If you’re doing remodeling on your home, we all want to think it will go perfectly and it will be clean and smooth. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. With no offense to construction workers, many construction workers are wonderful for building things, but not so wonderful for protecting things. Let’s face it, construction work is a mess. People carrying heavy items through your house, the paint, the plaster, dripped glue, heavy boots, and tool boxes. It can challenge even the best person’s sanity at keeping their house safe from damage, so use a floor protector to start with. Here is some other simple advice that might help.
Take everything out
Take everything out that isn’t nailed down, and some things that are. Remove everything you possibly can before the renovation even starts. Pretend you are moving and wrap everything you have just the same to keep it protected as if you were moving. You may think you don’t need to do this, but all you need is one rip or one scratch and the tears may flow as you wish you had.
Cover it like its winter
Everything you cannot move out needs to be covered. Cover anything was not being renovated that is going to take you time to fix, especially your floors. There are just so many different ways that things can get damaged. It can break your heart to see a deep gouge on a hardwood floor that wasn’t there before. Most contractors will take care of this, but remember this is your house so it’s always a good idea to keep your eye on how things are going. If there is a large piece of furniture that you cannot move, cover it well. Pretend you are traveling across the country and it’s going in a truck, that’s how well you want to protect it.
Clean spaces daily
I know it’s tempting to think that it’s going to be dirty anyway, so we’ll just clean it all at the end, but really that can lead to disaster. If you treat the spaces with respect and keep them clean there a better chance that others working there will also do the same. There is less chance of somebody dropping a toolbox on your floor if everything is very clean. Dust and debris also have a tendency to move, so it is quite conceivable that the mess can move to other areas of the house like an infection. If you keep it clean every day, it does not take that much time and it’s well worth the effort.
Smoke detectors
This isn’t directly for keeping your house clean during renovation, but it is definitely connected to keeping your house safe. During construction, there are all sorts of materials used that are highly flammable, from glues to paint cleaners. Add machinery making sparks into the mix, and you might end up having a second renovation to do after your place burns down. So make sure all the smoke detectors are working and in the appropriate places. Don’t let any of the construction workers turn them off. It’s also a good idea to have a fire extinguisher around and in the room. Make sure everybody know where it is. A little bit of preparation can solve a lot of heartbreak later.
We hope these tips help you, and make your renovation a happy one. Renovation, changing something old and tired into something new and beautiful is a wonderful thing. Just remember that without some preparation, a beautiful thought can also turn into a nightmare. So we wish you the best of luck on your renovation and we hope it goes smoothly.