Dust allergy during building work?

[Old Salt]

I know. But I live in the real world where many tradesmen are working upstairs and down,carrying plasterboards, doors, boilers, sofas beds carpers etc. Windows open, drills out,multitool out, ceilings down floorboards up.
To sanitise a job (hazmat style) as Woody suggested would add thousands to a job.

Unless your working on new build I have never ever seen multi tradesmen all working at the same time unless its on the tea and biscuits

 

[noseall]

Unless your working on new build I have never ever seen multi tradesmen all working at the same time unless its on the tea and biscuits

We've just finished a six bed up and down, almost total refurb, with two adults and six kids under the age of 10. One severely disabled.
Tradesmen on it flat out.
There was not a prayer on the planet capable of preventing dust spread.

 

[johnny2007]

Skimming will be a lot easier, quicker and cleaner.

 

[opps]

Slow, but you can remove artex with a steam stripper.

 

[Notch7]

knocking down the external wall wont be too bad, they can use a diamond cutter on the brickwork then stitch drill the inside and knock out with a hammer

I would get them to skim or overboard the artex, I cant understand why anybody would bother sanding it

 

[mattylad]

The OP needs to get themselves a decent filtered mask and do the plastic sheeting as suggested.
Perhaps stay away from the house while it is worked on, get a relative to look after the house while they are out during the work.

I too have an allergy to dust, it set my nose streaming goo all day long.

 

[^woody^]

There was not a prayer on the planet capable of preventing dust spread.

Try an alternative deity.

When dust is created, it can be managed at source, and that means collected, contained or extracted. It's not that difficult, there are various devices available.

It's also possible to manage the works so that the creation of the dust and the movement of materials is staged.

And I can tell you, that on some jobs it will be how the contractor will manage the works and the dust and not how much he wants to charge, that will get him the job.

 

[noseall]

Try an alternative deity.

When dust is created, it can be managed at source, and that means collected, contained or extracted. It's not that difficult, there are various devices available.

It's also possible to manage the works so that the creation of the dust and the movement of materials is staged.

And I can tell you, that on some jobs it will be how the contractor will manage the works and the dust and not how much he wants to charge, that will get him the job.

When we pull a heavily soiled ceiling down (especially and old loft one) and that big piece comes down, there ain't no collecting it at source.

Have you ever tried knocking out and Genie lifting a 250k beam into place with plastic wrapping everywhere, lol.

 

[noseall]

And I can tell you, that on some jobs it will be how the contractor will manage the works and the dust and not how much he wants to charge, that will get him the job.

I'm sticking with domestic jobs, ta. The customers are poorer but realistic.

 

[noseall]

And I can tell you, that on some jobs it will be how the contractor will manage the works and the dust and not how much he wants to charge, that will get him the job.

And I can tell you, If I competed against the standard quoting builders having allowed for all this crap...

When dust is created, it can be managed at source, and that means collected, contained or extracted. It's not that difficult, there are various devices available.

It's also possible to manage the works so that the creation of the dust and the movement of materials is staged.

..and this nonsense...

Anyway, your contractors are obligated to consider and assess all risks and prepare method statements and suitable safe working practices to deal with those risks. You should ask to see these and agree them in advance of any work starting.



No contractor who let's any dust travel around the house should be allowed to work there in the first place.

...I would not land a single job. And the customer would roll their eyes and ask why I didn't just allow for dust sheets and a Henry, in my quote.

 

[blup]

Wear an fp3 mask, no small builder can control the anount of dust that will be produced. If your asthma is bad, consider moving out,

 

[noseall]

consider moving out,

More sensible solution than £10k's worth of method statements, dust management, airlocks, plastic sheeting, haz-mat suits, dust extractors etc, for an £800 quid ceiling re-skim.

 

[blup]

More sensible solution than £10k's worth of method statements, dust management, airlocks, plastic sheeting, haz-mat suits, dust extractors etc, for an £800 quid ceiling re-skim.

Genuine question: why do you see all that stuff on commercial sites, but not domestic jobs. Does the health and safety legislation differentiate between the two methods of working?

 

[^woody^]

When we pull a heavily soiled ceiling down (especially and old loft one) and that big piece comes down, there ain't no collecting it at source.

The source is the room. Close the door, open the windows, maybe use a fan. It really is very simple.

More sensible solution than £10k's worth of method statements, dust management, airlocks, plastic sheeting, haz-mat suits,

Really?

I'd be looking for a few lines of text ..... " The doors will be closed, occupants warned, area misted, dust extraction used" or something along those lines. Nothing extravagant, and nothing unreasonable. All a method statement needs to show is that someone has thought about it .... and that has the bonus of demonstrating that someone actually knows what they are doing. It's literally no more than 30 minutes to write it down.

The dust management can be a £10 sheet of polythene and roll of tape. No air locks no hazmat suits, it's not a TV drama it's just dust, but a fan or vacuum would certainly help. No

So that's less than £100 for a what, £150k refurb job you'll miss out on?

And the big firms with their glossy generic RAMs prepared by specialist consultants miss out on more work because you can just tell that they have not thought about things because they are not experienced in doing the actual work.

 

[^woody^]

Genuine question: why do you see all that stuff on commercial sites, but not domestic jobs. Does the health and safety legislation differentiate between the two methods of working?

The same rules apply to all building works/sites. It's just the extent that differs depending on the scope of the works.

The HSE only has eyes and resources for the big jobs and the big incidents, so most small works are under the radar. But the bigger risks is personal injury claims.
If any incident/accident occurs, what nearly everyone does not realise is that it's not that that there was an incident but its "why was there an incident?". How was health and safety managed?

Small builders are just as liable and have the same duty as the big firms, as does a domestic client. And it only takes one clued up person who may be affected by the works (occupants, workers, visitors), and someone can be in a heap of trouble. There's three years to make the injury claim too - a long time after memories have faded and records disappeared.