Whether you are a contractor who handles demolition on a daily basis, or you are a homeowner looking to remodel part of your living space, demolition should always incorporate the highest standards of safety. One of the reasons we designed our unique demo bar, the Gutster demo bar, is because we wanted to improve the safety and efficiency of demolition projects for homeowners and contractors alike. Once you get your hands on one of our demo bars, we know you’ll understand the difference in design.
If you have a demo project coming up, check out our top safety tips for ensuring you and those around you are not injured on the job.
Invest In Protective Gear
If you are a contractor this one should go without saying. However, even homeowners should spend the money on protective gear. Even if this is a one time project, your safety is worth every penny.
Some protective gear you should consider purchasing are the following:
- Appropriate Footwear: First off, wear boots. Absolutely never perform a demo project in sandals or barefoot, even if this is your own home. Invest in a quality pair of construction boots. Work boots are designed to protect your feet from punctures, lacerations, sprains, and other potential foot injuries. Don’t want to invest in a brand new pair of construction boots? Check out a local thrift store for some used work boots that are still in high quality condition.
- Protective Eyewear: When you are tearing things apart during a demolition project, there will be debris and dust in the air. It is extremely easy to hurt your eyes during a demolition project. Not only do you need to purchase protective eyewear, you need to actually use it.
- Dust Masks: Just like you do not want dust and debris entering your eyes, you don’t want to breathe in harmful contaminants during your project. Dust masks are particularly important if you are tearing out any insulation. Purchase a simple dust mask from your local home improvement store and protect your lungs.
- Gloves: Demo projects require a lot of hauling debris out of the space you are working in. Protect your hands with a pair of work grade quality gloves.
Use The Right Tools
Above we mentioned how safety was one of the factors that inspired the unique design of the Gutster tool. This demo bar is designed so you do not need to spend your entire demo project hunched over. Our 60 inch demo bar even features wheels for ease of movement around the jobsite.
Never use tools that were not designed for demo to handle the project. Using a low quality demo bar means you will not have the proper leverage you need, which in turn will lead to back injuries. You know how they say that using dull knives is actually more dangerous than using sharp knives because of the extra effort you will be using to cut? The same can be said of demo tools. Poorly designed tools can do more harm than good.
Remove Debris As You Go
The more debris that is lying around your project site, the more dangerous it becomes. Remove as much debris as possible as you work. It is best to have a dumpster on site so you only need to lift heavy items once. The cleaner your work space, the easier it is to work safely.