Home renovations are exciting when completed but, let’s be honest, they can be disruptive while being done. While you go on living your life, walls come down around you and get moved, fixtures are removed and replaced, plumbing and electrical work are turned off and on with wires and cables exposed — all going on within clouds of dust and cacophony of noise.

But as designers, carpenters, and craftspeople temporarily invade your home, it doesn’t have to be as bad as you might think — especially if you and your contractor take several precautions before the work even gets started. Here are 6 proven protection tips from the ground up to assure your home and family remain fully protected from start to finish:

 

Coverage 1: Floors to Doors

Throwing parties and entertaining guests have always meant more traffic throughout your home — but that’s nothing compared to the steady stream of renovation experts who must traipse across your delicate carpets, polished parquet, and shiny floors. So make sure your renovator is proactive and thorough to prevent any scuffing and permanent damage to your home.

That involves proper prep prior to any work being done: Sweeping and vacuuming every square foot, then laying down physical floor protection coverings ideal for any surface including tile, linoleum, concrete, wood, and concrete. Threshold covers and ramps in front of every doorway protect against rolling equipment; channels act as safe conduits for long cables and wires.

 

Coverage 2: Dust to Rust

No renovation is ever complete without a flurry of sanding, sawing, drilling, and polishing. All these activities including constant hustle and bustle send plumes of dust into the air and potentially throughout your home. The last thing you need is exposing your family to drywall silica, lead from old paint, or other pollutants from toxic chemicals, insects, and other hazards.

Ensure your contractor takes every precaution to proactively minimize dust, debris, and any potential damage. The best way is to physically isolate work areas with temporary dividers and other dust barrier systems. Constant vacuuming and cleaning of project areas also help to minimize exposure. Discuss the best approach with your contractor before work ever starts.

 

Coverage 3: Air to Spare

Great air circulation makes your home comfortable under normal conditions but compounds the dust problem during a renovation. The simplest and best way to minimize the spread of dust and debris throughout a project is to keep windows open if possible and shut down the air conditioning and heating in work areas. Frequently cleaning air filters is highly advisable.

Commercially available air purifiers and blowers are also sometimes used. Talk to your contractor about their approach and strategize together the best way to reduce and control air pollution. Close off all work areas best you can, limit movement throughout your home, and demarcate traffic lanes to ensure non-project rooms and spaces get minimal exposure.

 

Coverage 4: Bounds to Sounds

Dust is an inevitable physical byproduct of renovation work while noise is an equally inevitable sonic one. That makes noise control particularly challenging, especially since the precision tools and heavy equipment used for your remodeling project are going to be loud, no questions asked. Try reducing the noise from cutting tile or concrete, sawing wood or sanding floors…

Thankfully all hope for your ears (and keeping your neighbors as friends) is not lost: Smart contractors will work with you to choose days and times when the inevitable onslaught of noise will make the least impact. Temporary plywood exterior walls and other custom-built physical barriers can also reduce sound pollution to the rest of your home and neighborhood.

 

Coverage 5: Mean to Clean

Bottom line, ensure your renovation contractor practices good “Project Safety Hygiene” (PSH). That’s a personalized combination of surface protection, air circulation, dust minimization, and noise reduction. Don’t leave these coverage essentials to chance or implicit goodwill: Discuss the exact approach and plan an effective strategy in advance to ensure total compliance.

A foundational component of effective PSH is a frequent and thorough cleaning protocol. Project areas must be routinely swept and vacuumed to minimize exposure and protect the rest of your home. At the close of the project, all renovated areas must be professionally cleaned to ensure a smooth transition to your complete satisfaction, locked and loaded and ready to live in!

 

Coverage 6: Your Quarantine Team

Times have never been stranger, with safety now everyone’s number one concern. Despite all the changes and uncertainties, many homeowners are using this disruptive time to do the renovation they’ve been holding off — but understandably seek the assurance that their contractor is responsible, safe, and following the very latest CDC guidance.

Since Blackline Renovations does work necessary for the operations and maintenance of essential infrastructure in housing construction, our company has “essential business” status. As such, we’re honored and eager to partner with responsible homeowners like you by maintaining six-foot distances, meeting by phone, using protective barriers, and practicing Project Safety Hygiene.

 

Partner with Dallas’s Award-Winning Renovation Expert

Founded and personally managed by Chris Black, Blackline Renovations is a dynamic design-build residential remodeling firm exclusively specialized in residential design and construction with a focus on creative, award-winning design. Take a look at some of their projects in homes near you.

Quickly complete the online form for a free personal consultation. Having earned a reputation for excellent communication, quality construction, and outstanding customer service. Blackline is eager to bring their proven process ensuring efficiency and economy to your renovation!

Join hundreds of satisfied Greater Dallas area homeowners who continue to enjoy the award-winning projects from the region’s best-in-class and top-of-the-line renovation company. They hope you found this blog helpful, and can’t wait to safely renovate your dream home.