Construction equals dust which results in required cleanup. It’s just a reality – generally caused by sanding drywall or floors. But in some cases there are significant concerns such as the health of those exposed to the dust or possible damage to other exposed surfaces in the construction area. So dust containment, and setting things up for easy cleanup, are critical parts of any renovation work that we do in West Vancouver and North Vancouver. To prevent dust from becoming an issue we have a simple yet effective containment system.

How to Control Dust During a Home Renovation

First, prepare the area by removing any sensitive items such as furniture or delicate lighting fixtures. If it is the walls we’re sanding, we will protect any floor finishes using the methods noted in our previous blog. We also cover every doorway that leads to another area of the residence using a similar combination of painters tap and tuck tape to secure plastic sheeting (aka – ‘poly’). If foot traffic needs to get through any of the doorways we will install a special adhesive zipper. If there is a large area that needs to be cut off, such as dividing a room in half, we create a zip-wall using adjustable posts and plastic sheeting. Be very careful to keep the plastic tight but don’t tighten the posts too much as the drywall could crack. Use painters tape to secure the edges of the plastic sheeting to the walls and ceiling.

It’s also important to take care of evacuating the dust. A good idea is to set up a fan to push the dust out through a window. But make sure there isn’t anything sensitive or easily damaged outside the window, like a garden or lawn furniture.

Lastly, make sure that anyone in the construction area is wearing protective breathing gear. Even if the dust is being blown out with a fan, there is likely a large amount of remaining dust and you don’t want that in your lungs or the lungs of those around you.

Also, when you are finished make sure to vacuum the entire area before taking down the protection. And don’t forget the walls themselves as well as the switch boxes.

This system may take more set up time then you are used to but it saves cleaning time and also saves money by protecting you and the rest of the residence from harmful dust particulates. And for us, it shows our customers that we care about their well-being and the protection of their belongings, which is something that all good renovators will do.