5 Safety Tips for Renovations

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The Renovation Is Underway

If you would have asked me in August if we would be completely remodeling the main level of our home during the busiest part of the year, I would have told you that you were crazy.  Yet, here we are, nearly through the entire renovation and making the most out of the insanity that happens when you take everything you are used to and turn it upside down. 

Why Replace the Smoke Alarms?

The other day, my colleagues and I were talking about the craziness that is this home renovation and I listed off all the stuff that we still need to get done.  I mentioned that we are replacing the smoke alarms and the fire extinguishers throughout the house and she asked me why. 

Our house was built in 2008.  It is just over 11 years old and we have lived here for 10 of those 11 years.  The smoke alarms that were put in the house are the original and although I test them at least once a month, they are at the end of life.  It is recommended that you replace your alarms every 10 years and your fire extinguishers every 5-15 years.  Our fire extinguishers were put in when we moved in. 

How to Install a Smoke Detector

Installation of these fire essentials is super simple.  It takes only a couple minutes to put these alarms in, but those minutes could save your family’s life.  We purchased all Kidde alarms and fire extinguishers for our home.  A total of 10 Kidde combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and 4 Kidde fire extinguishers went in over the weekend. 

5 Fire Safety Tips for Renovations

We have learned a lot over the last year in terms of fires.  With the house being under renovation there is no better time to update everything then right now, however, I did want to share some fire safety tips for renovations.

1. Install or Replace Smoke Alarms and Fire Extinguishers:  Go with a trusted brand like Kidde and do it now!  It takes very little time and they last for a while.  You can purchase them at The Home Depot or Walmart and they have prices that fit every budget!
2. Clean As You Go: Renovations can be messy and those messes can lead to major fire hazards (especially when power tools are in use).  One rule to keep in mind is to clean up and dispose of waste as you are working through the project.  Leaving piles of debris is dangerous. 
3. Store Flammable Materials Properly:  Most renovations come with painting projects and other flammable materials.  Make sure that you are following the directions on the containers and storing these properly. 
4. Dispose of Saturated Clothing & Materials:  Solvents and other combustible materials that are on rags, clothing and other materials need to be properly disposed of if they are unable to be cleaned.  Do not just ball them up and throw them in a trash can. You can contact a local waste disposal company to help you properly dispose of these. 
5. Keep Your Insurance Company in the Loop: I have a massive fear of fires after this year.  I now take videos of our home every month and upload them to the cloud, however, when we took on this renovation, we notified our insurance that we would be updating our home and made sure that we were covered in case there was an emergency. 

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