Before You Open the Wall — Companion Guide

Demolition feels like progress from the first minute. That's what makes it dangerous.

It's fast, it's satisfying, and it's the one stage where irreversible decisions get made by people who are enjoying themselves. It's also where the pipe gets cut, the cable gets found the hard way, and the partition turns out to be the reason the ceiling stays up.

This is what to do in the hour before the first swing.

What's inside

• The ten-minute survey — what to read above, below and on the face of a wall before you touch it
• What's likely inside, by construction era, and why the era only tells you half the story
• Load-bearing or partition: the signs for each, and the point at which you stop guessing and call an engineer
• Finding electrical, plumbing, gas and HVAC before they find you — and why a scanner can't be your only method
• Lead and asbestos handled properly: why neither can be identified by eye, and what testing actually involves
• Knob-and-tube, aluminium branch wiring, vermiculite, mould and pest leavings
• Permits — what usually needs one, and why unpermitted work surfaces at the worst moment
• Dust containment that keeps demolition in one room
• Nine stop-work triggers — the moments to put the bar down and make a phone call

Two printable checklists

A day-before checklist covering the house, the services, the room and the logistics; and a tools-and-protection list separating what's optional from what isn't.

14 pages. Instant download. Yours the moment you order.

General safety and planning information only — not professional or engineering advice. Never rely on this to identify hazardous materials; asbestos requires laboratory testing. Structural, electrical, gas and plumbing work should be assessed by licensed professionals.