If you’re considering adding an extension to your home, you’re also probably thinking about how you can best protect your possessions while the work is being carried out.
The average house extension takes somewhere between seven and fifteen months.
In that time, you can expect a desert of dust, debris and chaos to be kicked up as the work is seen through to its completion.
As such, it’s often a good idea to store some of your belongings off-site while the work is ongoing.
The question is: To whom should you entrust your things for safekeeping?
Let’s take a look at your options.
Declutter
A quick fix for some of your stuff is simply to get rid of it.
A house extension is an opportune moment to declutter a space, ridding yourself of those things that have only been taking up room and gathering dust.
You can sell the valuable stuff, donate the usable things that aren’t worth a great deal and recycle anything that has seen better days.
Friends and Family
For things that you need ready access to, your best bet is often to keep them locally with neighbours, friends or family.
Here, you can pretty much guarantee access to your things day and night, which is not always the case if you opt for a more formal storage option like a lock-up or storage facility.
You don’t want to impose on the people you know, so you won’t want to prevail on them with large items like kitchen appliances, but for those smaller items you need daily or semi-regularly, keeping them with someone you know and trust can work well.
Storage Facility
The most hassle-free and secure option for the bulk of your possessions is to store them temporarily using the facilities at a professional storage company.
A storage facility is particularly good for storing the bulk of your belongings, especially large items, high-value things and objects that you don’t need access to daily.
A reputable storage company like redpath will offer the following as part and parcel of its secure storage offering:
- Collection and transport: Professional handlers collect your boxed belongings from your address and transport them to the facility.
- Packing services: Staff can supply packing materials and securely pack your items. And bear in mind, some insurance policies stipulate that goods must be packed by professionals to be covered by the policy.
- Robust access controls and monitoring: CCTV, alarms, and controlled access mean malefactors are kept out of the site.
- Flexible access: Customers can access their stored items when they need, depending on the terms and notice requirements.
- Space for large items: Units will typically range from 30 sq ft to up to 200 sq ft, so whatever your storage requirements, you can be sure there is a unit to match your needs.
- Liability cover and insurance options: Providers may offer insurance cover or liability protection for stored goods.
- Return or redelivery of stored household goods: Once you no longer need the storage space, the company will redeliver your things and even unpack and reassemble them should you require.
- Inventory and tracking: A storage company can help with inventorying items and help organise, track and manage belongings so you know their whereabouts at all times.
On-Site Storage Pods
A useful hybrid option is the storage pod.
This type of unit works well if you want your items out of your house, but don’t want them too far from your property because you need ready access to them.
Pods can be delivered to your door and pitched on a few square feet of free land – a driveway works well.
And many pod storage companies often have their own storage facilities, so if you’re stuck for space hosting a pod or space becomes an issue as the extension progresses, you can always have the pod removed and stored securely offsite.
Conclusion
Sadly, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to keeping your belongings safe during a house extension.
But by using a clever mix of decluttering, friends’ houses and storing items at a storage company for safekeeping, you can take some of the stress out of the experience.
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