Home renovation can be exciting if you are into channeling your creativity to maximize the aesthetics of your place. It can also be tiring and time-consuming, especially if you do it alone.
The most challenging part is to see how different elements align with one another. It can be difficult if you are not an interior designer or architect yourself.
However, it is fun at the same time as you get to see how you can maximize the efficiency of your home. You start looking into little things and assess and evaluate them.
You question whether that living room would look better if it was done differently or if you need to experiment with a different color scheme this time around.
But there are certain risks attached to the process. If you have done this before, you probably know what we are talking about, but if you are doing this for the first time, you need to pay attention.
Depending on how involved you are in the process, these health risks can vary, but you need to take all precautions. If you are planning on renovating an old home, asbestos exposure can be a serious threat.
According to Mesothelioma Veterans Center, asbestos exposure can cause mesothelioma and remains the only proven cause for this type of cancer.
Guide To Help You Remain Safe While Renovating Your Home.
1. Assess Risks
The first thing you need to do is assess the risks. If you bought an old house in a vicinity known for having asbestos used in the construction of houses, there is a high chance that your house might have it too. Therefore, you can hire the services of a health professional to conduct a proper assessment.
Even a small amount of asbestos exposure can be harmful to your health, which is why precaution is the best safety measure. Unless you are sure your house does not have asbestos inspection, you should not start renovations.
2. Have A Safety Kit
Since you are doing renovations yourself, you are going to be actively involved in the process. To protect yourself, you must have a complete safety kit.
This includes having a respirator that can filter out dangerous particles in the air and reliable eyewear to protect your eyes from sharp objects or chemical splashes.
Similarly, you need high-quality gloves as well. If you are dealing with asbestos, you need to avoid exposure at all costs and proper protective gear for that.
3. Ensure Safety
Having a safety kit on standby is not all it takes to protect yourself. You must discipline yourself to exercise all safety measures while working.
Dropping the eyewear temporarily can have disastrous effects as well. You never know when an unfortunate situation might arise.
Therefore, your first line of defense is to wear your protective gear regularly, especially when you are dealing with sharp objects or chemicals.
“Prevention is better than cure” is an adage that you should live by when doing major renovations at home. First, you have to know the procedures needed to complete the work. Then you have to identify the hazards that accompany each.
Major home renovations typically involve welding. You must wear a face shield to protect your eyes against the brightness, a pair of gloves to shield yourself against the heat, and earplugs to guard your hearing from the loud sounds of metal grinding.
Besides yourself, you should also safeguard those around you. Utilizing welding safety curtains is one of the most practical things you can do. It not only creates a customized space exclusively for welding operations but also helps with noise reduction, temperature control, and airflow.
4. Choose The Right Clothes
Wearing a t-shirt might look cool in movies, but you must protect your skin while working. You should wear clothes covering your body from head to toe to minimize exposure and serve as a line of defense.
Wear quality shoes with a solid grip to prevent yourself from slipping and hurting yourself. Worn-out shoes often lose grip with the ground, and these accidents can become commonplace in the absence of friction.
5. Protect Your Ears
If you have worked in construction before, you already know this. It is important to protect your ears in a place where heavy machinery is operated.
Things can get loud, and you must protect your ears against temporary hearing loss, sound sensitivity, or any form of lasting damage.
Use quality earplugs that can reduce noise and protect your ears. Besides, there is no fun in standing in a loud environment. It can get annoying.
6. Ensure Things Are Set Properly
While working, you need to ensure everything is set properly. You do not want to leave things here and there as potential recipes for disaster.
A ladder that is not set at the right angle can be one such case. If you are working on the ceiling and the ladder is not set properly, you can hurt yourself seriously.
Therefore, you need to check its stability before you start working. Only when you are certain that it is set properly should you climb it.
Structural stability is and should be the primary focus of every home. What is the point of aesthetics and comfortability if your home or the items in your home aren’t built to last? From the beginning, make sure that you only contract teams or people that use only the best equipment and parts. Everything should be set properly and that starts with the home’s foundation itself.
7. Don’t Mess With The Structure
Buildings are designed in accordance with building codes. Every component therein is designed to maintain the cohesive strength of the structure.
We strongly advise against tampering with anything. Even a slight adjustment here and there can make the structure vulnerable.
Therefore, you should be cautious in this regard. If you want to make some changes, we recommend that you hire the services of a licensed engineer who can then make the adjustments in accordance with the relevant building codes.
8. Be Careful With Wires
If you are doing any electrical work yourself, you first should ensure that the power supply to the section under renovation is switched off.
This will keep you safe from accidental electrical shocks. Moreover, if you are making other changes and there is a possibility that you might encounter electrical wires, you should take preventive measures.
Use the right tools to avoid electrocuting yourself, use rubber gloves while handling the wires, and wear conductive shoes. Never handle electricity wires unless you have taken precautionary measures for this purpose.
As mentioned above, renovation can be a risky job, but that does not mean you should not do it. The aforementioned points are not meant to scare you off but are aimed at helping you exercise caution.
While this list is far from complete, these tips can help you stay safe while you are at work. There are other related safety measures as well, and you can find out about them by looking them up online. Stay safe and enjoy your renovation project.
