Choosing to remodel your home is a great undertaking. Sure, any home remodeling
show can make “demo day” look so fun, but the reality is that renovations can hang
heavy on your mental and physical health – and can be dangerous, too, without the
proper safety precautions. Whether you are planning your own home remodel or
outsourcing the project to a licensed expert, it’s possible to be a stressful process either
way. Navigating a home renovation project is an exercise in patience.
Safety, however, is one factor that’s often overlooked. Even so, working with a licensed
general contractor will not guarantee that your home remodels project will run flawlessly
and without risks. Even with a professional contractor on his side, a homeowner would
be smart enough to take precautions that will protect the safety and security of their
family and assets before they agree on the project.
Make Sure Property Structure is Secure Before You Start
More often than not, when remodelling an older building, the structure could be
compromised before you start the reno. Some buildings might have foundational issues
due to previous water build-up or flooding. Pro Tip: Ask for a structural engineer to
assess the current structure and offer advice on the best practices to secure.
Experts say that when looking for visual signs of structural failure, you should look at the
basement. If you notice things like mildew, mould and crack in the walls, these are signs
of water intrusion and could mean that the entire wooden structure might be rotted
above it.
Know Your Home Inside and Out
Make sure you know everything from the floor plan of your house, load-bearing
walls, electrical lines and gas lines included. Look for the original plan of the house to
gain access to that information. Otherwise, you’ll have to do some detective work by
doing a little digging and pulling down some sheetrock until you find these lines, so
proceed with great attention, as drilling into one of the lines could be dangerous and
expensive to replace.
Plan Your Home Remodel Before Beginning
Have a very well-detailed scope of work for the renovation prior to the project. Home
remodelling projects can often change into bigger projects midway through construction
if the pre-construction is taken for granted. More often than not, this leads to expensive,
hasty, and likely unsafe decisions.
A key step in the pre-construction process involves probing to understand the guidelines
of how your home was constructed. Like it or not, the safety hazards you will encounter
are already-existing illegal conditions and work that was completed in the building
before your arrival.
Therefore, when you decide to remodel your kitchen, then halfway through that process,
you decide you’d prefer to remodel the entire floor, you’re more likely to have potentially
hazardous mistakes due to hasting or due to unexpected building surprises.
Separate The Rest of Your Home from the Remodel Area
Although it seems like a wise move to stay in another space while you’re renovating
your home, not everyone can afford that luxury. Most apartment combinations imply that
homeowners can live on one side of the property during the remodel.
You can start by creating borders that shield one side of the building from the other.
However, even if the renovation project does not result in a hazard per se, it can
definitely become unnecessarily complicated if the homeowner lives there.
If you’re planning to live on one side of the building while renovating another, be
prepared for ongoing construction traffic. Don’t bring any family members or children to
the site at any time, and make sure all items are decently stored, not just covered with
sheets. According to UKLaw.co.uk, if the building is empty during the remodel project,
work progresses faster, and that is a major risk mitigator. But when the unexpected
happens, and none of your family members is at fault, you’re entitled to an injury claim
for personal injuries resulting from safety procedures that your contractor took for
granted.
Work Wisely with Contractors
For more complex projects, it may be inevitable that you need to hire a contractor or
other professional to get the job done safely and well. The first important task you have
when working with construction experts is to select the best. Look for a contractor with
experience doing a similar job, that has good reviews, that belongs to professional
services, and that is on good terms with safety regulations.
Before the project, make sure you obtain a copy of the actual contract divided into the
very last detail. Using a contract that is not specific or, even worse, not getting one is
just asking for trouble and eventual legal problems. Once you’ve found a contractor and
signed the papers, be a good homeowner. Follow your contractor’s instructions, be
honest, talkative, and appreciative of what they do. An easy-going relationship will make
the entire home remodel run more smoothly.
Consider Your Neighbours
Home renovations are hard on the homeowners, but also on nearby neighbours who
have to endure an unsightly worksite, dust and noise. Warn your neighbours several
weeks before about what will be happening in your home and let them know the
duration of the project. Make sure that you and your contractor reduce the amount of
debris within your space and don’t let it spill to someone’s yard or into the street.
The best safety practices for completing a home remodel should also regard your
neighbours. However, it’s still easy to make an error or make a misstep that ruins your
project, upsets your neighbours, or even causes someone to be hurt. To avoid or at
least reduce these negative consequences, make sure that your contractor follows
basic safety standards and make all decisions about renovation projects very
thoughtfully.
Even more helpful: Manage your expectations. Do some research upfront, budget for
potential errors, and know when to seek for medical or professional help to be sure you
maintain both your physical and mental health during a renovation.
