Usually, your renovation project will require some demo! Everyone loves swinging a hammer and knocking things off, down, over, ripping things, pulling things, etc. Yes, it’s fun, but if you’re not careful, it can add hours to your project later. For example – drywall repair – let’s say that you’re demolishing tile and you just start banging – everything comes down, including the surrounding drywall. Now you have to buy new drywall, screw it to the studs hoping that you don’t have to add more 2x4s as nailers, tape and mud (joint compound) the seams, corners, screw holes, sand it all and paint. All of this could have been avoided by just taking a little extra care during demo.
Before you go knocking into a wall, do a little exploring – just because you don’t see any external electrical, plumbing, gas, etc. this doesn’t mean that it’s not hiding behind the wall. Cut a little square out of the area and take a look, that’s easy to patch and again this could save you a huge headache later. I learned that lesson when I screwed through the wall, right into a copper water pipe – out came a stream of water and about 2 extra hours of work to deal with it.
Safety equipment – a must – it only takes one splinter, cut, piece of something in your eye, etc. to ruin a project. Over the years, I’ve become a huge fan of safety equipment – mostly from experience. Hard hats, gloves and safety glasses are cheap and there really is no good reason not to wear them.
Before you go knocking into a wall, do a little exploring – just because you don’t see any external electrical, plumbing, gas, etc. this doesn’t mean that it’s not hiding behind the wall. Cut a little square out of the area and take a look, that’s easy to patch and again this could save you a huge headache later. I learned that lesson when I screwed through the wall, right into a copper water pipe – out came a stream of water and about 2 extra hours of work to deal with it.
Safety equipment – a must – it only takes one splinter, cut, piece of something in your eye, etc. to ruin a project. Over the years, I’ve become a huge fan of safety equipment – mostly from experience. Hard hats, gloves and safety glasses are cheap and there really is no good reason not to wear them.
1 comments:
Yep, it's all about having a plan and focusing on the preparation. Jump right into it and you'll spend more money and use up more time (which means even more money, in the long run.)
For me, though. I usually don't mind taking it all down. If I'm redoing a room, I don't want to have to revisit the electric and plumbing... or even the drywall. I just gut it, do it all from scratch, and I'll know for sure what's in there because I say it all with my own eyes.
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