Things are starting to feel a little Dexter-esque as we get ready to open up our wall. When a wall comes down, dust is inevitable, so we put up protective plastic to keep the rest of the house clean. To match the mood, I deliberately left these photos a bit dark and moody — theme is everything.
I call myself Captain Safety (Sherry jokes she wishes her dog would adopt the name), so I want to mention lead paint precautions. Older homes can contain lead, so it’s important to take extra steps if you have children or pets. We followed recommended lead-safe steps and had our walls tested before any work began. Our results were negative, which was a relief — homes built between 1960 and 1978 have only about a 24% chance of containing lead. Still, testing first is the right move and local regulations take lead-safe practices seriously.
Even without lead concerns, we knew there would be plenty of dust, so we sealed off the work area with large plastic drop cloths taped on all sides. We left a narrow walkthrough in existing doorways to allow passage during the job. We’ve used this dust-control method before during demo, and it works well to protect the rest of the house.
To make the openings easier to find, we lined the edges with painter’s tape. That way people can step through without fussing with the sheet for ages trying to locate the gap.
During the noisy parts of the day, Clara, Burger, and I will stay at my sister’s house, while Sherry will remain at home to answer questions, update the blog, and watch the wall coming down from behind the plastic with equal parts excitement and disbelief.
We’ll also close and cover all vents in the demo area to prevent dust from entering the HVAC system. The plan is to keep the system off while the work takes place — it should be a one-day job and the house should stay reasonably comfortable. For the vent shown below, we consulted an HVAC professional to confirm that removing those vents wouldn’t harm the system. With his approval I went into the crawl space, disconnected and capped the ducts, and left the grille in place so it looks normal but isn’t functional. We used the same approach during our first kitchen remodel.
My Dexter vibes really stopped at setting up protective sheeting and snapping a few moody photos — and perhaps assigning a new ringtone to match the mood. Honestly, that ringtone makes me feel like a total badass when my phone rings, and yes, Sherry is jealous. She still prefers her upbeat ringtone and the accompanying dance that always follows.
We’re counting down to demolition day and can’t wait to share progress photos as the wall comes down. Stay tuned for updates and a look at how the space transforms.