If you are undertaking major home improvements, you have likely watched - and been inspired by - those HGTV shows about fixing up houses. There are too many of them to name, but they have a lot of things in common. First of all, they all fit neatly into 30- or 60 minute time slots, making the actually exhausting and drawn-out process of remodeling seem like a piece of cake. Secondly, they make “demo day” - the “day” when you take down all the old crap and prep the part of the house you are expanding, redoing, or building on - look like a fun and easy walk in the park. Who, after all, doesn’t love taking a sledgehammer and smashing things like the Hulk?
The truth is, however, that demo day is a lot harder and more grueling than you see on TV, and it isn’t a task for the weak or wimpy. Demo “day” is much more likely to be demo “week,” since you are unlikely to have a full construction crew like the lucky homeowners on your flat screen. And there’s probably going to be very limited situations where you can just swing around wildly. Here are some other hard facts about home demolition during a home remodeling project.
What to Know on Demo Day: The Mess!
Let’s start with the fact that it’s MESSY. You’ll notice on TV that you see all sorts of rubble coming down - chunks of drywall, old shower tiles, and buckets upon buckets of plaster dust. All that crap has to leave your house somehow, and guess who gets to carry it? Unless you have allotted a good chunk of extra money for hired help, that answer is “you.” You’ll need to rent a dumpster to load all the debris into, and it’s going to leave a godawful trail of microscopic dust on literally every surface in your house, unless you take care to put tarp down everywhere. Doing a bathroom renovation could leave you with dust in the nooks and crannies of your home for months.
When Renovating Your Home, Factor in Extra Time!
Then there’s the fact that you only have limited hours of the day to work. Chip and Joanna Gaines may start bright and early in the morning and work late into the night, but the reality is that you have neighbors, and demolition is noisy. Your neighborhood, HOA, and/or city likely have noise ordinances dictating when you can make a racket. Even working within legal limits might make you some enemies if you aren’t careful. Your neighbor who works nights, for instance, will likely NOT appreciate a jackhammer outside his window for three hours in the morning. Giving your neighbors a heads-up (and maybe gifting them with some earplugs) before the first hammer smash is the right thing to do.
Anticipate Your Remodel Will Throw You Some Curveballs.
Lastly, there’s the fact that, on TV, they do show the fact that demolition often uncovers unforeseen problems. Hidden leaks, faulty support structures, and poorly-placed load-bearing walls are all problems you’ve seen on TV, and they happen in real life as well. Unlike on TV, however, some of these problems don’t have an easy situation… or even any solution at all. There are fundamental problems that could absolutely blow your budget, or even halt your project altogether. And you won’t know until you demo. It stinks, but that’s the reality of “demo day.”
