Marti, this is September. Depending on what you must do to create that dining room, it could be ready in two months....or ready in March. Do you have ground freezes?
Will you need to do foundation work, or just move some interior walls and electrical and plumbing?

If I were you, I'd forget the dining room and just eat as you do normally. What I would do for sure, is get that BATH project taken care of. THAT is the best one.

My present contractor is a good guy, and has lots of other jobs going on. I am not good at saying why there are delays, like cement drying or waiting on inspectors. But he STARTED the job in August, I figure that even with the holiday coming up, he should be done by mid September, or before the end of September at the latest. That does NOT include the painting, the laying of tiles, nor installing doors nor baseboards. We plan to do all of that. I will also install the wire shelving in the closet.

My estimate is conditional on NO hurricanes, of course.
Sometimes it takes a thing like company coming to motivate us, doesn't it? Have dinner catered, so you can enjoy the visit and not be totally wiped out for the holidays. Put your thinking cap on and you'll come up with something less drastic than adding a dining room, .....or were you already planning on doing that AND the bath?

Marti, your post really struck a true chord with me! We've been working on our home almost since we purchased it in 1992 and none of our projects have been completed in four months! Could be because our house is nearly a hundred years old and all the systems needed work or replacement; could be because our budget is real and sometimes we have to put off the project to save up for it; could be because we DIY parts of it and both work full time. I don't know, but ML makes some great points. Subs work on their own schedules. We had a tile guy who took of in the middle of our kitchen project because he "had to go to Sturgis" for the motorcycle rally! Not saying your life isn't more charmed than mine - it probably has to be! You may very well be able to do it; a lot of people seem to. But also, read LavenderLass's "am I crazy post?" because people have replied about how they use alternate spaces for formal dining too.

I just have to add that I read the post yesterday about naming your house and I almost responded, but didn't. So, I'll tell you here that we named our little bungalow "Timely Manor". Manor is too grand a name for our humble home, but the irony made us laugh because we can't say any project gets done around our house in a timely manner! Secondarily, DH worked with a guy who insisted on using that phrase in his design contracts - literally "timely manor" rather than "timely manner"!

Sincerely, good luck with your dining room project, if you launch into it! I'll admire your finished project when you post it and wish it were mine, without a doubt!
Cheers,
-Kim

Aha, I think KimKitchy and I are on the same wave length here. I was just coming back to leave a link to the thread she mentioned. And here it is.

Here is a link that might be useful: Holiday dining special arrangements

Kim, we usually diy too, but with dh's back and my arm, we're subbing out the framing and roofing this time.

ML, the foundation is already poured. Dh liked the plumber and he is coming out next week to move the gas pipe. A framer is coming at 2 today to give us a bid.

Yes, I could put the dining table back in the middle of the living room. It wouldn't be too hard except I've already got a loveseat in there that was a royal pain to get through the angled hall and doors from the den. And I hate to say it, but I worry about the stinkin' wood floor in there with people scraping chairs on it. But, if we don't get the addition done, we'll eat in the living room.

Kim, I wanted to tell you that we have been working on this house since we bought it too, in 1995. Timely Manor sounds like the perfect name for ours too! That or the Money Pit. lol

Marti, please be careful with your arm. It will be hard to restrain yourself, but it is important to consider the long term effects of your injury.

It took me about three years to get over the pulled rotator cuff/cup (?) on my left arm. Now I think the same thing happened to my right arm. It is a pain to get old.

Kim, I love the name of your bungalow! It's brilliant. I might borrow from it and use "Hope Manor."

marti, good luck!! I have to laugh when I say that, although the sentiment is sincere. We, too, have been working on our home since we bought it in 1994. Three years ago we had 24 guests for Thanksgiving dinner. There were extenuating circumstances, but right then I decided we needed an addition with a room large enough to fit that many people. In the past we did the same as you do, pushed back all the LR furniture and set up three folding tables. Until we sat down for dinner there was no room for conversation, so EVERYONE ended up the kitchen while I was trying to do last minute preparations, and I don't like a lot of people in the kitchen, even on a good day.

After the dust from the holidays settled, we broke ground in early February, with a contractor/neighbor who assured me that the addition would be 'roughed in' and useable for Easter dinner. Hahahahahahahah

It took twice that long, and when the housing crisis news broke, we decided to take our time and finish the inside as we go. And it's still not finished. It's almost finished, definitely usable, I LOVE it, but it's been 2 1/2 years of upheaval.

I hope yours is finished in a 'timely manor,' ;) and you have a wonderful holiday season in it. I'll enjoy the finished pictures, too!