Safety tips for a demolition project

We learned a few things from our DIY kitchen demolition this weekend. Thought I’d share some tips to help you have a safe demo:

Before you start

• Shut off the electricity to all the circuits near your work area.
• Know where the breaker box, water shut off and gas shut off are for your house. Make sure the appropriate wrench is attached to your gas shut off valve
• If you have small children, do this on a day they will be safely away at school or grandma’s house—between the sharp tools, the dust and the scary noise, a demolition site is no place for a small child.

During demolition

• Wear appropriate safety gear. Eye protection is essential as are sturdy gloves. Ear protection is also a good idea.
• Get help, especially with lifting heavy appliances; use a hand truck or dolly when you can
• Before cutting into ANY walls with a power tool, remove all drywall so you have a clear view of the area you will be cutting. We were unpleasantly surprised by a capped off gas pipe in a half wall we thought was free of gas, water and electricity.
• If you do start to smell gas, evacuate immediately and shut off the gas and electricity to the house. If you can, open some doors. Then call the gas company immediately to inspect your leak.
• I would also suggest working at a time when your local hardware store is open. If you do run into a problem (say, hypothetically, cutting into a major gas line) you want to have immediate access to supplies and tools from the store.

After demolition

• Sweep thoroughly to remove all nails and debris that could be a tripping hazard. 
• Partition off area with heavy plastic sheeting to keep dust and debris out of the rest of the house (you may want to do this before you start but it wasn’t possible in our case)