The surest way is to move your furniture out of the rooms being worked on, either to a part of the house the builders won’t need or into storage for the dusty weeks. Whatever has to stay should be covered, kept well away from the work and only uncovered once the dust has been cleaned up.
Why dust gets everywhere
The Health and Safety Executive explains that the more enclosed a space, the more building dust builds up, and that fine dust can stay in the air for a long time. Cutting, drilling, grinding, sanding plasterboard joints and dry sweeping make the most. Anything left in a room while that work goes on is likely to end up coated.
If your furniture is staying at home
- Work room by room if you can. Clear one room into another, let the work happen, move back in, then do the next.
- Cover everything that stays with dust sheets or furniture covers, tucked in around the base. Our Box Shop sells dust covers if you need them.
- Plastic sheeting is fine for the dustiest days, but take it off once the work in that room is done, because plastic left on for weeks can trap moisture.
- Ask your builder to vacuum or wet-brush rather than dry sweep. The HSE points out that dry sweeping can make a lot more dust.
- Wait until the room has been cleaned and the air has cleared before you uncover anything, then dust with a dry cloth before you use it.
Putting things back after decorating
Paint can feel dry long before it has fully hardened. One well-known multi-surface paint, for example, is dry in six hours but takes seven days to cure fully. Check the tin for your paint before you push heavy furniture back against fresh skirting or onto a painted or varnished floor.
When storage makes sense
For a whole-floor job, a kitchen refit or anything lasting more than a few weeks, it’s often simpler to take the furniture out of the house altogether. Our minimum stay is two weeks, you give 14 days’ notice when the work is done, and you can get to your unit from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, if you need something mid-build. Free trolleys at every site make light work of moving day.
Pack furniture as you would for any move: clean, dry and under breathable covers. Our guides to caring for wooden furniture, what can go in loose and stacking boxes safely cover the details.
To see what a unit near you costs, get a price online or call us on 0800 2545585.
Related questions
- Will wooden or leather furniture crack or warp in a storage unit?
- Do I have to put everything in boxes in a storage unit?
- How do I pack boxes so they stack safely in a storage unit?
For a whole-floor job, a kitchen refit or anything lasting more than a few weeks, it’s often simpler to take the furniture out of the house altogether. Our minimum stay is two weeks, you give 14 days’ notice when the work is done, and you can get to your unit from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, if you need something mid-build. Trolleys are free to use, which makes light work of moving day.