The economy is improving or so they tell us and we thought it would be a good idea to give our customers some top tips for storing their belongings when carrying out a renovation of their property. With the government incentive scheme many are taking on with new projects but a lot of people have no choice but to continue living in their homes while works are carried out. I should know because it was one of the reasons I opened the business. I was that soldier and found myself with a terrible mess when adding on a conservatory to the side of my home some years ago. Here are some tips that might help you when making your decisions.
- If you do have to remain in your home try to reduce your dependency to two rooms. You will need to put the remainder of your furniture in storage for safe keeping. If you do decide to try and cut cost and allocate a large room in your house for storage make sure you seal all around the entry doorway with heavy tape including the gap under the door. You will also need to put covers over everything you decide to store in the room. Dust will travel no matter how clever you might think you are and will also fall from ceilings due to movement during the renovation process and things can get destroyed. Make sure once you dedicate a room for storage that it becomes totally out of bounds. Once opened dust will accumulate very quickly.
- Don’t try to leave things in the centre of rooms or find yourself in a situation where you have to move things from room to room as the project progresses. It will lead to damage by contractors or yourselves and then the blame game starts. You would be better to have your belongings professionally handled by a team who can collect and bring to self storage for safe keeping.
- Free up space by removing legs from tables and desks etc and also look at storing fragile items such as glassware, ornaments and smaller items of a fragile nature inside cupboards and dresser drawers. This will add an extra layer of protection but remember that you put them there when it comes time to move them when works have been completed.
- Use the time of renovation as a good opportunity to purge. If you haven’t used it in the last 12 months and it is not a family heirloom, get rid of it. There is no point in spending all that money on renovating your home only to bring unnecessary items back into it.
- A clear room leads to better craftsmanship. Contractors will generally insist on a clear environment to work in and the real prize is that they will finish the task quicker which should have a positive impact on pricing.
- I cannot emphasis enough to put a realistic timeframe and budget. Not a week goes by without me encountering somebody who is spending many thousands improving their homes but still ask us to bring all their belongings back from self storage a week early to a building site just to save a few Euros. It makes absolutely no sense in the overall project to jeopardise your belongings and put contractors under undue stress when trying to finish but believe me I witness it every week.
- Watch out for project creep. Almost every project will overrun by a week or two. Even those who feel that they have cleverly negotiated a finishing date deal with penalties attaching if not completed on time are not worth the paper they are written on. Almost every client will make small changes as a project progresses and that alters the spec. on the project so all deals are off with regard to implementing finishing clauses. Delays in finishing dates are 80% as a result of customer changes or suppliers letting them down rather than builders but be prepared for it.
It is a very rewarding time when you have completed a renovation but there are stresses associated with the actual process. Please don’t be penny wise and pound foolish by trying to cut corners on storage. Pay a little to have the project managed professionally. The payback will become apparent very quickly when work starts. At Mobile Storage Services we can come and do all the loading for you and when your work is complete we can bring all your belongings back in an orderly fashion. We are the only company in the marketplace offering an end to end solution where you, the customer never have to lift a thing. Give us a call on 01-531088 or visit our website www.mobilestorageservices.ie at any time. We are here to help.
