I had new tile installed throughout my home in June. Our flooring company would have moved all of the furniture, but my husband and I moved most of it ourselves into the garage. We left just a few of the heaviest pieces and the flooring company had no problem moving those items around inside the house as needed. By moving most everything ourselves, it saved us money and time AND we didn't have to worry so much about stuff getting broken. When the floor was done, they moved the heaviest pieces back into place and my husband and I moved everything else from the garage.

We were going to stay in the house while they did the floor, and they were willing to work with us to do so, but that would have taken them longer to install, as they couldn't have done the whole floor at one time, so instead we stayed at a hotel. That saved about a week of time to complete the floor. We were on a tight time deadline to get it done, so it was worth it to us to stay in the hotel.

You didn't ask, but we also got new toilets and the flooring people installed the new toilets for us at no additional charge, since they have to pull out the old toilets anyway.

Bottom line is that most good flooring companies will do whatever you want them to do, but it may take longer to do and will cost more, too. But it's worth the hassle. I absolutely love my new flooring! Best of luck!

Thank you for the PERFECT answer! I appreciate the time you took to do so.

It would be best if you did move out and rent a POD. You'd have to be pretty minimalist for all of your stuff to fit into a garage! Removing tile is incredibly dirty and dusty and the dust and dirt gets everywhere. Cover the HVAC intakes with cheap fiberglass filters, changed every day. Have the house professionally cleaned when done. Tape up your closets shut with blue tape if those aren't getting done. Pull any art that you care about off the walls. Remove any shades from any hanging light fixtures.

Good points, Sophie - of course, since you're the pro! We very carefully covered (plastic covers and tape) all furniture that stayed in the house and I'm glad we did, because it WAS incredibly dusty and dirty!

We have a good size garage, so we just barely managed to get everything in there. Again, that didn't include big pieces, like the sofas, dressers, dining table, washer, dryer, refrigerator, etc. also, our house isn't that large - just two bedroom and two bath.

One other point, the flooring company told us that we could keep our artwork up, but we removed it all and I'm glad we did - again, because of the dust and dirt and also to prevent any damage.

Excellent points. We do have a large house. We are hoping to time it for when our tenants move out this spring so we can stay in our old house for a week or two for free.
This is all motivation to purge!