Fixer-uppers can sometimes be a dream-come-true house flipping material – but in some cases, they may turn out to be your worst nightmare, especially if you intend to stay in the house during the remodel. A complete house renovation can drive even the strongest homeowner to the brink of insanity: strangers prowling across your safe haven, incessant noise drumming against your nerves, and tons of dust accumulating daily all over the place. Still, if you want the renovation executed properly, you should not move during a home makeover since many contractors tend to do their work shabbily if left unsupervised. Here are some ideas on how to survive a home remodel without paying extra for temporary accommodation – or losing your peace of mind in the process.

1. Graduate the renovation process

Limited-scope makeovers are usually easy to handle, but if your entire house is about to become a reconstruction site, it may be a good idea to create a graduated action plan. Pick one or two rooms that will be available to your family for daily use as the rest of the house is being remodeled, and keep them clean and tidy. As contractors finish working on other rooms, move to the newly-refurbished areas so that you will be able to sleep in comfort and not under heavy piles of sawdust and dirt.

2. Do not remodel kitchen and loo simultaneously

Your family can get by without a kitchen for a few days, but in case you plan to renovate both your kitchen and bathroom, you will have to choose which of them you will have remodeled first. If both rooms with running water are inaccessible, your family will not be able to wash either the dishes or themselves, so you should try to have either the kitchen or the bathroom available for use. That is why experienced bathroom renovators from Sydney recommend scheduling loo renovation during the summer, when you will be able to take a quick bath in the backyard using water heated in the sun.

3. Cover, rinse, repeat

Dust will invade your home as soon as the first drill bit hits a wall, so you should ask the workers to turn on air handlers or dust extractors to filter out the dirt and minimize post-remodel cleanup hassle. Homeowners staying indoors during renovation should also switch off air-conditioners and central heating, fit furnaces with fresh filters, seal air ducts and cover furniture and floors with plastic sheets. It is easier to fold up protective sheets and take out the trash than to chase after every bit of debris with a vacuum cleaner and a mop.

4. Call the hours with your contractors

There are few things worse than having carpenters knock on the door when you are taking a morning bath – except perhaps taking a leak with strangers waiting for their turn on the other side of the door. Inform the workers about the hours when you feel comfortable with them starting to drill, saw and tinker on the perimeter, and be very clear as to the final deadline when you will need them out of your private zone in the evenings.

Whip out plastic covers, tuck away unnecessary gear, prepare nerves of steel and keep your pets and kids off the remodeling zone – let the renovation begin!