Responsible Renovation in the Time of COVID-19

 

Fortune favors the prepared mind, as they say — and the prepared design-build remodeling company. That’s because the firms that are already compliant with the EPA’s Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule are already prepared to keep you and your family safe during the pandemic. Turns out the same rules that require workers to be certified and trained in the use of lead-safe practices also apply to coronavirus-safe practices.

So let’s explore the three components of EPA lead-safe compliance, and see how they apply to today’s strange and often challenging world of physical distancing and lockdowns. The good news is that despite everything that’s going on you can design and build the home renovations you’ve always dreamed of, and do them in a safe and responsible manner. Just make sure the firm you hire is Lead-Safe Certified, and that they rigorously follow these rules designed to protect your home.

Certified Work Practices: Containment

Home renovations are usually noisy, dusty, and messy projects involving numerous workers, heavy equipment, and physical disruption. Whenever lead paint might be involved RRP rules help prevent toxic particles from getting into the air and onto surfaces where they can be breathed in and do damage. As we’ve learned, COVID-19 also gets into the air and onto surfaces, so by applying similar containment techniques, your certified contractor can help mitigate any potential issues and keep you safe.

Proven work practices for containment include isolating work areas with temporary barriers, limiting worker movement through the project area, and using dust scrubbers to filter the air to keep any job site dust down to a minimum. In addition, when working with others in close proximity masks and various protective equipment are worn by workers for their own safety.

Certified Work Practices: Cleaning

EPA’s renovation, repair, and painting rules are rigorous regarding cleaning procedures within a project zone, including specifications around cleaning methods, chemical agents, and frequency. Whether removing lead or the coronavirus, these techniques — when properly utilized — ensure that contained areas are precisely cleaned for personal safety.

Your contractor should be zealously following these protocols. Responsible firms will standardize their cleaning procedures to ensure thoroughness, often designating specific times throughout the workday. Part of the cleaning ritual is stubbornly maintaining physical distancing between workers and your family.

Note: Riverside Construction has adopted standardized cleaning procedures to ensure thoroughness in direct response to the Coronavirus threat. They are not only practicing safe distancing but are also wiping down high touch areas daily with disinfectant wipes and sprays, and consistently washing hands with soap and/or hand sanitizer.

Certified Documentation: Recordkeeping and Reporting

To abide by the law, lead-safe certified renovation companies must retain and, if requested, make available to clients and to the EPA all records necessary to demonstrate compliance. Although coronavirus is now on everyone’s radar much more so than lead paint, the same procedures can work to help fight the spread of infection in your home, as we’ve seen, — and the same careful procedure can protect your family and your home during a renovation project.

Proper documentation includes training and guidance for workers regarding proper containment and cleaning protocols, and RRP certification documents and reporting for the EPA. The bottom line is your remodeling contractor doesn’t necessarily need to have lead-safe certification to be safe, but having the certification can certainly give you additional peace of mind during these unprecedented times.

Note: Riverside Construction IS Lead-Safe Certified and fully committed to remodeling your space with utmost care and safety.

Partner with a LEAD-Safe Certified Design-Build Remodeling Firm

Riverside Construction is Lafayette and surrounding communities’ EPA lead-safe certified, award-winning, design-build remodeling company. We provide our clients with personalized and enjoyable remodeling services delivered on time and on budget. We consistently deliver the ideal remodeling solution by listening intently to each client’s unique needs. We are purposefully putting safety measures first as we continue to serve our community.

10 Ways to Winterize your Midwest Home

Winters here in Indiana—just like anywhere in the Midwest—can be severe. Your home is your most significant
financial investment, so it’s extremely important to prepare it well for winter. The inevitable freeze-thaw cycle, high
winds, freak snowstorms and pounding rain can wreak havoc, but there’s a lot you can do to prevent or minimize
winter damage to your home, particularly if you follow these 10 home winterization steps:

1. Inspect, Clean and Repair Your Roof and Gutters

This time of year, be sure to inspect all of your gutters and your roof. Repair any damage if necessary, and be
absolutely sure to clean out the gutters and downspouts. Fall leaves, animal nests and anything else should be
removed so that water can efficiently flow off of the roof and away from your home and its foundation.
Clogged gutters that fester over the winter can cause water leaks in your home and damage to the foundation. Not
only that, but during particularly harsh winters with a lot of snow, ice dams can form, causing more leaks and roof
damage. Ice dams often form due to insufficient insulation in the attic (see point 9). This one home winterization tip
alone can save you and your family thousands of dollars in water damage and a whole lot of hassle!

2. Seal Asphalt Driveways

The wild variations in temperature we experience here in Indiana over the winter can cause significant damage to
asphalt driveways. Water can infiltrate small cracks in your driveway during warm wet weather. When the
temperatures dip below freezing, that water freezes and becomes ice that expands, making the cracks bigger and
more expensive to fix—sometimes entire chunks of asphalt come loose, causing potholes. Regularly inspect your
driveway for cracks and remove debris. Have your driveway sealed on a regular basis (usually every 2-3 years). A
warm summer day is actually the perfect time to have this done (put on your calendar next year). Seal-coating fills
and repairs small cracks from water infiltration so they don’t get big and expensive.

3. Search for Leaks around Windows and Doors

Inspect both water and air leaks around every window and door to your home. The source of any water leaks
should be found and repaired immediately. Drafty air leaks should also be repaired with the appropriate weather
stripping or insulation to cut down on heat loss and winter energy bills. If you have screen doors, have your
contractor swap them out for new storm doors that can help prevent energy and heat loss. Also, consider updating
any older windows to more energy-efficient storm windows.

4. Protect Your Pipes

We cannot stress this one enough—burst pipes can cause all kinds of water damage and misery in the winter, but
you can take many steps to prevent this from happening:

  • Disconnect all hoses and store them over the winter
  • Drain all of the outside pipes so no water is left to freeze, thaw and burst the pipes
    Winterize your sprinkler systems
  • Make sure pipes are insulated to protect them from excessively cold temperatures
  • If you go away for the winter, make sure your thermostat keeps the heat in your home to at least 55-60
    degrees to keep pipes from freezing
  • Just to make sure, have your contractor check the pipes and water main to ensure it’s all ready for
    whatever winter brings

5. Give Your Furnace a Checkup

Have your furnace checked to make sure it is in top condition before cold weather hits. Make sure the filter has
been changed and that all of the ducts are clean, in good repair, and that there are no leaks in the system. Also,
double check that the furnace and other exhaust vents are clear of snow accumulation on a regular basis. It’s very
important to have a professional help you with the furnace, ventilation, and pipes so you don’t have any nasty
surprises during a cold snap.

6. Fireplace Maintenance

If you have a fireplace, your home and family’s safety depends on having the chimney’s swept and maintained.
Check that the damper opens and closes. Double check the condition of the bricks and mortar and, if necessary,
have a screen installed at the top of the chimney to prevent small animals from coming inside.

7. Check and Service Your Snow Blower

Before the first snow hits, you want to make sure your snow blower is ready for action. Fill it with gas and oil,
double check the spark plugs and make sure it’s otherwise in full working order. Also, make sure you have easy
access to snow shovels and that you have a good supply of de-icing salt to prevent trips, falls and accidents on your
property.

Conversely, put your lawnmower and other warm weather yard equipment to bed properly for the winter by
draining the oil and gas and draining all of the hoses before you store them.

8. Prepare Your Yard: Trim Trees and Vegetation

Have any trees and bushes near your home inspected and trimmed—particularly any with limbs overhanging the
roof or close to windows. Wild wind and ice storms can snap these trees and cause them to crash into your home.
Even if they’re healthy, limbs too close to the house can brush against the siding and roof, causing damage.

9. Insulate Your Whole House

Check all of the areas of your home where insulation might be insufficient. Improper attic insulation can cause ice
jams, for example. The walls, doors, windows, ducts, and areas where pipes or wires enter the house also need to
be checked. Improve insulation wherever it’s currently insufficient.

10. Prepare for Winter Weather and Power Outages

Blizzards, ice storms, and other mishaps can cause widespread power outages, so be prepared. Consider talking to
your contractor about installing an emergency generator. Make sure to have an easily-accessible emergency kit
with flashlights, extra batteries, an emergency radio (with a hand-crank option to help charge your cell phone),
blankets, cold weather gear (gloves, scarves, hats, boots), non-perishable (easy-to- prepare-without- electricity)
foods and extra water. If you have a fireplace, make sure you’ve got plenty of firewood stocked up.

Contact your Riverside Construction team to help you accomplish any of the items on this home winterization
checklist, even if it’s just a recommendation for a potential service provider. We want to make sure you are
prepared for winter’s worst! By following these helpful winterizing tips, you’ll have peace of mind, improve your
safety and save you money all season long!

5 Trends for 2015

No one wants their house to look dated. One of the ways that you can avoid this is by making small changes that follow the most forward looking design trends of the year. Following the trends (those things that designers are seeing consistently for years) rather than the fads (those things that hold limited popularity) is the key. Read more

When is it a good time to remodel?

Sometimes, your frustration with the functionality or design of an area in your home is just more than you can handle.  If that’s the case, remodeling is a great way to make necessary changes to your home to make it more live able for you and your family.  Read more

Getting your Home Ready for Winter

Anyone who has lived in the Northern part of the United States for any length of time knows that now is the time to get all those pesky winter preparation tasks completed before the cold and damp of winter sets in.  We’ve created a list of the top 10 things you can do to prepare your home for winter. Read more

The Range Hood and your Kitchen Remodel

In the past several years range hoods have gone from being purely practical to a being an interesting way to add to the overall design of your kitchen.  If you are looking at remodeling your kitchen, it’s important to find the correct balance of functional and interesting design in your new range hood.  Read more

Andy’s Top 10 Home Enhancements #3 Faucets

There’s nothing like having a nice, new kitchen faucet to make it easier to spend time cleaning up after a delicious meal.  Installing new faucets in either your kitchen or your bathroom can not only decrease your water usage but also it upgrades the style and functionality of the room. Read more

Andy’s Top 10 Enhancements #4 Mudroom Cabinets

Do you have a coat and bag problem at your home?  Here’s an useful solution!  Invest in some mudroom cabinets or planned storage spaces to collect everything before it gets any further into your home. Read more

Andy’s Top 10 Home Enhancements #7 Fireplace

There’s nothing like curling up next to a warm fireplace on a cold, rainy or snowy day.  Not only can they add extra heat to a cold room, but they also add extra “warmth” to your home.

Read more

Andy’s Top 10 Home Enhancements #9 Keyless Lockset

Project Number 9- Keyless lockset

Do you have key problems?  This may be a great solution for you!  A keyless door entry system can be an easy solution to allow people entrance into your home and yet not be passing out keys that can be easily lost.  The best part is they are not all terribly expensive and they are relatively easy to install. Read more