Construction Dust - Is This Normal?

[sunshine1178]

We had new hardwood floors installed on the main floor of our house this week. I can't believe the mess left behind! The contractor didn't tell us to cover anything, but it's obvious that he didn't, and there is a thick layer of wood dust everywhere! It even got inside of the cupboards, so now I have to wash every pot and pan, every plate and bowl, every fork and spoon, etc. I'm throwing out all of the paper napkins, ziploc bags, etc. I'm really frustrated to have this mess to deal with. Is this really normal?

 

[crayon3448]

When we had our hardwood floors redone the sanding of the floors generated A LOT of dust. The guy who did them put up a plastic sheet to cover the doorway into the kitchen and one to block off the stairs to the second floor where we have carpet. He cleaned up the windowsills and mantle, but other than that there wasn't anything in the room to get dusty because we removed it all.

Did you have the floors done in the kitchen? Or do you have an open floor plan where it wouldn't be possible to block off access? Maybe he thought the cabinets sealed better than they actually did.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

Normally contractors drape plastic to keep the dust contained to their work area although in my experience even with the plastic the dust finds a way to get everywhere, just not nearly as bad as your describing.

It's a pain, and your dust level sounds worse than normal, but I think it's pretty normal to have to clean everything after work is done.

 

[wdwmom2]

We live in an older home with plaster walls. We are slowly updating our home. About 3 years ago DH and I took on the dining room. We hung our own drywall, etc. Everything but the flooring. We hung a heavy piece of plastic over the doorway to hopefully contain the dust from sanding the drywall. Let me tell you, it was still dusty everywhere on the first level. Granted, not as bad as it would have been if we had not hung the plastic, but still enough that you could see a layer of dust on pretty much everything!!!

Around this same time, we had quite a bit of hardwood flooring laid down. Not much mess. They did all their cutting outside of our home. We also had every single thing, other than the stove and fridge, stored in a very large enclosed trailer out back. Before we moved everything back in, I took the time to wash all the walls, woodwork, and windows.

I think any time you do work that involves dust, there is no way to completely contain it.

 

[Darcy03231]

It's normal. Anytime we do work I now pack stuff up into Rubbermaid totes. The worst was when we cut holes in the basement foundation for windows. Even with plastic draping and being downstairs that dust got all over the first floor.

 

[aprilchem]

No - if the contractors do their job you'll get a little dust but not a lot. Our contractor used thick plastic taped over the doors of the rooms they were working on plus a special air-cleaning fan thing to take the dust out of the air.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We had new hardwood floors installed on the main floor of our house this week. I can't believe the mess left behind! The contractor didn't tell us to cover anything, but it's obvious that he didn't, and there is a thick layer of wood dust everywhere! It even got inside of the cupboards, so now I have to wash every pot and pan, every plate and bowl, every fork and spoon, etc. I'm throwing out all of the paper napkins, ziploc bags, etc. I'm really frustrated to have this mess to deal with. Is this really normal?

YEP.

When we had it done 2 houses ago the dust was everywhere. He did warn us though and we covered things.

The basement was the worst though. Did not know it would go through to there!

They cut the flooring in the garage and hopefully YOUR contractor did not cut it in the house.

 

[shortbun]

We were told to hang plastic and remove the contents of the cupboards. The floorers cleaned up pretty well but I was left with the cupboards. Thank goodness they were empty. I would have been a real pain cleaning each dish, glass, skillet, etc.

 

[tvguy]

Normally contractors drape plastic to keep the dust contained to their work area although in my experience even with the plastic the dust finds a way to get everywhere, just not nearly as bad as your describing.

It's a pain, and your dust level sounds worse than normal, but I think it's pretty normal to have to clean everything after work is done.

We are about 1/4 into a complete remodel of our house, and during every phase the house has been wrapped in plastic, and that fine fine dust gets through. I'm trying to figure out how that dust got on the windshield of may car in the garage! It is normal.

 

[clutter]

I'm almost 3 years since a kitchen renovation, which involved a bit of drywall work. I'm still finding nooks and crannies with drywall dust.

 

[SLP958]

Yes, it is totally normal. When we had our floors done we wrapped most everything in plastic. It still got on the clothes in our closet.

I vacuumed and swiffered for weeks before it seemed like I was making any progress.

 

[sunshine1178]

When we had our hardwood floors redone the sanding of the floors generated A LOT of dust. The guy who did them put up a plastic sheet to cover the doorway into the kitchen and one to block off the stairs to the second floor where we have carpet. He cleaned up the windowsills and mantle, but other than that there wasn't anything in the room to get dusty because we removed it all.

Did you have the floors done in the kitchen? Or do you have an open floor plan where it wouldn't be possible to block off access? Maybe he thought the cabinets sealed better than they actually did.

Floors were done in the kitchen, living room and dining room. They are all "open plan." The contractors removed the doors to the basement and laundry room, allowing the dust full access to those areas as well. They must have cut the wood in the house, because there's no dust in the garage or yard.

To put the icing on the cake, my husband approved the wrong color. I'm not willing to move out of the house for another week to have them done correctly, so instead we're spending more money to have the cabinets stained to complement the new (wrong, ugly) color. I'm taking PPs' advice and unloading the entire kitchen into Rubbermaid totes.

I think I'll be posting next week to ask for advice on psychiatrists and divorce lawyers.

 

[tvguy]

Floors were done in the kitchen, living room and dining room. They are all "open plan." The contractors removed the doors to the basement and laundry room, allowing the dust full access to those areas as well. They must have cut the wood in the house, because there's no dust in the garage or yard.

To put the icing on the cake, my husband approved the wrong color. I'm not willing to move out of the house for another week to have them done correctly, so instead we're spending more money to have the cabinets stained to complement the new (wrong, ugly) color. I'm taking PPs' advice and unloading the entire kitchen into Rubbermaid totes.

I think I'll be posting next week to ask for advice on psychiatrists and divorce lawyers.

Oh lord, Thursday the contractor asked me about the shower curtain for our guest bathroom, and I wouldn't even dare approving something that small without my wife signing off on it first.

Of course, I did make the mistake of noting that the curtain my wife did pick has what looks like a tile border on it. The primary reason for us remodeling our bathrooms and kitchen, besides the fact they are 34 years old, is to get ride of all the tile in the house because my wife hates tile.

 

[wdwmom2]

Floors were done in the kitchen, living room and dining room. They are all "open plan." The contractors removed the doors to the basement and laundry room, allowing the dust full access to those areas as well. They must have cut the wood in the house, because there's no dust in the garage or yard.

To put the icing on the cake, my husband approved the wrong color. I'm not willing to move out of the house for another week to have them done correctly, so instead we're spending more money to have the cabinets stained to complement the new (wrong, ugly) color. I'm taking PPs' advice and unloading the entire kitchen into Rubbermaid totes.

I think I'll be posting next week to ask for advice on psychiatrists and divorce lawyers.

I personally would not live with an ugly color. Yes, I would HATE to be inconvenienced for another week, but if they can install the correct color with no or little out of pocket expense (not sure if that is possible), I would do it. I would not want to have to look at that color that I despise EVERY.SINGLE.DAY!!!!

Maybe you can just move out for a week, and spend the nights on the psych's couch

 

[thedonduck]

One word of advice that may help a bit is to clean your air vents and change your furnace filters. It is amazing how much dust that will spread around your house. Stick a vacuum into your vents if possible as far as you can. We did this after a remodel and seemed to really help get rid of the dust quicker.