Self storage for home renovations: what to know before you start

Are you thinking about making some home renovations? As well as planning and undertaking the actual work, it’s important that you put some thought and time into preparing the rest of the house in readiness for part of it being ‘out of action’ for a while. You should also plan for how your daily life will run during the renovations, to keep disorder to a minimum.

Clever use of self storage can be a great way to minimise stress and protect your belongings, making your home renovations easier and more efficient. Here are some things to think about when planning your renovations and information on how self storage can help.

Self storage for home renovations: what to know before you start

1. Work out your budget

Home renovations and decorating nearly always cost more than you think they will. The extra tin of paint you need for that last corner, the non-standard drill bit you realise you need, the sanding discs and dust mask filters that need to be replaced more than you expected… all these things add up!

So, make a list of the tools and equipment you’ll need, add up how much they cost, and expect to pay 10 - 20% more than that amount when it’s all done and dusted. Also, have a ‘plan B’ in case costs extend to more than you were expecting. For instance, if you planned to take up the old carpet and sand the floorboards, but then discover that the floorboards need replacing, you might need to go to ‘plan B’ and lay a new carpet to stick to your budget.

Always be prepared to have to sacrifice part of your plans if you’re running over budget; you can always save up and do the rest of the work at a later date. Doing some of the work properly and to a high standard will always be preferable to doing all of the work to a low / cheap standard (‘buy cheap, pay twice!’).

2. Be realistic about timeframes

A lot of DIYers are pathologically optimistic. We think we can sand a floor in a couple of hours, or render a wall in half a day. Spend a bit of time searching online for how long it typically takes to do the work you’re planning, rather than guessing, and if it says a job is likely to take “4 to 8 hours”, err on the side of caution and assume it will take at least 8. 

Once you know roughly how long your work will take, think about how that will impact your day to day life. If you work from home, will you still have a space to work? How will you control the dust? Where will you put all the furniture and furnishings that are usually kept in the room(s) you’re renovating? 

You might feel like you can cope with a bit of disruption for a few days or a week or so, but could you live like that for a fortnight? A month? Two months? Six? Having to climb over stacked furniture in your other rooms will become intolerable pretty quickly.

3. Check whether you have all the legal paperwork in place

Depending on the nature and extent of your renovations, you may need to apply for planning permission and / or building regulations approval. This will need to be factored into your budget and timeframes.

4. Research self storage

Climbing over or around furniture, and being extra careful to avoid damaging your belongings adds a lot of time and stress to the process of renovating your home. Having an empty room is like having a blank canvas to work on, and makes everything run much smoother.

If you have booked professionals to do the work, their prices will be based on the cost of materials plus how long they think the job will take. They’ll know the job will take longer if they have to work around your belongings. 

You can spare your sanity, reduce the time it takes to do the renovations and prevent damage to your belongings by using self storage. You won’t have to worry about things getting splattered with paint, absorbing chemical odours, getting covered in dust or broken. You won’t have to store furniture in other rooms of your house, so the rest of your rooms can function as normal.

How does self storage work?

If you’ve never used self storage before, you might be unsure of how it works or what exactly you could use it for during your renovations.

To use self storage for your renovations project, follow these steps:

1. Choose a unit size - we have lockers and rooms from 10 sq ft to 500 sq ft. The right size for you will depend on how much you want to store - give us a call if you’d like some tailored advice, or have a look at our self storage unit size calculator for more information. 
2. Reserve your unit at your closest store, for the date you want to move in. You can book a unit for as little or as long as you like. 
3. Move your belongings in on your chosen date. Our units are indoors, within large stores that are easy to access with free customer parking. Many have drive-up room access if you need it. Only you will be able to access your unit, which will be safe, clean and dry.
4. You can visit your unit and add to it or take things as many times as you like, 7-days a week, during our normal store hours. Some of our stores offer extended access as well but this needs to be arranged in advance.
5. At the end of your stay, remove your belongings and return them to your newly renovated home!

Self storage top tips

We recommend:

• For easy transportation and storage, disassemble larger pieces of furniture (make sure you keep all fixings in a bag securely taped to the piece of furniture they belong to!), 
• Make sure everything is clean and dry before you store it. 
• Use blankets or sheets to wrap delicate furniture in to prevent it from getting scratched during transit, and protect electronic equipment with packaging to prevent breakages.
• If you have several smaller possessions like ornaments and books, put these into sturdy boxes and clearly label them to help you when it’s time to unpack again.
• Store your large pieces of furniture (e.g. sofas, mattresses) vertically to make use of the height of the unit and leave more room for other belongings.

When all the work is done and you’re ready to move all your belongings back home, take a bit of time to consider whether there are any items of furniture or belongings that you don’t really need or want anymore. Many charities will accept donations of furniture and can collect them - you could arrange for them to be collected from your self storage unit to save you bringing it all home.

Can we help?

Through all the upheaval, mess and stress of your renovations, try to hold onto the thought that it will all be worth it in the end, and if you use self storage at least you won’t have to worry about having to climb over the sofa to reach for the kettle when you need a strong cup of tea!

If you would like more information or a quote for self storage for your renovations project, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to help with no obligation or pressure to reserve a unit with us.