In short: Before a renovation starts: clear the room and the route to it, agree access and parking, plan a temporary kitchen or bathroom, sort pets and deliveries, and confirm which days will be most disruptive. An hour of preparation saves days of interruption.
What's in this guide 6 sections
01 A fortnight before
- Confirm the start date and the expected duration in writing, along with which days the bathroom or kitchen will be unusable.
- Order or confirm delivery of anything you are supplying. Everything should be on site before day one — waiting on a delivery is the most common avoidable delay there is.
- Check parking. If the property is on a narrow street, terraced row or has permit parking, tell the contractor now rather than on the morning.
- Ask whether a skip is needed and where it will go. Some councils require a permit for a skip on the highway.
- Decide access arrangements — will you be in, or is a key or code being left?
02 The week before
- Clear the room completely, including the airing cupboard, under the sink, and anything on the walls.
- Clear the route to the room. Materials and waste have to travel it repeatedly, and a hallway full of furniture slows every trip.
- Take down anything fragile in adjoining rooms and on shared walls — pictures and shelves on the other side of a wall being worked on can vibrate loose.
- Set up a temporary kitchen if the kitchen is being replaced: kettle, microwave and fridge relocated somewhere with a socket, and a plan for washing up.
- Tell your neighbours, particularly in a terrace or semi. Ten minutes of warning prevents most complaints.
03 The day before
- Lift or roll back carpets in the route to the work area if they are staying.
- Make sure the contractor knows where the stopcock, consumer unit and boiler controls are.
- Arrange for pets to be somewhere else, or at least somewhere secure. Doors stay open during a strip-out.
- Charge phones and set up somewhere to work if you are at home — power may go off for periods.
- Clear the driveway if materials are being delivered.
04 Living through it
A bathroom is out of use for most of a 7 to 12 day installation. A kitchen is out for most of a 5 to 10 day one. Most households manage comfortably, provided the plan is made in advance rather than on day two.
- Single bathroom, no alternative: ask the contractor to sequence the toilet reconnection as early as practically possible, and consider being away for the busiest few days.
- Kitchen: a kettle, a microwave and a relocated fridge cover most of it. Plan on washing up in the bathroom or a utility.
- Working from home: agree quiet periods in advance if you have calls. Most contractors will accommodate it if they know.
- Dust: it travels. Contractors should seal doorways and protect routes, but keep bedroom doors closed regardless.
05 What a good contractor should be doing
- Protecting floors and access routes before anything comes out.
- Sealing the work area to contain dust.
- Clearing the site at the end of every working day, not just at the end of the job.
- Telling you in advance which days will be noisy or disruptive.
- Keeping you updated daily — a message or a photograph is enough.
- Leaving the property secure whenever they leave.
These are reasonable expectations, not extras. It is fair to ask about them before you accept a quote.
06 If something is found behind the old room
On older properties it happens: failed pipework, rot beneath a floor, unsafe wiring, or a wall that turns out to be structural. What matters is what happens next.
A good contractor stops, shows you what they have found, and prices the additional work before carrying it out. Nothing extra should be done or charged without your agreement. That conversation is a sign the job is being run properly, not a sign it is going wrong.
