Most major home renovation projects require some demolition. While this project sounds straightforward, the process can be complicated if done incorrectly. Poorly done demolition interferes with your property’s integrity and can pose a safety hazard. Therefore, it’s vital for every homeowner to maintain safety practices to prevent anything from going wrong.
However, if you lack enough knowledge about demolition, you should hire a professional company such as 360 Demolition. Nevertheless, if you can handle the project, follow the following practices.
Table of Contents
1- Get The Right Tools
Like any home renovation project, demolition activities require particular tools. It’s, therefore, essential to understand the correct tools for demolition and gather them before commencing with the project. The tools you’ll need to finish the demolition include a crowbar, sledgehammer, pry bar, and claw hammer.
Additionally, you might need a reciprocating saw; suppose you’ll have to do some cutting along the way. You should also have an oscillating tool handy. This tool enables you to remove baseboards during renovation without damaging them. An oscillating multi-tool is also ideal for removing plaster and drywall and making cuts in hard-to-reach areas.
Remember to rent a dumpster to avoid making countless trips to the landfill to dispose of demolition waste.
2- Be In Protective Gear
A demolition project isn’t among the safest tasks to engage in. It involves flying and falling objects. If you begin demolishing without the proper attire, you’ll likely sustain injuries before the project ends. That said, it’s vital that you wear protective gear during demolition.
Thick-soled boots will prevent you from getting injured by nails, screws, and wooden chips. You should also wear heavy-duty goggles to prevent dust and debris from accessing your eyes. On the other hand, a face mask will prevent you from inhaling dust, while a robust helmet protects your head from falling objects. Heavy-duty gloves are ideal for preventing hand injuries, while an apron protects your clothes against dirt.
3- Turn Off Electricity, Gas, And Water
Before kicking off the demolition, you must switch off the electricity, water, and gas, at least in the area you’re working in. When tearing down the walls, you can easily interfere with a water or electricity line and cause severe danger.
If you accidentally damage an electricity or gas line, you could cause unimaginable damage to your property. In severe cases, tampered electricity or gas lines can cause a fire that could cause serious injuries.
With that in mind, you should never begin demolition before turning off the water, electricity, and gas. If you need light, consider an alternative, like an extension cord plugged into a different area.
4- Secure The Demolition Area
Another vital demolition practice is securing the area you’re working on. You don’t want unauthorized individuals like children to access the site since they can easily get injured. Besides protecting your family, securing the demolition area prevents debris from spreading to other places.
5- Maintain Communication
Demolition involves a lot of activities. There comes a time when something might go wrong, and you must evacuate the building. If you aren’t communicating, you might fail to alert everyone and fail to prevent accidents.
If you aren’t alone, you’ll need to maintain effective communication between everyone involved in the project. Lack of communication between you might interfere with your safety, especially if you need to warn other workers of danger. Always maintain contact between other workers for safety purposes.
6- Understand What’s Beneath
It’s also important to understand what lies under whatever you’re demolishing. Despite switching off the water, electricity, and gas, you should avoid damaging the lines since they’ll only add to renovation costs and complicate the process. If there’s electricity, water, or gas lines underneath the walls you’re demolishing, consider hiring a professional experienced in working around such complications.
7- Clean Up Regularly
Demolition activities involve a lot of debris. If you fail to clean up regularly, the waste will pile quickly into a huge mountain, which can pose a safety hazard. That said, getting rid of debris periodically is essential to make your work easier. At this point, the dumpster mentioned earlier will be helpful to prevent you from regularly dropping waste in the landfill, resulting in lost time.
Conclusion
Performing home demolition is a daunting task involving many risks and debris. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it should be unsafe. If you adhere to the above-discussed practices, you’ll successfully perform the demolition without putting yourself and the property at risk. However, if you can’t pull through a safe demolition, consider hiring professionals to do the task.
