Advice for staying in home during bathroom refit (we have a second bathroom)

Cairnpapple

Hi folks,

Spouse and I are having a shower room done by a bathroom company next week which is scheduled to take a week (remove current fittings, move a small section of wall, fit new fitted furniture, shower,  tiling and flooring).

I'd been thinking it would be OK to stay in the house while work is being done but someone has now spooked me by suggesting it would be much better to move out! We would usually be home all day because spouse works fully remote (no office) and I'm on long term sick leave and mostly housebound. But if it's really necessary we could go to a friend's during the day and/or spouse could maybe find a co-working space. 

Obviously I'll re-check with the bathroom company that they're OK to have us around, but I was wondering
a) if anyone could share good/ bad experiences of being in the house while bathroom work is being done
b) what might I have forgotten to prepare for?

The electrical work (just lights and fan) has already been done by our electrician, so we should have power throughout. We have another bathroom upstairs. I have a good supply of bottled water and will fill the bath in the upstairs bathroom.

The shower room that's being refitted is directly by the front door. We can go in and out by by the back door and the stairs are at the back. Spouse's office is at the other end of the ground floor from the shower room or he could use my office upstairs. We both have good headphones!

moneysaver1978

There will be a lot of dust and noise. So this might be an issue for you both unless they agree to fully seal the doorways and cover the carpet (but of course it would never be 100% dust proof).

A friend had their bathroom refitted and they stayed as he didn't feel comfortable having strangers in his home without his presence.

Emmia

We had a shower room ripped out and replaced earlier this year, yes it's dusty and noisy but I didn't feel the need to move out - we have a second bathroom. Water was mostly available too. 

ThisIsWeird

Almost certainly no need whatsoever to move out.

Ganga

We had our internal bathroom ( only bathroom ,no windows ) ripped out ,airing cupboard removed ,walk in shower fitted ,new toilet and furniture ,fully tiled walls and floor ,took 2 weeks as planed ,stayed in the house ,the plumber left the toilet in as much as possible.
We did have showers on two occasions at my sons house but did manage ,the plumber covered the carpet in the hall and stairs so no mess ,kept the kettle full ,water turned off a couple of times but the man kept us fully informed.
We could have had the work carried out whilst we were in Greece on holiday but i thought it would be unfair on the fitter/plumber if he hit snags and needed us to make any decisions/ changes ,i know we have mobile phones but not the same as being there. 

Cairnpapple

Thank you @moneysaver1978 and @Emmia!

Yes I remember things being quite dusty when we had bathrooms done in our previous house, but at that point we both worked in office and just left them to it during the day! That company had done work for multiple sets of friends so we felt comfortable leaving them.

Cairnpapple

Ganga said:

We had our internal bathroom ( only bathroom ,no windows ) ripped out ,airing cupboard removed ,walk in shower fitted ,new toilet and furniture ,fully tiled walls and floor ,took 2 weeks as planed ,stayed in the house ,the plumber left the toilet in as much as possible.
We did have showers on two occasions at my sons house but did manage ,the plumber covered the carpet in the hall and stairs so no mess ,kept the kettle full ,water turned off a couple of times but the man kept us fully informed.
We could have had the work carried out whilst we were in Greece on holiday but i thought it would be unfair on the fitter/plumber if he hit snags and needed us to make any decisions/ changes ,i know we have mobile phones but not the same as being there. 

That's exactly the sort of experience I was looking for,  thank you! We might go on a (UK) holiday while we get the next bathroom done if we're happy with their work on this one.  But I know this one will need some input. I'm having some grab bars and a slightly  lowered shower fitted as future- proofing in case my disability gets worse, so we'll need to work out the positioning for those in person.

Cressida100

I'm about to have a complete bathroom refit (only 1 toilet!) everything is being replaced and bathroom fully tiled, walls and floor, 6 new doors upstairs, new combi boiler and all new radiators and I'm not planning on moving out I do know the team who will be doing the work and I know I will be without a toilet for a day. I have been quoted approx 3 weeks but that will be different trades coming and going. At the moment I work from home 3 out of 4 days but am planning to go into the office more often. Luckily a very good friend lives 4 doors away so I will using her facilities for a while.This is just the first phase of work so not too bothered about the mess. 

MikeJXE

If you move out don’t expect the job to be done exactly how you expected it 

I would keep an eye on them 24/7

maman

We stayed in our home while our bathroom was completely refurbished. We have a separate cloakroom and access to shower at our DDs when necessary. It didn’t occur to us to move out. 

There were odd occasions when power or water were turned off for a short time but we knew in advance and could prepare for that including going out for the day or for a few hours. 

The only problems I could envisage for you is that your husband might find it difficult to work with trades coming and going and some noise. Also, if you're housebound it would be more difficult for you to get out for a break or to avoid the disruption. 

Albermarle

but someone has now spooked me by suggesting it would be much better to move out!

Poor advice from whoever it was. As said above no need to move out for a bathroom refurbishment, and in fact probably better you do not and keep an eye on the work.