Construction with a Baby

Curious about your thoughts because I am so torn over this.

We renovated our entire house before kids except for the kitchen. I have a one year old and DH wants to do the kitchen now. I am desperate for a new kitchen but....

DH wants to do it himself. He is handy, very handy, but not a contractor or anything and has never done a kitchen before.

I have a one year old who will need to nap. How does that work?

Since DH will be doing the work himself that means I am on single mommy duty all day every day all summer, if we can get it done in just 8 weeks. And he has no help from me which is how we got the other projects done.

It is the kitchen....not some room that can easily be forgotten about.

I can not wrap my head around this technically elective project with a baby in the house. It seems like too many factors.......and I was originally against it until we had older children. The somehow I caved because of course who doesn't want a new kitchen. But then yesterday I got a little preview since my husband was doing work on the attic right outside the baby's room and I can't imagine months like that without a home base for her to nap. She's a terrible napper to begin with, I just feel like this will be a disaster.

WWYD and has anyone gone through this. Would you recommend construction that didn't have to be done with a baby in the house. Will it just work out and I shouldn't even sweat it?

Message edited 3/30/2014 11:10:50 AM.

Construction with a Baby

I totally understand where you're coming from since our renos all go the same way. DH doing it himself and figuring some things out as he goes. Things have drastically slowed down since we had DD so if my DH was gung ho about a big project I would go with it. Last summer DH did some not so big projects and I would take DD out to the park or a relative's or wherever to get her out for a few hours, pack her lunch or pick up a grilled cheese and fruit from a local cafe and feed her at the park, and then DH would break during her afternoon nap. I will say she has napped through some crazy construction noises. I've never been without a kitchen but at least in the summer you can grill, eat outside, and do lots of deli salads and cold cuts, etc so you have that working for you. When my parents did their kitchen they set up a little area in their living room with a cart of essentials (coffee maker, microwave, pantry items, etc).

Re: Construction with a Baby

I definitely agree that I am fortunate DH wants to do these things. It's just that he has planned for this to take 5 weeks and his projects 10 out of 10 times have taken double the amount he estimates. I know I can handle a little inconvenience but it just seems like the project is too much right now. Even 5 weeks is a long time. If someone else could do it, or it could be done in 3 or 4 weeks, or DD was older, or if it were a different room......I think it's just the combination of these things that I feel like it's not going to work out.

Construction with a Baby

My DH did our entire second floor dormer when DD was 6-9 months old. She literally napped through his entire crew working upstairs for months. You gotta do what you gotta do, KWIM? Had I overthought it, we wouldn't have done it. After the fact, I am so happy we did!

Construction with a Baby

How old is your lo? How much work are you doing in the kitchen?
We just renovated our kitchen - but did it before we moved in. We completely renovated it - knocked down walls, moved plumbing, installed new cabinets, appliances, new floor, new lighting etc. we hired a contractor who said it would take 4 weeks. He was a team of 6....it took 8 and a half weeks. We only saw the house on weekends but I cannot imagine living in it during the process - the amount of dust and dirt. Not being able to cook etc.

If you're doing something less involved - let's say just redoing cabinets and counters, I would say it won't be that bad and you may be able to make it work. Will your appliances still be installed while he is doing work? Is your kitchen in an area you can keep your lo away from?

Eta - I wouldn't be too concerned with the noise. My concern is with the amount of mess/dust that gets everywhere. If you have a newborn that isn't mobile I wouldn't be worried...if they are at the crawling/walking stage is there a way you can gate off access to the kitchen?

Message edited 3/30/2014 2:27:36 PM.

Re: Construction with a Baby

I redid my entire house. I'm talking ripping off our entire 2nd floor and rebuilding then once the 2nd floor was finished we went downstairs and redid everything. This all started when my ds was about 6-8 weeks old. Was it hard at times? Of course. But do I love my house now that its all done? Of course. Would I do it again? Absolutely. I say do the kitchen. You wont regret it after it is done.