Renovation Column: We're in the eye of the renovation storm but could lightning strike twice?

Getting planning permission approved, nailing down tradesmen for quotes, even waiting for paint to dry – it all takes a frustrating amount of time.

So imagine my surprise when I received an unexpected call this week to tell me our builders no longer wanted to start work at the end of July, they wanted to start tomorrow.

The call came in from my husband “Do you want the bad news or the good news?”…..Bad, always bad first – “The builders want to start tomorrow” and the good news? “The builders want to start tomorrow.”

As I surveyed the rooms still filled with unopened boxes from the move, littered with toys and packed with bulky furniture I did what any self respecting renovator would do – I panicked!

Exciting as the prospect of not having to wait was in this laborious process the fact was simple - we weren’t ready. Add into the melting pot an unprecedented heatwave with temperatures teetering on 40C and you’ve got the perfect storm.

However, my meltdown would have to wait, there was only one thing for it, if we didn’t want to pass up this renovation unicorn. So we started packing our worldly possessions into the loft, garage, local charity shop and car boots. Time capsules buried throughout the garden did cross my mind as items began falling from the full to capacity loft hatch.

I always say I work best under pressure—a looming newspaper deadline, a dash to catch a train as it’s leaving the platform—so this shouldn’t be any different. Unfortunately my 41-year-old back had other ideas as we made the shuttle runs up and down the loft stairs, feeling like we might spontaneously combust. The Met Office had warned against making unnecessary journeys in the heat but apparently this did not apply to the endless trips into the loft, which I have affectionately renamed Satan’s lair.

With all elements against us we managed to clear the rooms and have now moved onto the delightful task of turning our lounge (the only downstairs room unaffected by the demolition) into a studio apartment.

It feels very much like preparing for a zombie apocalypse as we stack the living room shelves with canned goods. We have a toy corner, seating, and a kitchen made from a precariously placed piece of timber balancing on sawhorses—yes, we’ve got it all at our fingertips (quite literally).

It’s a surreal experience as I write this with the whir of machinery in the background and a steady stream of building materials arriving on my driveway.

All of a sudden the calm before the storm has ended and I feel very much like I’m venturing into the unknown.

We’ve been told the work will take three months..so who knows maybe renovation lightning will strike twice and it might be done ahead of schedule too...

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