Young House Love

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Hanging Protective Plastic For A Kitchen Renovation

Things are getting pretty Dexter around here in preparation for our wall opening. Because when walls come down, dust comes out, and therefore protective plastic must go up! So to set the mood I’ve intentionally left these photos kinda dark and eerie. I’m nothing if not theme-y.

  Dexter 7 John Taping

Oh and since I affectionately call myself Captain Safety (much like Sherry wishes $herdog would catch on), it bears mentioning that old homes can have lead paint, and therefore call for extra precautions (especially if you have little ones and pets around), so you can find more info on that here. We followed those directions and had our walls checked for lead (it’s the thing to do before work begins so you know what you’re dealing with) and ours came back negative. Which was really surprising to us until we read that homes from 1960-1978 only have a 24% chance of having it, so the odds were actually with us. Definitely one of those better safe than sorry things though, and the government takes it pretty seriously if you don’t follow lead-safe practices. So do what you’re told or Dexter Morgan might come for you…

Dexter 5 In Dining Room

Anyway, it was nice to know that we didn’t have lead to worry about, but we still knew from experience that there would be a heckova lot of dust all over everything if we didn’t seal things off. We used this method for construction dust control many a time in our first house when we were demo-ing, so we got to work sealing off the work area in both rooms with giant plastic drop cloths that are taped on all sides (while leaving a sliver of access in the existing doorways for folks to pass through while working).

We decided to line the sides of those “walk-through-here” slivers with painter’s tape so it’s easy to see where to step through so you’re not standing there flinging the curtain around for ten minutes to find the opening.

Dexter 4 Entering Dining

Oh and as for who will be here through the chaos, Clara, Burger, and I will stay at my sister’s house for the day, but Sherry’s staying home to answer questions, tend the blog, and stand behind the plastic sheeting with her eyes bugging out with joy as the wall comes a tumblin’ down.

Also on the dust-control subject, we plan to close all of our air vents in the demo area and then cover them with plastic (like we did here) so no nasty dust will find its way into our ventilation system only to be sprayed out the next time it’s turned on (we’ll keep it off during the job since it should be a one-day thing and our house should maintain it’s temperature pretty well during the day). But as for the vent you see below…

Dexter 3 In Kitchen

… that will actually be where the peninsula meets the half-wall. So we had an hvac pro come out and ensure that losing that vent (and one on the other side) wouldn’t compromise our system. Then with his blessing I went under the crawl space and disconnected and capped ’em (so the vent you see isn’t connected to anything anymore). We actually did that in our first house for our kitchen remodel as well.

Dexter 2 Thru Living Closer

Oh and don’t worry, my Dexter channeling stopped at putting up the protective plastic sheeting. Well that and taking this creepy photo.

Dexter 6 John Hand

Okay and maybe this just happens to be my new ringtone. But I swear that’s it. Nothing else Dexter-y happening around here. Promise.

I kind of feel like a bad a$$ when my phone rings now. And of course Sherry’s jealous (in case you’re wondering, this is her current ring tone – and she dances like the Jersey girl that she is every time it rings). But back to the wall-opening excitement coursing through our veins. Needless to say we’re doing that is-it-tomorrow-yet thing over here. Can’t wait to share pics of our progress as we go.

Comments

  2. Caity says

    I should’ve added…my husband and I were Dexter and a victim for Halloween this year, and we set up a kill room. It was hard to hang all that plastic sheeting! No clue how Dex does it alone. haha

    Reply

  3. jessie says

    My husband’s ringtone is that same Dexter theme song. My ringback tone for when he calls me is that as well. Also I can’t wait to see what the finished product is going to look like after the wall comes down.

    Reply

  4. DanielleR says

    I looooove Dexter! My husband and I just ordered Showtime late on purpose, so we could watch all the new episodes in a row instead of waiting each week cause we’re always dying (no pun intended lol) to see what happens next. Just got up to the 4th episode last night … We’re gonna try and hold out for the new few and watch those in a group but its so hard! :)

    Reply

  5. Jane says

    John does make a mean Dexter Morgan! Your house looks super creepy now. Its like your house got a Halloween outfit!

    Reply

  8. Jessica G in NN says

    Dexter was SUCH a hot Halloween costume this year! Can’t wait to see the progress photos/self-portraits $herdog takes while watching the wall come down.

    Also- did you get a haircut? Is that stalkerish? It looks super short and nice. Aaaaaaand cut the awkward.

    Good luck getting it all done tomorrow! :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh that’s just an old pic from when I was ripping down a wall in our first house (on the post a few back from this one). Now it’s a few inches below my shoulders and always in a ponytail as usual. Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha- duh! I never thought folks would notice a John haircut. Haha. Yes, I give him one every few months, so this was right after one (well, about a week after).

      xo,
      s

    • Natalie @ Queen of Whirled says

      LOL! This is especially funny because I don’t see Sherry in any of these pictures .
      And smart move covering the vents. My honey’s office building was recently renovated and it “snowed” construction dust from the vents for at least week and a half.

    • Emma says

      FIRST thing I noticed on the post – sorry guys ;) scroll scroll, half read, scan images – what the heck?! John’s got short hair. Is that John? Confusion…

  9. Jamie says

    Sherry,

    I think Jessica was talking about John! I thought it looked like he got it cut too, and it looks great like that. Yours too of course!

    Reply

  10. Liza says

    I <3 Dexter. Just recently(few months ago) started reading your blog…you guys are awesome! Can't wait to see the end results. =)

    Reply

  12. Ginny P says

    Love the Dexter theme to this posting. We’ve got a wall of plastic in our basement from where my husband set up a little wood-working area to build our daughter’s bed. We call lit “the kill room” now.

    I’m excited to see how the new opening will look, if it’s anything like projects at my house, it’ll get worse before it gets awesome!

    Reply

  13. Michelle says

    So exciting :) I noticed you have a vent where the half wall will be and am wondering what you plan to do with it once there is cabinetry there. I’m asking because we have the same situation (except with a floor vent) where we are about to add a new cabinet in our kitchen and we haven’t thought of a good solution yet.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We had a hvac pro come out and ensure that losing the vent wouldn’t compromise our system. Then with his blessing John went under the crawl space and disconnected and capped it (so the vent you see isn’t connected to anything). We actually did that in our first house for our kitchen remodel as well.

      xo
      s

    • Jason says

      Michelle – the vent can be placed under the cabinet and exit through the toe kick of the cabinet. It’s very common in kitchens.

      Delaware J:)

  15. Melissa @ Mitchell House says

    Dexter fans unite! love that last creepy picture.

    I have always thought tv show theme songs make the best ringtones (mine is currently the theme for “The Office”)- those who watch it laugh when they recognize it and those who don’t aren’t looking at me like my phone just shouted out “Mmmbop” in the middle of a college final. That may or may not have actually happened to me. :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yup, you just have to follow lead-safe protocol, which is a lot of special measures for cleaning up every last particle for the safety of kiddos and pets!

      xo,
      s

  17. Melissa says

    To quote Ronald Reagan, “Tear down that wall!”

    Can’t wait to see how this project goes. I’m sure you are excited too! Looking forward to all that natural light flooding into your kitchen and no more creepy dark photography. :)

    Reply

  20. holly says

    i love dexter. this is my favorite season in a while.

    i have always wondered how dexter does the sheeting thing so fast, and how he manages to find awesome kill rooms so conveniently located.

    i’m getting pretty excited about this demo too!

    Reply

  21. Lindsey says

    I hope Sherry gets a phone call tomorrow when the contractors are there cause that would be funny… and entertaining for them, I’m sure :)

    Reply

  23. Marie says

    Ha ha, we have the same plastic lining our coffee table/log box and we call it Dexter plastic too. Good luck with the demo – you must be excited!

    Reply

  24. Gabbi says

    i can’t wait to see a big ole’ hole in that wall! woohooooo!

    and i must admit…me and my hubby have spontaneous dance parties to lots of LMFAO tunes when they come on as we are doing our demo…it makes ripping stuff down that much more fun! :)

    Reply

  25. Madeline Kronfeld says

    Great tips for my future demo projects. You know, when I actually own instead of rent and can tear down walls without a landlord getting mad. John, we have the same ringtone and I also feel like a total badass when it rings :)

    Reply

  26. Rosalyn says

    I am so excited for this demo… Waiting patiently here in the Midwest to see the hole, er reveal. I just love when you take something ordinary and make it awesome. yay!

    Reply

  30. Jenna says

    Hey, I’m not sure if this is an issue with just my computer, but this post doesn’t show up on the main page of the blog, only in the archives and when I click on the facebook link. Thought you’d want to know!

    Reply

  31. Laura says

    Aren’t contractors supposed to do all of that sealing for you? When some friends of mine had their kitchen renovated, the company doing the project sealed all of the doors, windows, and vents. The coolest thing was that they actually put in some kind of plastic lining over the door that had a zipper running down it (so that people could get in/out during the project without having to re-tape or mess up the seal every time.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      They can do it if they include it as part of their fee/estimate for sure! We’re just cheap so we said we’d do anything that we could do ourselves, to keep costs down (like trim, drywall, and taping things off). Plus it’s nice to make the call about what’s completely sealed and what’s partially sealed (so work can be diverted towards the front door, which we did in our case so folks weren’t walking through the working part of the kitchen to get outside). The zipper thing sounds super cool though!

      xo,
      s

  34. Meg@Keeping up with the Jenks' says

    Ahhhh. I love Captain Careful. He brings me such peace of mind.
    So when we took down our wall, despite taping up all the plastic sheeting we could, our demo guy “forgot” to reseal it back after his lunchbreak.
    To say that I had a coniption when I came home is an unerstatement. I sent everyone out of the house and began to hose down EVERTYHING. So excited for what ya’ll are doing! But, not jealous of the mess that will be coming.
    Good Luck!

    Reply

  36. Thais Bessa says

    Exciting times!!!!

    Ok, now that you dealt with this plastic thing, can you help me answering what I always ask myself during Dexter (and the hubs, much to his annoyance because I talk DURING the show): how the hell does Dexter fit ALL this plastic covering, his “tools” and body parts (ew) in that small bag???????

    PS: I love the opening, especially the one they changed a bit once he had the baby. The shirt covered in baby sick was hilarious and so familiar, lol.

    Reply

  38. Sarah says

    I hope your contractor’s rap sheet is clean. You guys are making it easy for Dexter to nab him if it isn’t ;)

    Reply

  44. heyruthie says

    yea! so excited!!

    cover over the big front windo with plastic too–it will save you having to dust every. one. of. those. window. grids.

    have fun!

    Reply

  46. mp says

    I used to watch Dexter religiously, but after Michael C. Hall dumped Jennifer Carpenter, it’s been hard for me to watch them as Dexter & Debra. I do read Jeff Lindsay’s books, though, which have gone in a completely different direction from Showtime.

    But I can relate to the plastic and dust — last Christmas I started a reno of my master bedroom, which was a poorly constructed addition built in 1985 without permits. Dust, plastic, splinters, furniture, little dogs running in and out of the house — I must have driven 20 miles just chasing them the quarter-mile of my driveway — and sleeping in the back bedroom I use as my office. Not fun. Add in that I tripped over one dog’s lead in the yard on January 6 — just an hour after the drywallers completed their first day — and dislocated my left shoulder. (For me, DIY = ER visits. My best skill is writing the check to a professional.) And no, the room is NOT done, not by a long shot. I moved back in as soon as the floor was painted (I used three times as much paint as a pro would have), but it’s warmer and structurally sound, so I can deal with patchwork drywall and no trim of any kind.

    Reply

  47. Katy says

    What’s the tape in the middle of the dining room floor for?

    I’m looking forward to the next update and love that you taped the doorway seams, super smart.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s a little X that helps us center the table. Haha- we’re so lazy, so keeping the tape there helps scooting it all over trying to center it in front of the window and the built-ins.

      xo,
      s

  48. EHS says

    I’ve been reading for years but rarely comment. But I have to say:
    I’M SO EXCITED!
    Bring on the sledgehammer and let’s get down to kitchen bidness. My husband won’t indulge even the slightest of my DIY fantasies, so I count on you for the blow by blows. Thanks!
    -emily

    Reply

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