Coping with building works during pregnancy?

[Dozzie]

Is anyone else doing building works while pregnant?

We’ve been doing our loft and I am slightly losing my mind. We started before I was pregnant and it is still ongoing now that I’m 18 weeks. We’ve been living in the whole time and are now onto decorating - but I found out yesterday that the painter has been sanding our old Victorian woodwork and potentially disturbing lead paint as a result (despite us asking him not to!) so now I’m worried about lead exposure.

Has anyone done similar and got through it?! The decorator won’t commit to when he’ll be finished and the house is covered in dust and we also have a toddler. Just feeling overwhelmed with the stress of it today!

Really recommend getting a hepa air purifier for the areas you are and get someone else to wet clean up the sanded lead paint if you haven’t already. You can also get lead paint test kits on amazon to test the paint for peace of mind - it might well not have had any lead. Our skirting was fine, the architraves and stairs and front door weren’t. The hepa filter air purifier with a sensor honestly was used so much, and still is now, great for dust and pollen also.

I don’t know how we got through it, had a baby and was pregnant again, but you’re on the home stretch now if the decorators are in. And think how great it’ll be when it’s all done!

Thank you! I’m glad you got through it and feel it was worth it, I’ve been really questioning my life choices. They have now painted over the areas they’ve sanded so not sure if the lead would still show up? the decorator claimed he used a sander with a good extractor for dust attached, and also only sanded after having done two primer coats so probably wouldn’t have have got down to any lead layers, but I don’t know how much to trust that and am really annoyed it happened at all.

The HEPA filter is a very good idea, we have a small one in my daughter’s room anyway as we were just quite worried about the dust for her in general. My husband has wet mopped the areas with the most dust but it just seems to get everywhere.

I know, the dust for my first and for me while pregnant was one of my biggest worries also. I think vit C, calcium and iron helps chelate it in case of a tiny bit of accidental exposure. I’m sure it’s okay though if it’s been wet cleaned and was coated in two layers of primer before sanding. Maybe use the air filter in your bedroom also.

It is a nightmare but it’s amazing how quickly you forget

oh boy i feel your pain! 36 weeks today and have had so many delays in works being done that it's still going on...and I'm doing the decorating myself hah! the advantage of this is I can be a stickler for which dusts I'm happy to tolerate (as in wear a mask while working) and which I am not. I do question why the painter would put two layers of primer on then sand? maybe to denib, but old paint surfaces benifit from a 'key' so a light sand before painting (helps the paint adhere). The thing is though, even with a key, it would be unlikely to reach to lead paint (significantly, there's always a chip here and there) unless it hadn't been painted for decades. So I reckon you probably dont have anything to worry about there. I'm about to tackle the interior of a door today. Ideally I'd remove the door to an outside space and use paint panther to take it back to the wood, however, I am just not currently capable. I'm gonna use wet and dry sand paper on any areas with exposed layers of paint - this means no dust particles. I have those lead testers, but have always found lead in the bottom most layers of paint in this house. I think I'm gonna just accept a less than perfect finish in favour of lowest possible exposure risk!

Thank you! This is super clear and helpful. I am in awe of how much you are doing at 36 weeks. I hope you are nearly there when the baby comes!

I am a bit dubious about what the painter told us too as I was clearly quite upset when we had the conversation - but what you’ve said is really reassuring. We painted all the woodwork about 5 years ago and are
pretty sure the previous owner did it at least once in the 2000s too, so hopefully there are too many layers to get through with a quick sand. Also don’t think all of it is original, but quite hard to be sure what is and isn’t (the house is a real hodge podge)

We only really wanted a tart up this time to get rid of the worst of the marks that the building works have left which is partly why I’m so annoyed!

our house is hodge podge too! This work started in novemeber but due to scammy tradesmen at the beginning and a lovely knowledgeable tradesman that had to work very slowly due to health and then a good company who send junior workers who who collapsed interior plaster in two rooms by hammering an external pipe into the interior of the house instead of removing here we are less than a month till baby is here haha. I’m doing my best to keep light hearted but I long to have the house back!! I guess diy can count as nesting 🫣

but yeah, I’d def avoid breathing the dust just in case but your description makes me feel I’d not be freaked out about the lead side of things. But if he has to sand anything else before painting (skirting board or whatever) ask him to use wet and dry sandpaper. I’d not want to use an orbital sander on anything with lead below it even not pregnant! I wonder about worker’s lack of care for their own health!