3: What are you eating?
But in all seriousness, I set up a make shift kitchen in the garage which worked out very well. On moving day I had the guys bring the old fridge from the kitchen down to the garage. I set up a microwave, toaster and coffee machine on top of the deep freezer and we have been using the BBQ out back quite a bit.
QUESTION #4: Where are your pets?