How to DIY house demolition safely?
October 25, 2018 8:43 AM Subscribe
My SO and I are planning a house remodel. He's so excited that he's started demolishing the house already! Are there any concerns I should have since we (and our pup) will still be living in this house for 2+ months before moving out for major construction? How can I make sure this happens safely?
The house was built in 1948 in central Texas and has been haphazardly updated by the previous owners, but they did a poor job. I get the sense that it was done by themselves or an inexperienced handyman. For example, windows were painted shut with too many layers of paint to count and cabinets were poorly installed with so many holes that there's significant wall damage. We also have asbestos siding, which we're not touching. I don't trust that the prior remodeling has reduced the dangers that may have been present!
We're remodeling all the major common areas of the house and adding 500 sq. ft. My SO has already pulled out a lot of our kitchen cabinets, demo'd half the patio, and torn down features like trim. We don't have finished blueprints yet or a chosen general contractor, so I'd hazard a guess that we'll still be in the house for at least 2-4 months while we get that sorted out.
I'm concerned that (1) my SO will hurt himself while trying to do something and (2) the demolition will expose us to something not-so-nice that's hidden in the house (like lead or asbestos or something I don't know about) since we will still be living there for a while. I'm also a bit worried about our dog since he doesn't have the good sense not to pull off broken drywall and gnaw on it when unsupervised. (Pup is usually quite well behaved so I think he's just taking advantage of opportunity. I'm trying to convince my SO to let me erect a baby fence to protect pup when we're not around.)
Are there things to watch out for or that we should just leave to contractors to do? Neither of us have remodeled before so I'd love guidance. Thank you!
The house was built in 1948 in central Texas and has been haphazardly updated by the previous owners, but they did a poor job. I get the sense that it was done by themselves or an inexperienced handyman. For example, windows were painted shut with too many layers of paint to count and cabinets were poorly installed with so many holes that there's significant wall damage. We also have asbestos siding, which we're not touching. I don't trust that the prior remodeling has reduced the dangers that may have been present!
We're remodeling all the major common areas of the house and adding 500 sq. ft. My SO has already pulled out a lot of our kitchen cabinets, demo'd half the patio, and torn down features like trim. We don't have finished blueprints yet or a chosen general contractor, so I'd hazard a guess that we'll still be in the house for at least 2-4 months while we get that sorted out.
I'm concerned that (1) my SO will hurt himself while trying to do something and (2) the demolition will expose us to something not-so-nice that's hidden in the house (like lead or asbestos or something I don't know about) since we will still be living there for a while. I'm also a bit worried about our dog since he doesn't have the good sense not to pull off broken drywall and gnaw on it when unsupervised. (Pup is usually quite well behaved so I think he's just taking advantage of opportunity. I'm trying to convince my SO to let me erect a baby fence to protect pup when we're not around.)
Are there things to watch out for or that we should just leave to contractors to do? Neither of us have remodeled before so I'd love guidance. Thank you!
At a minimum, get a lead testing kit and maybe an asbestos test kit as well. In a 1948 house you probably have lead in one of the layers of the paint, which is not the end of the world but if you're taking off trim you could be creating lead paint dust as the underlying layers flake off, and you would want to clean that up carefully (not just for yourselves but for whoever takes away your garbage!).
The work you're talking about doesn't sound like it would be likely to be involving asbestos-containing materials, but if you can afford an extra $50 or so you could send in a chunk of the patio or a bag of demolition dust for testing to reassure yourself.
Also I would definitely put up the baby fence for your dog! Drywall's pretty much non-toxic but it's also not, like, *edible* and it could cause him digestive distress.
posted by mskyle at 9:33 AM on October 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
The work you're talking about doesn't sound like it would be likely to be involving asbestos-containing materials, but if you can afford an extra $50 or so you could send in a chunk of the patio or a bag of demolition dust for testing to reassure yourself.
Also I would definitely put up the baby fence for your dog! Drywall's pretty much non-toxic but it's also not, like, *edible* and it could cause him digestive distress.
posted by mskyle at 9:33 AM on October 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
We don't have finished blueprints yet or a chosen general contractor, so I'd hazard a guess that we'll still be in the house for at least 2-4 months while we get that sorted out.
Dude needs to stop. Demo is quick and done by the cheapest unskilled labor. He's not saving any real time or money. The materials could be subject to safe disposal requirements. There's a damn good chance you'll be moving out in like 6 or 8 or 12 months, not 2-4. He's just making sure this is renovation is more stressful than it needs to be for no real reason.
posted by everythings_interrelated at 9:35 AM on October 25, 2018 [33 favorites]
Dude needs to stop. Demo is quick and done by the cheapest unskilled labor. He's not saving any real time or money. The materials could be subject to safe disposal requirements. There's a damn good chance you'll be moving out in like 6 or 8 or 12 months, not 2-4. He's just making sure this is renovation is more stressful than it needs to be for no real reason.
posted by everythings_interrelated at 9:35 AM on October 25, 2018 [33 favorites]
Demo is quick and done by the cheapest unskilled labor. He's not saving any real time or money.
The demo estimate for just my kitchen (drywall and removing cabinets, disposal) through a contractor was over $3000. I'd watch out for asbestos and lead like others have said but absent that, have some fun! Living through a remodel is going to really suck so take some time and some frustration out if those tests come back safe.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:48 AM on October 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
The demo estimate for just my kitchen (drywall and removing cabinets, disposal) through a contractor was over $3000. I'd watch out for asbestos and lead like others have said but absent that, have some fun! Living through a remodel is going to really suck so take some time and some frustration out if those tests come back safe.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:48 AM on October 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
If you're doing demo and there's lead paint, even if it was safely covered (chances are decent it was not) you're un-encapsulating it and causing risk. If you plan to get pregnant at any point in the future, this is a hazard (or if you ever have little kids over, even visitors). Definitely test. Also, yeah, stop. This is way too soon to do this kind of stuff. Where are you planning to keep your dishes/pots and plans/food if you have no kitchen cabinets????
posted by john_snow at 9:54 AM on October 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by john_snow at 9:54 AM on October 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm trying to convince my SO to let me erect a baby fence to protect pup when we're not around.
Let you?
1. It's your home too.
2. It's no skin off his nose if you babygate the dog into a safe area.
3. It's 100% NOT OKAY to let the dog eat drywall
4. You don't need his permission to take care of your dog (or for anything else for that matter.)
posted by DarlingBri at 10:09 AM on October 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
Let you?
1. It's your home too.
2. It's no skin off his nose if you babygate the dog into a safe area.
3. It's 100% NOT OKAY to let the dog eat drywall
4. You don't need his permission to take care of your dog (or for anything else for that matter.)
posted by DarlingBri at 10:09 AM on October 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
Asbestos was in fucking everything from the turn of the century to, say, 1982 when it mostly stopped being manufactured (but old stock was still around and used). Not just insulation, but also laminate tiles, pipe coverings, fireproofing, drywall, fucking everything. I'd be most concerned about that considering there is no safe amount of asbestos to breathe and people have gotten mesothelioma after a few weeks of home renovation 30 years back.
posted by fiercecupcake at 10:21 AM on October 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by fiercecupcake at 10:21 AM on October 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Also, re: your asbestos siding: it may seem to be in good shape but if you look very closely with a magnifying glass at the edges, be sure you can't see any fibers. And of course avoid disturbing it as best as (heh) you can.
posted by fiercecupcake at 10:22 AM on October 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by fiercecupcake at 10:22 AM on October 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
him breaking up a bunch of stuff is not likely going to reduce the bill for the professional demolition & removal of demolished materials, and it IS going to add to the overall stress of your project planning and possibly beyond. (My friend's husband did this to their bathroom when they thought they were going to be getting it fixed up; Stuff Happened to delay the renovation, and it was still busted up and unfixed at the time of their divorce.)
posted by fingersandtoes at 10:54 AM on October 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by fingersandtoes at 10:54 AM on October 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
In my city you can't rent out a house that has lead paint. It might be useful to think about a full gut job if you are already doing as much as you are. Putting up drywall is pretty doable for an amateur, if you let a drywaller do the mudding. I'm not sure about how much insulation is needed in your area, but that's another thing to think about. Of course, that might lead to electrical and plumbing inspections and upgrades. Everything snowballs.
posted by H21 at 11:15 AM on October 25, 2018
posted by H21 at 11:15 AM on October 25, 2018
As someone who has done a lot of construction in the past and is currently doing a remodel, I'll Nth suggestions to be wary of lead paint and also to make very sure you don't have asbestos in flooring tiles/glue/etc. Beyond that, there honestly isn't a lot to go wrong so long as you're not touching anything load-bearing. I think the dog gate is a good idea, better safe than sorry, and he should of course be very sure he knows where the wires/pipes are, but demo is a very doable thing (and a good way to save money) so long as you check for hazardous materials and have a plan before you do anything you can't take back.
posted by lhputtgrass at 11:39 AM on October 25, 2018
posted by lhputtgrass at 11:39 AM on October 25, 2018
Oh, and you may be aware, but as a general rule for myself (well and my partner) I always assume that any work I do on the house is going to take twice as long as I think and cost one-and-a-half times what I think it will. It's still a satisfying bargain, but I have to pad my optimistic estimates for everyone's sake.
posted by lhputtgrass at 11:46 AM on October 25, 2018
posted by lhputtgrass at 11:46 AM on October 25, 2018
When I renovated my 1948 Texas house I found various things in the walls that were a surprise. One was drifts and mounds of roach poop. Clean it up carefully, as you do not want to spread the smell. Also, the drain pipes in the walls were made of lead. My plumbing friend told me that new plumbing cannot be attached to old lead plumbing, due to the fact that water permeates pores in the metal. It had to be removed down to the cast iron pipes in the slab. Unprofessional electrical work over the years created untrustworthy connections. Also, there were instances where two breakers fed one circuit. Test your wires after you flip the breakers.
Now is a good time to do your own demolition, as you can open windows and let the breeze sweep the dust away. This will be hard work, take longer than you think it will, and cost more, too. Even so, it is something you can accomplish in relative safety.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 12:28 PM on October 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Now is a good time to do your own demolition, as you can open windows and let the breeze sweep the dust away. This will be hard work, take longer than you think it will, and cost more, too. Even so, it is something you can accomplish in relative safety.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 12:28 PM on October 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
From what it sounds like to me, your real problem is that your SO is destroying the house without a real plan, and without consulting you about what he’s doing ahead of time (I’m guessing), while you are scrambling to pick up the literal and figurative pieces after him. Please just put up the baby gate to protect the dog; you don’t need your SO’s permission.
posted by a strong female character at 6:50 PM on October 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by a strong female character at 6:50 PM on October 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
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Other than that, don't destroy anything structural and be careful of nails and fasteners.
Also note that often building departments like you to get demolition permits to make sure that things stay within code during the demo process. If you're just pulling down interior trim and drywall it's not like there's issues with runoff and whatnot, so it's not a huge deal, but be aware.
posted by straw at 9:00 AM on October 25, 2018 [2 favorites]