As curators of luxury living environments, household managers are responsible for the care and keeping of the owner's most valuable assets. Often, these areas are difficult for vendors to work in to repair a problem that arises due to the fine finishes and surroundings of the home. Homes are not built with vendors in mind, they are built for the functionality of the family, and to the design and formality specifications they desire. Workmen need tools to perform the necessary functions of their jobs, but these tools can be destructive if not managed appropriately. That is why it is so imperative to hire quality vendors who are accustomed to working in finely fished homes, they will be more conscientious about site protecting a space before the work begins, and they will work carefully throughout the process to ensure the home is well maintained. Still, it is the responsibility of the owner's representative to manage site protection properly to ensure no collateral damage occurs to the surrounding finishes when working on a maintenance issue. Here are some considerations when site protecting a space.
1. Before the scheduled arrival of a vendor, remove items that are in the way that are easily managed by a homeowner's representative, or outsource the job to a trained professional. This includes any artwork, furniture, and furnishings like area rugs that are in the workspace. If items are too big or delicate to move, they need to be site protected in the proper methods described by the appropriate party (say and art curator) in a predetermined manner for that piece. Plastic sheeting is very useful, but it is not always the best option for a variety of finishes or pieces, so be sure to have previously arranged standard site protection procedures in place for each space, that way when a situation arises each area is handled appropriately.
2. The items that cannot be moved out of the work zone need to be site protected in accordance with how much tools or equipment are needed for the task. If a workman is coming to perform a light duty job, maybe draping the floor below is all that is required. However, when ladders come into the equation and other bulky equipment, then walls, corners, and floors need to be considered in advance so that this equipment does not damage the surrounding surfaces. There is nothing more destructive than an untrained workman with a ladder in a formal home! From caring it over their shoulder and letting the door swing back on itself as they try to maneuver in a tight space and accidentally dinging the door, the feet not being protected when they set it down on a hardwood floor, or leaning it up against a wall without a towel in between...there are hundreds of scenarios in which even the simplest of tasks can compromise the surroundings and hundreds of recommendations on ways to site protect a particular space for even the simplest of tasks.
In the above photo, workmen are repairing a broken and leaking pipe in the ceiling, but before work began, the entire area was sheeted in plastic to prevent construction dust in the space from ceiling to floor, the floors themselves were double protected with a special corrugated cardboard and then covered with drop cloths and moving blankets. This was to ensure that if the workmen dropped a tool that it did not dent the hardwood floors beneath and the equipment they would need to use would not damage the floor. And finally the art in the space was wrapped by the art curator before the work began, and that area was plastic protected as well.
A comprehensive site protection plan should be in place at every formally managed home. Each situation is unique, and each room poses different challenges. If you would like a comprehensive site protection analyst for vendors in your home, or for your in-home household employees to be trained to manage site protection better as they go about their daily tasks, please contact Luxury Lifestyle Logistics to set up a complimentary phone consultation today.