Safety Tips for DIY and Home Remodeling Projects

If you are contemplating a home remodel or DIY project, there are a few things you should keep in mind. While most homeowners undertaking home improvements focus on budget and aesthetics, many tend to overlook potential hazards this type of work can entail. To help keep your fingers and toes intact, here are some handyman safety tips from Georgia’s premier design/build firm!

DIY Safety Tips

Handyman and DIY injuries run the gamut from simple splinters and banged up thumbs to electrocutions, broken limbs – and worse. To avoid these potentially tragic events, safety should be your primary concern when you are tackling any home improvement or home repair project. While the handyman safety tips below are not a catchall, they should get you geared up to begin safely working in the home.

Clean Your Work Area

You know what they say – cleanliness is safeliness (okay, so that is more of something that I say). One of the easiest – and best – ways to avoid injuries before, after, and during any home project, is to make sure to keep your work area clean. Put away any tools and supplies when you are finished and make sure they are not a tripping hazard. If you have children, be sure to lock the tools away in a spot that is beyond the children’s reach. Remember, kids are inventive, so put a lock on your drawers and cabinets!

Keep Tools in Good Condition

A big cause of worker injury comes from poorly cared for tools. Frayed wires for electrical tools (covering them with tape should not be an option), rickety ladders, broken casings on drills, and even loose hammer heads can all lead to disaster.

If your tools are beginning to look old or have issues, replace them. Remember the motto: better safe, than sorry. If you have tools that are in good shape, keep them that way. Don’t toss hammers from the top of a ladder onto the floor or yank power cables out of the wall socket like a crazy Indiana Jones. Take your time and handle your tools with care!

Read the Instructions

As DIY and home improvement masters (even if it is in your own mind), you may be tempted to rely on your years of experience and handyman “intuition,” leading to you skipping out on reading the instructions – much less following them. While you can get away with this sometimes, your best (and safest) bet is to always follow the instructions. Manufacturers have spent countless hours and research dollars on discovering the best, most efficient way to use their equipment. Don’t let all of that knowledge pass you by. Read the instructions!

First Aid Is Your First Defense

Sometimes emergencies and accidents are not preventable – as we say in the real world: stuff happens. When injury does occur, sometimes you only have a few moments to react and prevent something unfortunate from becoming something serious. Always keep a well-stocked first aid kit close at hand for such situations and make sure you have a phone nearby in the event that a simple bandage just won’t do.

Call a Home Remodeling Professional

At the end of the day, if a project is complicated or you have the slightest concern that you do not have the skills to complete the job, we urge you to consider consulting with a home remodeling or home renovation professional, such as the team at Tracy Tesmer Design/Remodeling. Not only will they make sure the job is performed within your budget and on time, they will complete the home project with the best safety practices in mind and consult with you every step of the way!

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