Prepare Your Home for
A Remodeling or An
Addition Project
With any remodeling or addition project, dust and debris generated from the project will find its way to other areas of your home. You can reduce the amount of dust and debris in other areas of your house (and possibly eliminate it altogether) if you follow the following steps:
- Buy some rolls of plastic sheeting and plan on hanging them from the floor to the ceiling as a way to block the dust. Be sure not to put these in the way of the contractors. Tape plastic sheets over your vents to prevent dust from circulating your home.
- Buy carpet pieces and lay them on your floors wherever the contractors will be walking. This will keep dust and dirt off your floors while they are walking back and forth to their trucks, and then you can put them away when they leave.
- Determine a spot where your contractors can make a mess. For example, if they need to saw or sand something (anything that will kick up dust) if you’re able to contain the dust, there will be less to clean. Often the garage is the best place for this kind of work. Be sure to provide a large trashcan for your contractors to use.
- Make room for large supplies, such as rafters or drywall, which may be delivered throughout your project.
- Remove all the furniture and breakable items from the remodeling site or adjacent from the addition site. Many unpredictable things can happen during construction, and everyone will be able to rest easy and work freely if there is nothing that can be damaged in the contractors' path.
Preparing Your Yard
- If your home addition expands into your backyard, front yard, or even in the side, remove anything mobile from the yard. This includes toys, water hoses, grills, outdoor furniture etc. Consider removing any plants, trees, and shrubs that are located on or near your addition site. You may want to remove trees or shrubs that are in the direct work path of the contractors.
- Contact the water department, the cable company, and the gas company and arrange for them to mark the lines on the ground before excavation or foundation building.
Mental Preparation is Key!
This remodeling project might take a while, and if Holidays or bad weather fall during the construction, progress can be stalled. This is completely normal. It happens in nearly every remodeling or addition project. The key is to stay calm, and just try to live normally. Sometimes contractors lose their workers to injury, to sickness, and various things, and the work just cannot be done without everyone there. Be mentally prepared for this to happen. Remember that you have a contract, that you are protected, and that the project will be finished.