3 Things to Know When Starting Demolition Work
Quick insights into things I’ve learned from demolition:
If your floors are finished and staying with the demolition happening near them, COVER YOUR FLOORS -- Gypsum is a dusty material in drywall and can float and get everywhere… we’re talking 10 + feet from the demo center. Gypsum is also not easily “swiffered” away because it’s slightly too dense to be picked up in one sweep.
Remove the wall in small chunks, don’t just sledgehammer the wall -- use a utility knife to cut small rectangles in the wall that you then use the sledgehammer to hit these cut lines. This will keep the demolition controlled and minimize the small pieces and fragments of drywall that are created by sledgehammering. This minimizes clean up time for faster projects, while controlling debris.
Use a reciprocating saw, circular saw, or multi-oscillating tool to cut the drywall -- If you can cut the pieces of drywall down, you significantly minimize the need for sledgehammering and that will reduce the mess of demolition. However, using power tools can create more dust, so make sure your area is ventilated and that nearby floor/furniture is covered to avoid gypsum dust settling on it.