I agree about using the basement. We had new hardwood floors put in the entire house 18 months ago. In the middle of January - so even the boys didn't want to go out in the cold. We set them up with food and water down there. The litter boxes are there all the time, as well as beds, so it wasn't totally new to them.

The noise above, though, almost drove all of us nuts at times.

Good luck with the renovations. Looking forward to seeing pictures when it's all done.