We all know that renovations can be messy and very invasive at times. Sometimes because we don`t want to deal with the mess, headaches and inconvenience of a renovation we just decide not to do it. Here are few things your contractor should be doing for you before you start your next renovation project.
1. Furniture and appliances. Before any work is done, furniture and appliances you have in the space where the renovation is being carried out, must be protected. The best way for this to be done is by relocating the items to an area of the home that no work is being done. Even though no work will be done in this area all furniture and appliances should still be covered with plastic and sealed from any dust or debris. If relocating the furniture inside the home is not an option, then the resolution may be a storage pod on your driveway that can remain there until the work is complete.
2. Cover everything! This is the most important step. At the start of any project all areas of the workspace must be covered. This includes flooring, cabinetry, railings, fixtures etc. When protecting the floor it is important to realize what kind of traffic this area will encounter. If the area will see little traffic and minor work, then your standard floor protection paper will do the job. With that being said, if the area will see constant traffic with a large volume of work then you need to go the extra mile when covering the floor. To cover these areas you may want to use thin sheets of plywood or thick cardboard. Always make sure that the seams and edges of all flooring protection is taped, this seals it from allowing dust or debris to get underneath. When covering cabinetry and other items you will want to use plastic or in other words poly. The thicker the plastic the better it stands up to being ripped, this keeps whatever it is covering, fully encapsulated.
3. Isolate the work area. The area of the home that is under construction should be completely sealed off from the rest of the house. This can be done by creating a temporary wall of plastic with 3rd hand poles holding it tight to the ceiling and floor. Once that is done the temporary wall should be completely seal with tape around all the edges to prevent dust migration. To access the area a zipper door will need to be installed, this door can be opened or closed as needed. Lastly, the vents in the isolated area should be sealed from dust making its way into the system.
4. Air filtration. The area where the work is under way should have an air filtration system to exchange the dusty air for clean air. The air filtration system should have a three stage system, first nylon mesh filter that catches debris, second a pleated media filter that removes impurities, and last but most important is a hepa filter that cleans 99% of the air passing through it. This system helps maintain the level of dust in a construction environment especially through demo stages.
5. Cleaning crew. Although you went through all these steps to try and keep your house clean during a renovation, you can never stop 100% of the dust created. Once the job is complete and the contractor has removed all tools and materials off the site, then the last step would be to clean the area of the home that was renovated or in some cases the whole home. Depending on the size of the renovation you may also consider getting your ducts cleaned so you can ensure you are breathing clean air.

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