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.
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…
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.
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…
… 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.
Oh and don’t worry, my Dexter channeling stopped at putting up the protective plastic sheeting. Well that and taking this creepy photo.
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.
Abigail says
so exciting! i can’t wait to see how it’s going to look and what you’re going to do with it!!! great idea with the tape on the plastic door – I can totally see myself flailing around for ages trying to get out.
karen says
Totally off subject from your post…but don’t know if you’ve ever heard of pickyourplum.com but today they are selling cheap set of skeleton keys and made me think of you guys.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Karen! Off to check it out.
xo,
s
Anusha Forbes says
You guys are soooo funny. Love Dexter too but since watching the Simpsons Halloween special I can’t help but laugh each time I watch the Dexter opening sequence. Ned Flanders just seems to pop into my head (check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAqH8HOBjno). On another note, I just love your blog, you guys have inspired me, a DIY-know-nothing-at-all to tackle a few projects.
YoungHouseLove says
Hilarious!!! Best thing I’ve seen all day.
xo,
s
Jill says
All the Dexter love….this one is for Sherry….Girl, I work out.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s my favorite line. Because of the irony (I don’t work out). Haha.
xo,
s
Heidi S. says
I’m so excited for you guys! I have some demo to do in our Master Bedroom (old useless shallow Victorian closet) which I have been putting off for the very reason of how gross it will be (although old plaster dust mixed with coal dust is extra disgusting)! This might be enough to inspire me to get to work on it! Good luck today!
Melody says
The Dexter theme has been my ringtone for 2 years now! Love it! We used to live in a condo so whenever someone would call from the front door to be buzzed in, we’d hear the song and our dog would go crazy. We live in a house now, and when we are watching Dexter on TV, and the theme song starts, our dog automatically thinks someone is at our front door. It’s great… should have named him Pavlov!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha- so funny!
xo,
s
Jennifer says
Looking good! Just a recommendation from fellow old-house renovators, consider having your air vents vacuumed after a big demo or sanding project is completed, especially in an old house if you’ve never had it done before. We have a 75 year old house that had been renovated badly in the 80s and the amount of dust and debris that came out of the vents (even though they were completely taped up/system off during all of our projects) was amazing. There are pros and cons (see http://epa.gov/iaq/pubs/airduct.html for Sherry the researcher) and we definitely just had vaccuming, no sealants/sprays what-have-you, but for around $100, we definitely thought it was worth it to get 75 years worth of dust out of the system.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
Lynda says
We put up the plastic closures for our kitchen renovation and our Richmond kitchen renovators tore it down. Sigh, dust dust dust.
Regardless, change your HVAC filters once a week during renovation to protect your system.
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip!
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
This post is making me realize I never checked for lead when sanding/painting parts of my house, and I totally should have. I was just doing some reading on this so I’m ready for my next project, and I was wondering: do you use the government kits from a hardware store that you have to send in, or the self-test kits that give you results right away? Or something else? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve used both. We do the gov ones for projects like this (when you need them to “officiate” the results). But the little immediate test sticks are so handy for things like furniture (when we got a secondhand chair that was painted for the nursery it was nice to know right away that the paint was lead-free.
xo,
s
Robyn in Chicago says
Dexter is next on my list – once I finish Friday Night Lights (sooo good) so I am not as in love with that ringtone as I am Sherry’s….
Sherry – is that really your ringtone?? I LOVE. Where did you ever find that song? Hilarious and awesome. I clicked on the link to hear it this morning while nursing my 8 month old. I didn’t know it would be super loud on my phone, but it was BLASTING and the babe looked so alarmed and then fascinated while we listened. I was laughing pretty hard at the whole sitation since it was, you know 6:30am and the song is not really baby appropriate – Haha.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- it’s just a song they play on the radio around here (by LMFAO). John got it for me from itunes (but only after I begged). Haha.
xo,
s
Lead Free Kids says
We’re so happy you all are taking extra precautions to avoid lead poisoning! It’s so preventable if you know what to do, so thanks for sharing the resources with your followers and setting such an awesome example of lead-safe DIY. If you or your readers have any more questions about lead-safe procedures reach out to us on Facebook or Twitter (@LeadFreeKids).
P.S. Dexter would be proud.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, thanks so much for the contact info! So helpful for anyone with questions!
xo,
s
Pink Sun Drops says
Don’t know if you’ve seen this technique for painting a perfect line/edge before, but I thought of you and how meticulous you are with edges when I read it:
http://www.askannamoseley.com/2011/03/painting-perfect-line.html#uds-search-results
YoungHouseLove says
Wow – that is meticulous!
xo,
s
Amanda says
I thought showing you this shirt would be appropriate in this post. John, I thought you’d like this : http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/d5a9/
YoungHouseLove says
Too funny that you can buy that. I think I’d have the hit the gym a bit more before I’ll be putting anything like that on though…
-John
Juleen Kenney says
Excited to see the progress. I have the Dexter ringtone too! Love it!
Laura says
Can ya’ll tell where you found these Dexter ringtones?
I’d love to get one for my iPhone if anyone can point me in the right direction
YoungHouseLove says
Just bought it from iTunes for $1.99 I think! We searched Dexter song.
xo,
s
Brooke says
Can you share some tips for cleaning up the dust? We are in the middle of a basement remodel. The hubs did do his best to seal off the stair way to the main floor…we didn’t seal off the air vents (rookie mistake?), but did turn off the system down there…..there is still a fine coating of dust EVERYWHERE (even 2 floors up). It is daunting to think about wiping down everything. What is the best way to tackle the clean up?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, it’s rough. I would work from top to bottom (wiping it off the top of doorframes and window sills first so you don’t clean the floors and then notice it up there and get it on the floors again). We have had luck sweeping piles of as much as we can and using the shop vac and then following with wipe downs from things like a swiffer or a damp cloth on furnishings. It takes a lot of doing and redoing a few times, but in the end it’s so worth it to get it all! Good luck!
xo
s