How to keep dust out of the house during a window replacement
Window installation generates fine concrete dust and debris that settles on floors overnight when installers don't use proper containment frames. Because staying home during the project is common due to time and budget limits, homeowners need to know what dust mitigation is reasonable to expect from installers.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Putting specific requirements in the contract with installers to section off areas with plasticDid this help you?
- 2Covering all furniture with plastic in advanceDid this help you?
- 3Holding a shopvac nozzle next to the grinder while workingDid this help you?
- 4Constructing a small frame with metal rods and plastic sheeting around each window to confine dustDid this help you?
- 5Running roomba vacuums repeatedly each evening to clean upDid this help you?
- 6Turning off the HVAC systemDid this help you?
- 7Turning the unit off while contractors are actively working, and only running it when they leave.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I don’t have the money or time to move out while new windows are put in. What is reasonable to expect from a window installer as far as dust mitigation goes?”source ↗
“However the light concrete dust floating in the air would continue to fall onto the floor overnight. Wish our guys had used the frames the neighbor's guys had.”source ↗
“As you can tell, they didn’t even try. This is absolutely infuriating!”source ↗
“Can you please help me think of all of the possible risks of the concrete dust that has spread throughout my garage, and similarly into my house?”source ↗
“How can I determine how much damage is done? What can I even ask them to do to reconcile the issue, beyond properly sealing it off for tomorrow’s work?”source ↗
“We tried so hard to prepare for this right and still ran into an issue.”source ↗
Where this came up
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