Remodeling old houses to customize them to create the perfect home for your family may be a great option for you. When remodeling an old home, it is important to know that you cannot walk into the house and start remodeling right away. There are specific steps that you need to take before removing anything from the home. The guide below walks you through the things you need to do when remodeling an old home.

Inspect the Home for Lead-Based Paint

The first thing you need to do is to inspect the home for lead-based paint. Lead-based paint has been shown to be very toxic and needs to be removed from a home a specific way to ensure that it is not inhaled during the removal process. To check a home for lead based paint, you need to buy a testing kit at a home improvement store. The kit includes a tube that looks similar to a glue stick. You rub the solution in the stick on each surface in the home for a designated amount of time that will be specified on the packaging. If the solution changes color, it is indicating that the surface has lead based paint on it. You will need to call professional paint removers to remove the paint from the home if lead-based paint is detected.

Have the Home Inspected for Asbestos

You also need to have the home inspected for asbestos before you can do any remodeling. Asbestos was commonly used in walls, roofs, and even ceilings. Asbestos has been shown to cause mesothelioma and even lung cancer, so it needs to be removed properly so that the small spores are not released into the air and inhaled during the removal process. You need to hire a professional asbestos abatement company to inspect and remove any asbestos for you.  

Have a Contractor Inspect the Home

Next, you need to have a contractor come and inspect the home before you start knocking down any walls to determine which walls are load bearing and which are not. You do not want to knock down a load bearing wall because the entire house could collapse because there will not be enough support for the heavy load.

Rent a Portable Dumpster

Finally, you need to rent a portable dumpster for disposal of the debris that comes from the house as you start remodeling it. Be sure that the dumpster is small enough to fit in the driveway of the home or you may have to get a permit from your jurisdiction to get permission to have the dumpster on the street.

Once all of these things have been done, you will be ready to start tearing the home apart. Be sure to have your workers put everything into the dumpster so that there is no mess spreading to the neighborhood.

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