How to Protect Flooring & Stairs During Remodeling
- 1). Cover the surface of your floor with a floor protection film created from polyethylene to protect against light traffic and light remodeling tasks. The material is tough enough to avoid puncture and tearing from normal wear and contains a coating that grips to your floor, keeping it in place as you walk over the material. Roll the film across your floor in even rows, overlapping the rows about an inch to ensure coverage. Cut the ends of the film with a utility knife.
- 2). Upgrade your floor protection to a reinforced red rosin mask paper if you expect heavy traffic through an area during remodeling. Slightly tougher and thicker than the polyethylene film, the rosin paper resists wear and tear to a higher degree for a longer period of time than does the floor film. Lay the paper out in rows on your floor with the same 1-inch overlap at the seams. Mask the edges of the paper to the base of walls, and place a strip of the masking tape along the seams to prevent movement. You can cut the rosin paper when needed with a utility knife.
- 3). Protect your stairs with a rigid plastic stair tread protector. Tape the protector onto the edge of the stair and across the tread to create an anti-slip covering that prevents scuffs on your stair surface. Add corner edge protectors on the edges of each step over the protector to prevent damage from moving materials up and down staircases. Cut the protectors to length using a utility knife and then pull the protective paper from the rear of the strips to expose the adhesive. Press the strip firmly to the stair edge, allowing the adhesive to hold it in place while you walk over the area.
- 4). Protect against damage during heavy remodeling jobs by rolling a layer of Ram Board over the floor. This thick, reusable material protects against the heaviest of traffic and even cushions against falling objects, preventing the occasional dropped hammer from denting the flooring beneath. Apply the material using the same process as that used with the rosin paper, but seal the seams with construction tape rather than masking tape. You can cut the Ram Board with a utility knife.
