Guides
Protecting your home during a renovation
Renovation dust travels further than people expect. Protection is planned before work begins, not after the first complaint.
Dust, scratches and spills affect more than the room being renovated. Corridors become routes for materials and debris, stairs carry heavy loads, and fine dust drifts through doors and into AC returns. Protecting the rest of the house is part of the work, not an extra.
Decision guides set out how to judge a quote, a programme or a contractor fairly, so the comparison is made on like-for-like information.
Protection usually includes coverings on floors along routes, dust screens at the boundary of the work area, sealed doors to rooms not being renovated, and care with AC returns so dust is not spread through the system. Furniture is moved out or covered, depending on what stays in the house.
What matters most on this page
Protect the routes
Floor coverings along every route materials and workers use.
Contain the dust
Screens and sealed doors separate the work area.
Mind the AC
Covering or isolating returns stops dust circulating through the house.
Protection measures
Floor protection
Hard-wearing coverings taped at edges, checked and replaced if damaged.
Dust screens
Temporary walls with zipped openings to contain the work area.
Furniture
Moved to another room or covered and sealed if it must stay.
Before work starts
Agree the routes
Which entrance, corridors and stairs will be used.
Clear the rooms
Remove valuables and fragile items from affected areas.
Discuss the AC
How returns will be protected and when filters will be changed.
Questions we are often asked
Can dust be avoided completely?
Not completely, but containment and daily cleaning keep it to a minimum.
Should the AC be switched off?
Sometimes in the work area. Elsewhere, protecting returns and changing filters afterwards helps.
Who is responsible for damage to protected areas?
This should be agreed in advance, along with how protection will be checked.
Related guides
- Renovation variations and change ordersAnother decision worth settling at the same stage.
- What a renovation contract should coverAnother decision worth settling at the same stage.
- Renovation handover documents to keepAnother decision worth settling at the same stage.
- Matt vs polished floor tilesA related choice about how the work is organised.
browse the guides, or see all renovation and fit-out services. We work on homes and commercial premises across Dubai.
Tell us about the property
Tell us what you are deciding between and what you have been given so far. We will tell you what is worth checking next.
Phone
+971 58 846 4007Good for talking a job through and arranging a visit.
WhatsApp
Send a messageUseful for photographs, floor plans and measurements.
Next step
Plan protection before the work starts
Tell us which rooms are being renovated and which will stay in use. We will plan the routes and protection.