Preparing a Space for Remodeling in Maryland

When undertaking a remodeling project, there are a couple of things for the homeowner to consider in advance. It’s important to have realistic expectations of what your space will look and feel like going into, and during, construction. While we can’t entirely hide the visual process of a remodeling project, we do concentrate on making it as painless and non-invasive as possible. Spending some prep time in anticipation of the remodel is time well-spent; overall it can make everything more pleasant for the homeowner, and more efficient for Winthorpe’s crew, giving everyone a smoother, stress-free experience.

What Will The Space Look Like?

Expect to alter some of your daily living routines during construction. Despite the very best efforts to keep things clean and tidy, it’s normal to have some amount of drywall dust, plastic sheets partitioning off spaces, and temporary set-ups. But, generally speaking, daily living can go on with few adjustments. Here are a few examples of how we minimize opportunities for stress.

How We Prepare The Space

Part of our preparation is looking at what needs to go on in the home during remodeling so we can accommodate normal living patterns as much as possible. Will someone need an office in a quiet area? Are there pets that need outdoor access? One time, we actually made a temporary dog door to allow a pet to access the yard as they pleased.

Protecting the existing surfaces is also very important. We always roll out a protective covering to shield floors. Ram board, which is a protective cardboard, goes on specific high-traffic paths so they are doubly protected from wear and tear.

What Does The Homeowner Need To Do?

We don’t require a lot from you for preparations.  Dishes, books, art, and personal belongings are your responsibility, but we move all the larger things for you.  We always take photos prior to moving things so we can put them back right where they go when we’re done.

What About Using The Kitchen?

So that our clients can still eat at home during construction, we typically set up a temporary kitchen in the dining room or other nearby space. It depends on what we’re doing to the kitchen, of course, but this short-term solution usually works out best.

Sometimes this temporary set-up will include use of the stove/oven, sometimes it might mean a short time with only microwave use, or there may be stages of all these options as the project progresses (again, depending on the magnitude of the remodel). We usually set up the dishwasher to keep dishwashing as simple as possible while the sink and counters may be inaccessible. Often, when the project includes updating or replacing the cabinetry, we’ll install temporary cabinets in the makeshift kitchen space.

We find a sustainable solution for temporary kitchens is to bring in pre-purchased cabinets from a repurposing company called Building Together. This allows for dust-free dish and utensil storage until the new, final cabinets are installed.

Is Air Quality A Concern?

We always set up a BuildClean TM dust reducer prior to performing work. People are amazed by how much it reduces dust. It detects dust and automatically increases filtration as necessary. It has a 3-stage filtering system including a HEPA filter. Zip walls are also useful tools. These are plastic sheets with zippered entry sections, hung as dividers between the construction space and the living space, to seal out dust. We also install temporary filters on the air-duct intakes to be doubly sure we’re doing everything we can to keep the air clean as we go.

What If The Remodel Includes An Addition?

Clients often worry about the security and cleanliness of their home when we’re building an addition to a space. To prepare for and reduce the intrusion of construction, we can build 90% of the addition outside the existing living area prior to tearing down the old wall that connects the addition to the home. This keeps most of the work insulated from the rest of the home until the final stage.  

We want our clients to be able to live in their spaces as normally as is reasonably possible while we improve or expand their homes, and so we do all that we can to make that happen. Our best practices allow us to work with our clients’ needs while executing their remodeling project, so in the end, everyone is happy with the entire experience.