How Do Pros Protect Flooring During Fire Damage Reconstruction?

Before any reconstruction begins, the pros create a barrier between the work area and the rest of your home. They hang thick plastic sheeting from ceiling to floor, taping seams and edges to doorframes and baseboards. This keeps soot, dust, and debris from drifting onto unaffected flooring in hallways or adjacent rooms.

The plastic also protects against foot traffic. Anyone moving through the space walks on the sheeting, not directly on your floors. In rooms where the fire damage is severe, the pros may seal off the entire room, including vents and outlets, to prevent airborne particles from traveling through your HVAC system.

• Heavy-duty plastic sheeting
• Duct tape for seams and edges
• Zipper doors for access
• Sealed vents and electrical outlets
• Floor-to-ceiling barriers

Fire reconstruction creates a lot of dust, from sanding drywall to cutting wood. The pros use air scrubbers, which are portable filtration units that pull dust and particles out of the air. They also attach vacuum systems to power tools, so sawdust and debris are collected at the source rather than settling on your floors.

Before any sanding or cutting, the pros may mist the area with water to keep dust from becoming airborne. They also use wet mopping or HEPA vacuuming on the protective coverings before removing them, so the dust does not get tracked onto the underlying flooring. This keeps your floors from being scratched by gritty particles.

After the reconstruction work is done, the pros remove the protective coverings and clean the area thoroughly. They use HEPA vacuums and damp cloths to wipe down surfaces, including the flooring underneath the coverings. This removes any fine dust that may have settled despite the barriers.

Policies vary, and your insurer decides what is covered.