long time reader, first time caller

If I have my /home directory mounted on a seperate partition, is it possible to reformat/reinstall on my other partitions and keep the same home folder? I want to do this so that I can switch distros on this machine without having to spend the time backing up everything in my home folder and then copying back over once the install is finished. In theory this should be possible (in my imagination anyway), but I tried it once and the system freaked out because it didn't have the right permissions for the /home directory.

Your collective wisdom will be much appreciated :P