Let Your Kids Watch Your Home Demolition Safely With These Five Tips

If you have scheduled your home to be demolished for any reason, the demolition is likely to be spectacular to watch. Even your kids may want to get involved. Luckily, you can bring your kids to the "show" as long as you take a few steps to ensure it is safe for them. Here are five tips to help you protect your kids:

1. Order controlled demolition

Obviously, your kids cannot safely watch your home be demolished if the demolition team are going to be using a wrecking ball or another type of demolition that indiscriminately spreads debris and rubble everywhere. To ensure the experience is safe, you need to hire a company that uses controlled demolition. Controlled demolition uses carefully planted explosives to bring a home down to its foundation in a contained manner.

Controlled demolition is the type often used on high skyscrapers in the middle of a city – it is designed to be safe for nearby buildings and pedestrians.

2. Set up clear boundaries

Even with controlled demolition, there are unsafe areas. If you are bringing your kids to watch the demolition process, set up clear boundaries. For example, use caution tape around the perimeter of the area so your kids know where they need to stay.

3. Make sure your kids are old enough to understand the rules

Every kid is different, but you certainly don't want a toddler who is possibly going to run into the action to attend your home's demolition. Before bringing your kids along, make sure they are old enough and responsible enough to handle the event safely and listen to all of the relevant safety rules.

4. Consider the age of the home being demolished

In addition to making sure your kids are age appropriate, you also need to make sure your home is age appropriate. If your home was built before 1970, it may have lead paint in it, and if it was built before the mid-1980s, it may have asbestos.  

When disturbed, both of these toxins can get into the air. From there, they can be inhaled by your kids and cause a range of health issues from neurological disorders to breathing problems. If your home was built during a risky time period, you may not want to let your kids anywhere near the demolition process.

5. Wear surgical masks

Even if the home doesn't have asbestos or lead in it, the flying dust from the demolition process isn't healthy to inhale. Dust can exacerbate allergies and make it hard to breathe. You and your children should wear surgical masks to the demolition.

For more information, contact a company like Roach Demolition & Excavations.