• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

RENOVATING KITCHEN.

Miss Mary

Walking the driveway
Joined
12/16/18
Messages
267
Real Name
Mary
Hi everyone. Sometime in January we are having our kitchen renovated. While the walls will remain we will be having the drop ceiling removed and the ceiling above ripped out and replaced. We will be removing and replacing all the lighting, cabinets, appliances, floor, doors, and windows. The kitchen will be sealed off from the rest of the house and the contractors will use only the side door which is off the kitchen. They said the job should take 6 weeks but I honestly believe it is going to take a lot longer. I am very concerned for Kai’s well being and am not sure what the best thing to do is. I can’t put him in the basement as it is unheated. My first floor has a dinning room off the kitchen which is where I have Kai’s large cage. Off the dining room straight ahead is the living room. Just an archway separates the two rooms. There is also a small hallway off the dinning room closer to the kitchen. Off that hallway is a bathroom, a small TV room where I keep Kai’s smaller cage, and a small bedroom. They all have doors. There is also a staircase (which also has a door) that leads to an upstairs open den, 3 upstairs bedrooms with doors and 1 bathroom. I am wondering if Kai would be safe in one of the upstairs bedrooms? My only other option would be to let a family member keep him for me till the work is completed but the thought of him being away for so long is upsetting to me. I would love to keep him upstairs if he would be safe. All replies are welcome especially from anyone who has been in this situation.
 

MommyBird

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
10/23/09
Messages
6,814
Location
Colorado
Real Name
Debbie
I'd make sure they are as far away in your house as possible in a room with a door. If you have forced air heat, seal off the vents in the kitchen so stuff doesn't get circulated that way.
Be cautions about VOCs - volatile Organic Compounds and research all products. The laminate in cabinets, any glue used on floors, flooring material, caulking and sealers, paint.
Look around on this website where they have info plus safe products for sale:
Green Building Supply, Non Toxic Supplies, Environmentally Friendly Materials
 

itzmered

Welcome to Parrotdise
Super Administrator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/27/09
Messages
25,728
Location
Minnesota
Real Name
Chris
We went through a rather large very dusty remodel last year. I sealed off each room as it was being demolished with plastic and closed and covered the vents in that room. We also set up fans pointing out the windows to help exhaust the dust out the window. It worked pretty well and not much construction dust migrated through out the house.
 

JLcribber

@cockatoojohn
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Shutterbugs' Best
Avenue Concierge
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
22,620
Location
Alberta, Canada
Real Name
John
As long as those guys stay in the kitchen and the birds do not go into the kitchen I don't see a problem. If they need to do something that smells make sure they use "VENTILATION". A (decent size) fan in a open window in that room pointed "outside" will create an exhaust for that room expelling it outside preventing it from entering the rest of the house.
 

finchly

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/16/14
Messages
12,708
Location
SW Florida
Real Name
Finchly
We remodeled extensively. The birds were fine. I think it took 4 months when they’d promised six weeks... they zipped this door over the bird room to sel it off.I’m going to link what I think is the same thing. Our crew LOVED the birds and were very concerned about their welfare.

 

fashionfobie

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
1/4/19
Messages
5,246
Location
Qld, Australia
Real Name
Natalie
If I recall your daughter doesn't live to far from you @Miss Mary ?

If they do work with anything very strong smelling, maybe Kai can stay with her for a short bit. -Only brainstorming :)
 

lexalayne

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Joined
2/20/11
Messages
1,965
Location
Pelee Island
Real Name
Alexa
I always use the window fans that suck air out when using anything potentially harmful. Also, block all raised doorways and open windows in their rooms.
 

Miss Mary

Walking the driveway
Joined
12/16/18
Messages
267
Real Name
Mary
I'd make sure they are as far away in your house as possible in a room with a door. If you have forced air heat, seal off the vents in the kitchen so stuff doesn't get circulated that way.
Be cautions about VOCs - volatile Organic Compounds and research all products. The laminate in cabinets, any glue used on floors, flooring material, caulking and sealers, paint.
Look around on this website where they have info plus safe products for sale:
Green Building Supply, Non Toxic Supplies, Environmentally Friendly Materials
Thank you for your reply. I will definitely research everything. I still haven’t decided what to do but if I decide to keep Kai home he will be in an upstairs bedroom on the opposite side of the kitcken. The kitchen doorway will be sealed and the door to the staircase going upstairs will be kept closed. The bedroom door will also be kept closed and sealed.
 

Miss Mary

Walking the driveway
Joined
12/16/18
Messages
267
Real Name
Mary
We went through a rather large very dusty remodel last year. I sealed off each room as it was being demolished with plastic and closed and covered the vents in that room. We also set up fans pointing out the windows to help exhaust the dust out the window. It worked pretty well and not much construction dust migrated through out the house.
Thank you so much for your reply. It’s always comforting hearing from someone who has gone through this. If I decide to keep Kai home he will be kept in an upstairs bedroom on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen. The kitchen doorway will be sealed and the downstairs door to the staircase going upstairs will be kept closed as well as the doors to all bedrooms. We will use a fan in the kitchen window to vent. We have steam (water) heat so that shouldn’t be an issue. I am very nervous.
 

Shezbug

ASK ME FOR PICTURES OF MY MACAW!
Super Moderator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/28/18
Messages
25,833
Location
Vic, Australia
Real Name
Shez
What is ‘bump’ please?
Bump is used when someone notices your thread is not getting the views it needs so they post the word bump which then causes your thread to go to the top of the list for new posts.
You will notice that any thread that has just had a response posted tends to be at the top of the list of threads.
 

Miss Mary

Walking the driveway
Joined
12/16/18
Messages
267
Real Name
Mary
As long as those guys stay in the kitchen and the birds do not go into the kitchen I don't see a problem. If they need to do something that smells make sure they use "VENTILATION". A (decent size) fan in a open window in that room pointed "outside" will create an exhaust for that room expelling it outside preventing it from entering the rest of the house.
Thank you for replying. The contractor is going to seal off the kitchen doorway and will be using the back door to come and go. We will use a fan. I am still not sure if I am keeping Kai home. There are some concerns with him being away. I’m still weighing the situation.
 

Miss Mary

Walking the driveway
Joined
12/16/18
Messages
267
Real Name
Mary
Bump is used when someone notices your thread is not getting the views it needs so they post the word bump which then causes your thread to go to the top of the list for new posts.
You will notice that any thread that has just had a response posted tends to be at the top of the list of threads.
Gotcha. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.
 

Miss Mary

Walking the driveway
Joined
12/16/18
Messages
267
Real Name
Mary
Also, be sure and put a rolled up towel at the bottom of the door
I will. Thank you.
I always use the window fans that suck air out when using anything potentially harmful. Also, block all raised doorways and open windows in their rooms.
[/QUOTE]
Thank you so much. I will definitely follow your suggestions.
 

Miss Mary

Walking the driveway
Joined
12/16/18
Messages
267
Real Name
Mary
Hi All. It’s been awhile since my last post so thought I would bring you up to date. The last I posted I believe I had mentioned that my Yorkie pup Roxie was diagnosed with Kidney failure in late May. I started in home dialysis and lots of meds the first of June knowing she would only be with me till she stopped responding to the medication. I’m heartbroken to say that I said goodbye to my Roxie on February 11th after 24 hours of suddenly going downhill. She had a good quality of life from June through early February and I am grateful for the extra time with her. I miss her terribly. On a happier note Kai is surviving the kitchen renovation. As many of you know I was having my kitchen completely renovated with the exception of tearing out the walls in January and was very concerned for Kai. The actually didn’t start the project till February 3. Unfortunately Kai did not do well upstairs during our trial stay. Even though I took him up well in advanced and spent time with him up there he was not at all happy and stopped eating. After losing a couple of grams I became frightened and since I still had enough time I decided to set him up in the back room (TV room /den) at the end of the hall on the first floor since he was use to being in there with me on a regular basis. I bought an air purifier with a special filter for fumes and order remover and hooked up a mineral oil heater and a humidifier. The door is sealed off with plastic and a towel under it. The deck door is cracked ever so slightly to let in fresh air. Since I am using an electric heater I sleep on the couch to play safe. The kitchen has also been sealed off with a heavy plastic/zipper opening which I insisted was not to be opened. We have gotten through the first half of the renovation with no trouble. We are just about finished with having the cabinets installed and the appliances and countertop will be arriving this week. I am a little worried because the past three days I’ve noticed Kai is eating less and less of his chop/pellets but when I weigh him he isn’t losing any weight. I think this might be because I have been doing a lot of hand feeding since he’s been in the back room and maybe he is spoiled. I’ve decided not to hand feed and try and wait it out. What are your thoughts? Also, I was warned about the new stove. I think it’s called gas burn out? How many times do I need to use the stove once we are ready before it’s safe for Kai? I do not keep him in the kitchen but in the dinning room which off the kitchen. Thanks for any feedback back and hope all is well with you and your little babies.

Sorry, another question. I have been using plastic feeding cups for both pellets and water since I’ve had Kai (just under 16 months). It recently came to my attention that these plastic cups may be bad for Kai’s health and I should only use stainless steel. I didn’t know this. Any feedback would be appreciated.
 
Top