Renovation Column: Reasons to live on site and the survival kit needed to do it

If however, like me, you don't have the budget to run for the hills I am here to tell you there are plus points to living on site, as I have been learning while we navigate this process.

Seeing the daily progress of work is both fascinating and encouraging. Being there to actually witness the process of building an extension for instance or the physics and math involved in removing internal walls is genuinely interesting. I’m sure the builders could do without 20 questions each time I deliver a cuppa but it has surprised me how captivating it is.

Being on site to field any questions from builders and other contractors is also a massive bonus to avoid any unnecessary delays along the way, after all time is money.

At the end of the process both the excitement and relief (I hope) will taste sweeter having lived through the chaos and dust. I also feel my renovation war wounds (like tinnitus and pot washing PTSD) will make me feel more deserving of living in my new home.

We're still bang in the middle of the process but here are some tips and survival skills I have learned so far. I don’t intend to ever take on a project of this scale again so instead of all these lessons going to waste I share them with you in the hope you will have a survival kit at your disposal if you ever do have an urge to live in a building site.

Creating a dust-free safe space is vital - if you can keep one room separated from the chaos it will become your sanctuary. To achieve this ensure it is decluttered, keep it clean and invest in dust proofing doors to section it off from the rest of the house.

Create a makeshift kitchen setup - we have used camping tables, a camping stove, a microwave, an air fryer and lots of open sided plastic storage solutions that serve as our kitchen cupboards. Meal planning is also a good tool to avoid the inevitability of reaching for the takeaway menus along with paper plates – as much as I enjoy carrying that full trug of dirty pots across the building site.

Lower your standards - if like me navigating your way to the washing machine is a death trap of an obstacle course you don’t fancy embarking on daily then rewear that stained top with pride, accept the house is going to be in disarray and come to terms with that fact normal routines might have to go out of the window in the short term.

Accept help - if people want to cook your tea or take the kids for a few hours don't say no.

Document the process - take those before and after’s because when you're sat in your swanky new kitchen sipping champagne (or White Lightning because you went over budget on the renovation) you're going to want to look back at how far you've come.

Keep up to date with all the progress by following @ohgodweboughtavicarage on Instagram.