Share techniques to protect from dust
…..DURING REMODELING
We may be getting better at it, but still a long ways to go. I’d like to hear some techniques you guys are using that doesn’t pull the paint off trim but protects existing clean rooms from dust.
(We have pulled paint off with blue tape (the good orange rim stuff). It probably wasn’t good paint, but who knows until it happens?)
Fz
Replies
This is not a bullet-proof solution, but one thing that I like to do when possible is set up a pair of draft fans. One fan goes in a window, sucking air OUT of the room; another blows air INTO the remodel area.
I locate the primary dust-makers (chop saw, for example) near the fan in the window. Every time a cut is made, you can watch the cloud of dust go right out the window.
Like I said, it's not bullet-proof, but it helps a lot when the conditions are right. Just watch the prevailing wind and make sure your OUT fan is not fighting mother nature.
We use that too - at least the fan blowing out. On our current job we got pretty serious about the housing for that fan such that the cat will probably "hang on" when we turn them on.And we roll the plastic and prop curtains to make a barrier wall. But how do you seal a doorway without endangering the paint? I've used the best tape and still caused a problem to the point that I'm afraid of tape on painted surfaces. Is there a "putty" or some obvious thing we've overlooked? What we did this time was make "stage prop" door opening "plugs" with a cushion of "sill sealer" around the rim, then we wrapped the visqueen around the whole thing & pushed it into the openings. These took a while to make though. I would hope there is something simpler in the future.Fz
I've never used them, but there are telescoping supports (like "T's") that you use to hold up plastic sheets. I think they're called "Third Hands" (or maybe those are something else used to temporarily hold up cabinets while you're installing them). I've seen them in magazines. I suppose something like a telescoping shower rod and curtain in doorways may also work.
Yeah, we make our own by just rolling the plastic then use two part props of boards flimsy enough they would hurt anything and hold them on to the top board with "cardboard hinges" or something soft. These work pretty good.I've never invested in the props - they might be worth checking into.
I use these along with plastic, drop cloths and cross ventilation fans. Just helps to keeps that fine dust down that does not gets removed by regular methods.
Migraine
I use one of those Jet extractors too and I've misplaced the brochurewhat do they recommend is the best way to clean filter - like dish brush & water?
First, I purchased the "washable" filters and they are better than what came with the air scrubber.
I usually just tap the on the edge of the aluminum frame and then blow them off with compressed air, but not too hard. On the inner filter, I use only compressed air.
I never tried washing them with water. Mainly because I need to keep using it right away and I have no time to let the filters dry.
I have one of the Shop Vac canister type dust systems. When I got it a few years ago it was about 80 at Sam's. I also use a cheap box fan that I sometimes will put in a window but other times put a 20x20 furnace filter (sometimes put one on both sides). Usually just put a bungee cord to hold them on.
If you are not a many person operation you can use the spring loaded curtain or shower rods adjusted to hold plastic in a doorway. Another trick is to use quick clamps to hold the plastic to the jambs. You can staple plastic to the top casing without causing any visible damage.
I have the Third Hand contractor pack of four and have used them quite successfully. I had to add a door to a medical supply house and it worked great. The customer service from that company is excellent too by the way, and I think they are a lot cheaper than the competitor Fast Wall or whatever it is.
Bob
Edited 5/10/2006 12:24 pm ET by rasconc
I like an exhaust fan fitted to a window opening. Then staple plastic to other openings into the room after constructing a temp frame with an operable plastic opening for your passageway.
The passage frame has threaded feet set in tee nuts to tension up against the ceiling.
Edited 5/10/2006 1:08 pm ET by cynwyd
Edited 5/10/2006 1:11 pm ET by cynwyd
Get a hair dryer at the Sally Ann for a couple bucks and use it to warm the tape as you pull it off. I'll pulled regular masking tape off wallpaper this way. A heat gun will work, but it's overkill.
splintergroupie,That's a great tip - you should send it to "tips and techniques".Fz
Stay tuned folks, Tom O'Brien has a 5-page article on this topic which will be on the newstands in a couple of weeks.Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Thanks. I discovered the technique on my own about 20 years ago trying not to rip the paper I've just hung in my Victorian, but i was re-inventing that particular wheel. If any adhesive is left behind after being warmed, the very safest thing to remove it with that i've used is "Goo-Gone", which is readily available in fabric stores, if not in hardware stores. It's a yellow liquid, very benign but very effective at removing all kinds of 'goo'.