DIY Lifestyle

Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge: How to Reduce Dust During Demolition

Supplies and How to Reduce Dust During Demolition

It’s week 1 of the Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge and it’s been a busy one! In honor of demo week I’m sharing my tips on how to reduce dust during demolition. Not sure what I’m talking about? You can read all about my acceptance into the 6 week Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge in last week’s post. Plus, you’ll see the Before photos, to see where we’ve come from. The short of it is that I have 6 weeks to build my master bath from scratch. Lucky for me, I have quite the handyman by my side who will be doing everything himself (with a little help from me). For those who want to start this challenge themselves, make sure you have the right Materials for Building before you get started.

Master Bath Before Picture

Before we can lay beautiful new tile from Jeffrey Court, install our dual spa shower heads and add personal touches, we must demolish the old. Everyone’s project is different, which means the tear down is likely also different. No matter what space you’re prepping, there is likely to be DUST! I despise construction dust because it gets on EVERYTHING! 

Tile demolition

Whether you’re hacking up and disposing of old tile, sanding mudded walls (we just finished doing that), or cutting into sheetrock (lath and plaster in this old house), there is bound to be oodles of dust. I have done plenty of tile demo in my years of owning homes and it can be a nasty business. I’m spared from tile demo on this project because we’re starting with a pretty blank slate, but I’m not free of the dust. We’ve decided to cut an opening into our hallway, for a custom-built cabinet to hold linens. The cabinet will have one side for master bath accoutrements and the other side will only be accessible from the hallway. 

Master Bath Demolition

How to Reduce Dust During Demolition

No matter your demolition project, be sure to wear eye protection and a mask. You never know what product was used to hold your floors or walls together, and there is likely to be unpleasant fumes and/or dust. 

Next, empty out any cabinets or drawers that where construction dust could potentially reach. It gets in places you wouldn’t imagine. If you have heavy furniture that needs to be moved out of the way you can always look for moving companies for some help with the heavy lifting, that way you can go through with your demolition without any obstacles in your way.

Tips to Reduce Dust During Demo

Time to put up sheets of plastic to protect any doorways, showers, tubs, etc. You can straight up tape plastic to the walls, but our preferred method is using our handy painter’s tape and paper dispenser. The tape is already attached to the paper and you cut off as big of strips as you need. Cover your entire openings with the paper and tape (floor, ceiling, walls, etc). Then we use contact cement and spray it onto the paper. Unroll sheets of plastic and stick it to the contact cement. Make sure you’re on the right side before doing this or you could be trapped outside of the space you need to work in. The outside is where I prefer to be, while Keith deals with the nasty air. =) 

*This is also a great way to prep for painting, if using a paint sprayer!

Tips to Reduce Dust During Demo

Lastly, Keith likes to have a Shop-Vac on hand, to immediately vacuum up any debris he can catch, while he cuts, hammers, sawzalls, or whatever is creating the mess. These methods will certainly reduce dust during demolition, but still expect to be cleaning up some dust for days following. 

Master Bath Week 1 Progress

Before I let you go until next week’s update, here’s a rundown of what we were able to accomplish during week 1.

  • Evened out walls and ceiling by adding or removing wood (nothing is square or plumb in this house)
  • Covered exposed plumbing and walls with sheetrock
  • Built a partial wall for new shower plumbing
  • Taped and mudded walls and ceiling (more to come once we get our rough-in valves for shower fixtures)
  • Cut an opening for large custom cabinet to go between bathroom and hallway
  • Finished framing in new window
Godzilla Master Bath Demo

I just had to share this photo of Keith, taped off from the rest of the house. He looks like Godzilla or something, surrounded by flames. hahaha

Now that Keith is finito with much of the dust, we’re prepping our floors for tile. I can’t wait to show you what we’ve picked out! Stay tuned to see next week’s update. Be sure to follow me on Instagram for more updates as we go, and #JCRenovationChallenge to see the other participating bloggers!

How to Reduce Dust During Demolition

About the author

Emily Buys

12 Comments

  • I have remodeled and know how terrible sheetrock dust can be. I think this is a great set up to reduce it.

  • I know how much dust can come out of homes. I have helped a lot around my own home and my fathers when I was little. The dust is really bad, especially sheetrock.

  • We haven’t done any kind of demo but I can just imagine the dust. I know that when we do buy a house there will more than likely be some kind of work. I will have to remember these tips.

  • These are great tips to remember. I like that he keeps the shop vac right there while cutting the drywall.

  • You are making me want to get messy with my home. Our next project is a new roof.

  • My problem is we don’t have tools or knowledge to do any of this stuff so it would possibly be cheaper to hire someone.

  • I am planning to have a little renovation of our bathroom and this is definitely a great tip/s to do before the demolition.

  • These are great tips. Me and my husband has not done any demolition/remodeling on our own because we fear we must end up paying or spending more. I will share this with my son-in-law. He is the one who always wants to do some home repairs.

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