Why You Should Reconsider a Do-It-Yourself Demolition Job
Posted on: 14 April 2017
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If you are planning on a major remodeling project in your home, such as knocking down a wall in your living room to create an open floor plan or rearranging your kitchen, demolition is probably going to be the first thing you do. While it seems easy enough, it is not as simply as hitting the wall with a sledgehammer. It takes special tools, a lot of body strength and certain knowledge of the framing and inner workings of a house. Here are some reasons you should leave the demolition to professionals.
Asbestos Can Be Dangerous
One of the biggest risks with demolition is that you may encounter asbestos and not know how to handle it. Before any demolition project on an older house, you should make sure you have the area tested for asbestos. If there is asbestos found, you need to have it taken care of. A demolition company often knows how to complete their job in a safe and secure way without disturbing the areas with asbestos, depending on its location.
There Is a Risk of Affecting the Wiring and Plumbing
Something else to think about is that you need to strip the walls first to see what is behind them. This is when you can map out your plumbing pipes and electrical wiring, from the home's electrical system to where the HVAC wiring is located. If you accidentally break a plumbing pipe or hit the wiring, it requires calling in a contractor to fix it, adding on more time and money to the project. It is easier to just have a demolition contractor handle it for you.
Demolition Is Harder Than It Looks
There is quite a bit of physical endurance required for a complete demolition job. Even if you have a couple friends over to help, you might discover that it is a lot more labor-intensive than you originally expected. Demolition workers are accustomed to performing this type of job every day, so they can do it quickly and efficiently, taking care of any hiccups that might come up along the way.
Special Tools and Equipment Is Needed
Unless you already have all the demolition tools you will need, you might save money by paying a contractor to do it for you. Otherwise, you are not only spending your own time completing the demolition, but you will need to stock up on all the right tools and equipment to get it done right.