How do you protect the rest of an occupied house during a kitchen tear-out

Two kitchens that look the same on a walkthrough can leave very different messes in the hallway, and the difference is almost always what went down before the first cabinet moved. The steps listed at demolition redding ben bijnsdorp are shorter than most homeowners expect, because the protection is simple and the demolition itself is quick. A tear down of a kitchen in Redding, CA is one afternoon of noise and a morning of cleanup when the house is sealed properly first.

What gets covered before anything comes out?

Every floor on the path between the kitchen and the dumpster gets covered. Rosin paper goes down first, then hardboard or plywood over the top, taped at the seams so a wheelbarrow wheel cannot catch an edge.

How is the dust kept inside the work area?

A doorway is sealed with plastic sheeting on a tension pole or taped to the frame, with a zip opening so a person can pass without leaving the door open. Drywall dust is fine enough to travel through a return air grille across the whole house, so every return and supply register in or near the work area is covered and the air handler stays off while the demolition runs. In older homes near Downtown Redding, the old floor furnace or wall heater openings need the same treatment.

What gets shut off first?

Water comes off at the fixture stops, and when a stop will not close it is the main valve for the house. Gas to a range is capped at the shutoff, never just disconnected from the appliance. Circuits that feed the kitchen are switched off at the panel and tested at the outlet with a tester before anyone touches a wire.

How do cabinets and counters leave the house?

Upper cabinets come out first, then the base cabinets, then the counter. A reciprocating saw cuts through the fasteners holding a built-in cabinet to the wall, and a sawzall blade made for nails goes through the shims and screws in one pass. Pieces are cut down to what one person can carry, because awkward pieces scrape paint off door casings.

What should a homeowner move out of the way?

A refrigerator moves to a garage or a back room before the day starts, and anything hanging on the walls of the next room comes down, because a wall shakes while the stud wall beside it is being opened. Dishes, pantry food and small appliances get boxed and moved so nothing sits inside a room that will fill with dust.

What does cleanup look like at the end?

Plastic comes down last, folded in on itself so the dust inside does not drift out. Protective boards are lifted, the paper rolled up, and the floors under them are swept and vacuumed with a filtered vacuum. The result is a hallway that looks the way it did that morning, and a kitchen that is bare studs, subfloor and capped lines ready for the next trade.