I am new to this forum and apologize if this is not the correct sub-forum for this.

The joists under the floor are creaking terribly. I have to remove the very thin wood strips (they look like squares but are actually individual 1' strips making squares) above them, then screw down the plywood - or replace the plywood if not good and then screw it down - to the joists, (they are probably just nailed down - it's an older house) then get wood-like tiles to put on top of the plywood.

This will be by a friend who is a good handyman (but not a professional floor installer).

The biggest concern is the dust coming up from ripping up the floor and possibly the plywood underneath it. How do I contain it so that it does not spread over everything in that room, and especially not travel into other rooms (we'll be doing one room at a time as I am living here)? And what is the best way to clean up whatever dust stays in that room (wet vac?)? Should it be vacuumed step-by-step as things are done?

I realize that these are novice questions but that is what I am in do-it-yourself things.

Thank you

 

Welcome to the forums!

It sounds like you might have a parquet floor - 1' square wood tiles made up of narrow strips of oak.
There really isn't a good way to eliminate the dust/mess but draping off the openings to other rooms will help to contain the mess to the room you are working on. Drop cloths/plastic can be used to cover the items you don't remove from the room.

 

Put a box fan in a window facing out and turn it on. Crack a window in another area of the house to allow air to enter. The fan blowing out will create a negative pressure situation that will cause all dust to migrate toward the fan and out the window. Supplement that with other suggestions of using painters plastic to cover all furniture and other openings such as doors to other rooms.

 

thank you marksr and czizzi for your advice. The problem with the box fan is that the windows are Anderson and Pella so getting a fan in the right position by the window would be difficult.

The dust issue is not so much keeping other things clean - drop cloths covering them would help - but just preventing the air in the house from getting full of the dust. I can't have dust being breathed in.

And is the Wet-Vac of any help here?

thanks

 

There really isn't any way to prevent the dust from demolition but draping/taping off the openings to other rooms will contain it. Then you can work on cleaning up that room before unsealing the opening to the rest of the house. You'd want to seal off HVAC vents also. A shop vac can be helpful for cleaning up, don't be surprised if you need to replace the filter.

 

We use a large vacuum with a hepa filter stuck on the outlet on commercial LEEDS buildings, and one person follows the saw or whatever is making the mess. It helps a great deal, but airborne dust can be detrimental to asthma suffers or children. I would try the box fan sitting on the floor with a tunnel taped to the windows, regardless of their make and let the fan blow through it. You will be surprised how much cleaner the area will be with negative atmosphere.

 

One solution I found while browsing.

 

You need to setup a fan in the window blowing out. Seal the doorways with plastic and use tape around all the seams.

I have been renovating my house. Fortunately, the rooms being worked on had doors. I closed the doors and stuck a box fan in the window. It was incredible dusty work. I even did this when when I sanded the drywall. It was very successful in keeping dust out of the rest of the house. I fitted my shop vac with a quality filter for clean up. I would not only cover any HVAC vents, but turn off the system while you work.

Wear one of these while working too: 3M 6000 Series Half Facepiece Respirator, Medium - Papr Safety Respirators - Amazon.com

 

The negative pressure can be achieved in two ways, even better with both. The exhaust fan as described plus one or more fans in the rest of the house blowing "in". The fans blowing in will create a positive pressure where you don't want the dust, enhancing the pressure barrier containing and exhausting the air in the work room.

If you use a shop vac, you will need exhaust hoses long enough to direct that air outside. Or set the vac outside and run the hose to the inside. The filters in most shop vacs will not catch everything and if you install a really good filter it will quickly become clogged.

Bud