How to Prepare Yourself and Your Family for Major Home Improvements
Although having improvements done on your home can be incredibly exciting, you will find that it also means an unenviable amount of upheaval in your life and home. This is all reasonably easy to factor in if it is just you and your partner living on-site; however, when there are small children through to teens involved, it can be an entirely different experience.
An influx of workmen
For instance, there is going to be an influx of workmen going about their business. This in itself can cause interest and curiosity in kids of all ages. They may want to see what is going on and therefore get inadvertently in the way or in places that are currently out of bounds for them.
Although it is good to stimulate curiosity and educate them on what is going on, it is also a very good idea to have them elsewhere while work is actually happening.
Dealing with construction tools
You may also find that your home and grounds have become a temporary home to machinery and construction tools. These tools are very dangerous, and certainly not toys or climbing frames, and yet kids will be drawn to them either as playthings or for a dare with friends.
However, the workers on your home improvement project should ask your permission to leave these items on-site, and you are within your rights to say no or ask them for some security measures to be put in place, such as having their tools locked away.
The action you should take if an injury occurs
Regardless of how thoroughly you approach this situation, there is always the chance of accidents and injuries. Having a basic understanding of first aid is a must with a first aid kit close to hand. However, you should also have the emergency numbers already installed in your cell phone. Nobody ever really knows how they will react in an emergency that involves a loved one; panic can show itself in all sorts of forms, including inducing a brain freeze, where numbers cannot be remembered, and panic sets in. Therefore having emergency numbers there and ready is a must.
Of course, it is not just the essential phone numbers of the ambulance service but also that of a personal injury lawyer such as Brown & Stedman LLP. This is because while you are supporting and caring for your loved one, they can put a case together to ensure your family gets compensation and financial support for the future.
Final thoughts
Of course, you should make sure that you enjoy planning and having your home improvements made into reality, but it is a good thing to keep in mind all the things that could go wrong. This is even more important with curious or mischievous kids on-site, either when the contractors are working or in the evening when tools and machinery are left idle and forgotten about. You should be vigilant and, where possible, see if they can go for sleepovers with their friends or family members until your home is safe for them.