If you are planning on remodeling or adding on to your house, site protection is a big issue to pay attention to. The majority of contractors overlook or simply don’t place a priority on protecting the customer’s home. That’s a problem because you, the paying client, deserve a pristine home in addition to the well-crafted project that you’re paying for. It is not a one or the other type deal – you have the right to expect that a clean house be included in the specifications and contract with your builder. It is a good idea to ask your contractor early on about protecting your site – his or her response will say a lot about how prepared they are to tackle your project.
We have decades of experience and have remodeled countless homes. Over time that data has been analyzed and distilled into a repeatable system. Our system ensures that every project R. L. Rider Remodeling performs has an appropriate level of site protection for that type of job. For example, a project that takes place entirely outdoors like a siding replacement will not need much, if any, site protection – just don’t step on any of the shrubs and flowers the homeowner just planted! A full-gut kitchen remodel on the other hand might need the full gamut, and different amounts of protection at different stages as finished surfaces are installed. We plan our site protection during the early stages of your project at the initial site survey so that we have thought of everything well in advance.
Why is Site Protection Important During a Remodel?
Site protection is very important during remodeling for a number of reasons. A remodel is not like regular construction where you are building everything new from the ground up. There are existing finishes everywhere that need to remain in perfect shape, and therefore require some sort of protective covering. Another key difference between remodeling and building new is that demolition is usually required to remove existing finishes and to modify the site according to plan. The demolishing itself is pretty straightforward, but the tricky part comes when you need to transport the debris outdoors and have to travel with awkward pieces through the rest of the home to get it to the dumpster.
Our top priority when analyzing a site for how much protection it will need for a given project are the desires of the homeowner and his family. We store the knowledge that they will be living in and around the jobsite for the duration of the project’s schedule at the front of our mind. The general idea of site protection is to keep the work area contained and isolated as much as possible. It is almost like a quarantined area that you might see in a movie – plastic walls with zippers, workers in protective coverings, and warning signs to complete the effect! The more effective a crew is at containing a work site, the less cleaning there is at the end. Not to mention minimal dirt and dust escape which will keep your family healthier and the non-working areas of your house in better condition.
Would you rather be safe or sorry? We prefer safe when it comes to protecting your house – it keeps the blood pressure down and there are no repairs to fret about as a project is wrapping up. We always strive for perfection, but our tradesmen are human, and accidents do happen no matter your skill level. Sometimes tools get dropped or a little paint gets spilled, not to mention the multiple subcontractors that have to visit the site to work. We promise to be as careful as possible, but we also promise to go ahead and protect the entire site – just in case!
Types of Construction Site Protection
There are a million products available to help protect a job site, and more are being invented every day. We’ll briefly cover some of the most common types/categories that we use on a daily basis. The underlying principle here is to cover/pad/surround (or just remove entirely) any item that we might reasonably suspect could get damaged.
Take your floor coverings for example. The first line of defense we call “booties” which are just a piece of fabric that is elasticized and fits directly over a worker’s boots or shoes. These are cheap, easy, disposable, and effective – just how we like it! Whether the floor itself is carpeted, hardwood, vinyl, etc. there is a specific type of floor covering to keep it safe. Ram board is a popular option for hardwood for example, as it is a nice piece of thick cardboard that easily unspools and is taped to the floor. Door thresholds can get beaten up pretty hard during a project so there are coverings for that as well, including the entire door frame and door itself if necessary. Walls, particularly corners, are suspect to dings as well so we can put up cardboard plates to cover any area that sees heavy traffic.
For dusty and demolition intensive projects we prefer to set up temporary walls such as the Zipwall system, or a temporary framed wall with thick plastic if the span is too large. Sanding drywall takes the most advantage of the Build Clean air scrub system as it helps filter out and trap the very fine dust that results, but they are great on any other dusty task as well. Speaking of dusty work, we don’t want your HVAC system picking up particles and spreading contamination to all corners of your home. To combat that we use air duct covers/vents and will shut the entire system down during really intense work periods. Finally we can use a vacuum with a specialty filter to get the job site back nice and clean.
We take special care around bathtubs and showers that are remaining or have been installed new as these are expensive pieces to replace and they scratch easily. There are specialty coatings we can employ that paint over the tub and peel off after leaving an unmarred surface. All fixtures, sinks, faucets, showerheads, etc. will be protected too. Each specialty trade will use their own site protection as well e.g. the painter brings his own drop cloths and tape to safely cut in edges and protect the floor.
The last thing we want to do is build you a perfect job but ruin some beautiful family artifact or artwork. Anything like that we would call “content management” and have you safely relocate the item on our behalf so that no harm comes to it. Everything else we will take care of such as removing window treatments or blinds, taking pictures off the wall and re-hanging afterward, and moving all your furniture around as required so that the different trades have access to the work spaces they require.
You Deserve a Well-Built and Clean Remodeling Project
R. L. Rider Remodeling will always properly use and educate our customers about the best available site protection on every project. If you’ve had problems with a past or current contractor leaving your site dirty, dusty, and unlivable then contact us for assistance today – we’ll be happy to help! Feel free to call us at 517-487-3713 or fill out the contact form linked at the top of every web page and we will get back with you quickly.