Well we're doing it while the kids are home since we homeschool. We've mostly started eating out in the past couple of weeks. It just got to be too much, since we're diying. I do take the kids to swimming in the evening and dh can get quite a bit done in that time and then we bring supper home. I work on things during the day and he works on them in the evening. It works well for us.

I think it will depend on if you're diying or hiring it out. It seems that it could be complicated if you're having people coming in to work and then have to leave to pick up kids or have a school meeting.

How long do you estimate your remodel to take?

Like Tengofive, we homeschool, and DIY...We have remodeled every house we've lived in, except this one that we built and are still finishing...with kids at all ages. Our kids are part of the work crew! ;-) They've learned a lot.

In your case, summer sounds easiest...I'm thinking the kids might be outside playing and doing other activities, plus the easier meal schedules? Also, if it's better for you to be out of the house at certain points, you have a freer lifestyle to do so.

I was thinking more about this: Also, in summer you could possibly eat outside, as well as use the outdoor grill or BBQ...More alternatives for meals while the kitchen is torn up. I'd think the menu could get a little boring or difficult in the winter with more limited cooking options, and my family seems to expect more from dinner in winter. In the summer they are busy and more casual, so happy with sandwiches, hot dogs, salads, fruit, etc., etc.

Best wishes!

Ever a good time to remodel w kids? In real life or the movies? I vote for doing it during the school season and teach em' to eat sandwiches, frozen micro'd meals. They already eat pasta and cereal. They will live. Give 'em vitamins. lol Nine year olds can't drive yet, right? How tall are they? (Chuckle at my own stupid jokes)

Interesting reading the responses. Everyone I know offline waits until the kids are in school. But I live in a moderate climate. Remodeling in heavy weather sounds miserable. But, then there's camp. ...

We tore out our kitchen the middle of September. At first I thought it would've been better to do it over the summer, but in the end I was glad we did it when the kids were in school. We DIY'd part of it and hired out part of it.It was better that the kids weren't around during the day with the mess and the noise and there was quite a bit of last minute running around that I had to do that might not have been so easy if the kids were here. At least with my kids, it seems that someone is always looking for a meal, so i think I would've been constantly making something. At least with school, they take their lunch and they're gone!

Thanks for all the responses. Our remodel is expected to take anywhere from 5-10 weeks, depending on who we ask (LOL) and we are hiring people to do the work. We live in Central PA, and have narrowed it down to either a late May start (kids in school for first 3 weeks, then out for the rest of the reno) or an August start (kids home first 2 weeks and then in school for the rest). Either way I believe we will be able to take advantage of the grill and eating outdoors....We would never consider doing it in the winter--I think our realistic window is April-October.

One thing I am concerned about with the first option is that the remodel will run long and we will not be able to take advantage of my husband's week off to go to the annual family reunion.

I think I am leaning more and more towards the late summer start--could make for a crazy beginning to the school year, but we will know we can make plans for the summer without worrying we will have to cancel at the last minute.

I often find the last few weeks of school to be quite chaotic. There are exams for the older ones, graduation exercises, big games, plays, end-of-year parties, etc. It's also the last chance to pull grades up, etc. Seems like the beginning of the school year is a less critical time.

My daughter was in middle school when we renovated and she hated the disruption, my total focus on the project and the strangers in the house all the time. And that was during the school year. She would never have survived a summer reno!

When we moved here, we decided to buy new instead of renovating again, mostly because we only have a few more years with her before college. I didn't want our time together to get sucked into a big project.

Good luck!

Fall - when the kids are in school and the weather is mild (here in the south it's great in September). We started in September and most of the major work requiring the door to always be open was done September-early October.

I was so glad my 7 and 9 year old girls weren't around most of the day for the fumes, mess and noise. Having to make three meals a day for them would have been a killer with the kitchen being out of commission. My 3 year old was in preschool 3 mornings a week by that time so it gave me some time to concentrate on what was being done on the renovation. I also wasn't keen on having workmen around my young girls.