Knowing how to prepare your home for a remodel is what separates a smooth start from a chaotic one. You sign the contract, the plans get finalized, and then there’s a gap of a few weeks before your crew actually shows up. What you do with that gap determines whether week one of your remodel feels organized or stressful. Here is what to actually prepare before a Twin Cities remodel begins, based on what matters for a kitchen, main level, addition or whole-home project.
What should you do first to prepare your home for a remodel?
Clear and protect the work zone before your build team arrives. That means fully emptying cabinets, closets or rooms inside the project footprint, moving furniture and valuables out of adjacent rooms that will see foot traffic, and confirming with your New Spaces project manager exactly where materials, a dumpster and a porta-potty (for larger projects) will sit on your property. Homeowners who wait until the morning the crew arrives to start clearing space lose a full day of productive work, every time.
How early should you set up a temporary kitchen or living space?
Set it up the week before demolition starts, not the day of. For a kitchen or main level remodel, that means relocating a mini fridge, microwave, coffee maker and basic cookware to a basement, garage or spare room, and deciding in advance which bathroom becomes the primary one if yours is part of the scope. For a whole-home remodel where you are staying on site, this temporary setup often needs to last several months, so treat it as a real living space, not a one-week workaround.
What should you tell your neighbors before construction starts?
A short heads-up prevents most friction. Let adjacent neighbors know the rough start date, expected daily work hours, and where delivery trucks and dumpsters will be staged, especially on a tighter Minneapolis or St. Paul lot where a driveway or street parking is shared. For additions that require equipment access through a side yard, ask before the crew needs to cross a property line rather than after.
Do you need to prepare your home’s utilities before a remodel?
Yes, for any project touching electrical, plumbing or HVAC. Confirm with your project manager which utilities will be temporarily shut off and for how long, and plan around it, especially water if you have only one bathroom or kitchen sink in the home. For additions, utility locates (call-before-you-dig) happen before excavation, and your project manager will schedule that; you do not need to arrange it yourself, but you should know it is coming so an unmarked yard a week out does not worry you.
Should you prepare differently for a kitchen remodel versus a whole-home remodel?
Yes. A kitchen remodel concentrates the disruption into one room, so your prep is mostly about the temporary kitchen setup and protecting adjacent rooms from dust. A whole-home remodel or a home addition touches multiple systems and rooms at once, so prep expands to include a full moving plan for furniture, a longer-term temporary living arrangement, and more coordination around which parts of the home stay usable week to week. On a recent whole-home remodel in the South Metro, the family set up a full temporary kitchen in their finished basement for four months while the main level was rebuilt from the studs out, which kept daily life workable without a hotel stay.
This is also the point where it helps to know what to expect once work actually starts: for most Twin Cities projects, timeline varies by scope, and a kitchen typically moves faster through the trades than a full addition does. Reviewing that alongside your pre-construction checklist gives you a realistic week-by-week picture instead of just a start date.
Pre-construction checklist: what to handle before the crew arrives
| Task | Timing | Who handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Empty cabinets, closets and rooms in the project footprint | 1 week before start | Homeowner |
| Set up temporary kitchen or bathroom | 1 week before start | Homeowner |
| Confirm material, dumpster and porta-potty staging areas | 2 weeks before start | Project manager + homeowner |
| Pull permits | Before start (varies by scope) | New Spaces |
| Notify neighbors of start date and work hours | 1 to 2 weeks before start | Homeowner |
| Utility locates for excavation (additions only) | Scheduled before excavation | New Spaces |
| Move vehicles and plan parking during construction | Day before start | Homeowner |
Do older Twin Cities homes need extra preparation before a remodel?
Yes, if your home was built before 1978. Federal rules require lead-safe work practices on pre-1978 homes whenever a remodel disturbs painted surfaces, which is common in the 1920s to 1950s housing stock found across Southwest Minneapolis, St. Paul and many first-ring suburbs. New Spaces follows the EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule on any project where it applies, and your project manager will flag this during the pre-construction walkthrough so there are no surprises once demolition begins.
What happens if you are not ready when the crew arrives?
Work slows down or gets pushed. A remodel crew that shows up to a kitchen still full of dishware, or an addition site with a car parked where the excavator needs to sit, loses time that has to be made up later in the schedule. That is one of the reasons New Spaces walks every client through a pre-construction meeting before the start date, covering exactly what needs to be clear, moved or set up, so the schedule you agreed to at contract signing is the schedule you actually get.
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance should I start preparing for my remodel?
Start the bulk of your prep about two weeks before your scheduled start date, with final touches like emptying cabinets and setting up a temporary kitchen happening in the final few days.
Do I need to move out of my home during a remodel?
Most New Spaces clients stay in their home, even during a whole-home remodel, using a temporary kitchen and bathroom setup. Whether that makes sense for your project depends on scope and how many functioning bathrooms remain; your project manager will walk through this specifically for your home.
Who is responsible for pulling permits before construction starts?
New Spaces handles permitting as part of the design-build process. You do not need to pull your own permits, but your project timeline will reflect your municipality’s review time, which varies by scope and by city.
What should I do with pets during a remodel?
Plan a secure, quiet space away from the work zone, especially during demolition days when doors are propped open and crews move in and out frequently. For larger projects, some homeowners board pets for the first week.
With over 40 years of experience in Twin Cities design-build remodeling, every New Spaces project manager walks clients through a pre-construction checklist specific to their home before a single wall comes down, part of the Needs, Wants and Wishes® process the company has used on over 700 Twin Cities remodels. If you’re planning a kitchen, main level, addition or whole-home remodel and want to know exactly what your home needs before construction starts, contact New Spaces or call (952) 898-5300 to schedule a consultation.