All About Demo: Tools, Tips + An Update on the Poplar Cottage
THE POPLAR COTTAGE
We’ve been tackling demo at the Poplar Cottage and I thought it would be a good time to share all about how we demo: the tools and supplies we use, tips, and when to seek professional help. Plus an update of demo at the Poplar Cottage. Demo is not my favorite part of remodeling – it’s no fun to make something look worse even if it is to make it better – but it’s a necessary part. So let’s get into it…
all photos are from the Poplar Cottage recently
Poplar demo update
We’ve been hard at work wrapping up demo at the Poplar Cottage (pretty sure I thought we were wrapping it up last week 😬), and we have a video to prove it…
Psst: you can get caught up on the Poplar Cottage remodel here:
Kicking off the Poplar Cottage Remodel: Demo + Our Plans
Demo tools and equipment
Sharing what we use for demo below. And one plug for those of you with old houses…HIGHLY recommend the mask and filter shared here. The particulate filters help “provide respiratory protection against exposure to lead, asbestos, cadmium, arsenic, and MDA” so a must for demo in old houses built before 1978. And we’ve had our masks since we bought our first house (12 years ago) and just replace the filters.
1 Reciprocating saw / 2 flat bar / 3 gloves / 4 coveralls / 5, 6 face mask + particulate filters for mask (HIGHLY recommend!)/ 7 safety glasses / 8 sledge hammer / 9 ear muffs / 10 utility knife / 11 circular saw / 12 claw hammer / 13 heavy hammer / 14 pry bar / 15 diagonal cutter / 16 torch / 17 drill + driver / 18 Garrett’s work boots / 19 Cathy’s work boots (here’s a second shop to find them)
Every single one of these tools gets used during other parts of our remodels, so they’re an investment for the entire project. We leave our demo tools at the house for the entire remodel and find ourselves grabbing them again and again. psst: you can also find all of these items at one spot, on our Amazon storefront here.
Clean up
Construction debris accounts for a TON of landfill waste in the United States (I’ve heard up to 40%) so it’s important to take your time with demo and carefully remove anything that can be used again or recycled. We set aside materials that we can send to salvage shops, drop off at recycling (like metal), reuse in the house (like solid 2x4’s and old panelling), and sell on Craigslist (like old appliances). Everything else gets loaded in the truck or dumpster and goes to the landfill. I hate that renovating old houses leads to landfill waste so there’s my plug for being a responsible home-owner and disposing of materials responsibly.
Hazardous materials
In old houses it’s important to be mindful of hazardous building materials. Asbestos was used in homes built before the 1980s (more on where to look for it and what to do about it here) and lead paint was used in homes in this country until 1978 (more on what to do with lead paint here). In general, the harm from these products is in distributing it, demo being a prime time for that to happen. So always, always wear a good mask and have adequate ventilation during demo, whether or not you’re concerned….better safe than sorry. And if you do suspect hazardous materials seek testing before disturbing it.
Tips
A couple of hard-learned tips to make demo go more smoothly for you…
Get demo done as quickly as possible (do what we say and not what we do 😉). Doing it in pieces can make for a messy project that drags on and on.
There will be more demo materials than you think possible. Rent a dumpster or plan for a truck to haul what’s needed to the dump.
Salvage/sell/recyle everything you can and get it out first, carefully, before you bring out the sledge hammer.
When to hire demo out
Is demo worth hiring out? Heck yes! But this type of work is definitely do-able for homeowners. We’d recommend hiring it out if it’s a big project (like more than just a room or two, you’re messing with structural walls, or if you’re not comfortable with small electrical or plumbing work that might come up. Also, if you’re worried about hazardous materials, that’s time to seek professional help, too.
That’s all we can think to share on demo. Anything else you would add?
Also, I made Garrett take this photo with me and our 15-year wedding anniversary is coming up so I have to share it. This photo looks like it could have been taken at the beginning of our marriage (minus the gray hair 😉) during our first old house and I just can’t help but feel that the more things change, the more they stay the same, you know?!
