Luuuke… I am your contractor.
Ever heard of Asbestos? Who hasn’t! We all know it’s super dangerous and shouldn’t be disturbed since the airborne particles cause lung cancer.
Ever heard of Silica Crystalline? No? Neither had I until I was two days into tearing up our tile floors -donning nothing more than a ghetto dust mask- and received a what-the-holy-crap-are-you-doing?! tip from my concerned father. Apparently, airborne Silica Crystalline is in all things cement and ceramic and is just as dangerous as our old friend Asbestos. It just hasn’t gotten the same press. Silica really needs to fire her PR manager and hook up with Asbestos’ agency because they’re really doing a fab job about getting the word out.
If you are planning to do any work with ceramic tiles or concrete grinding check out these informative links before you get started:
Concrete Polishing Magazine (Weird, right? But seriously, it’s a real magazine)
These are the masks we picked up at Home Depot for under $40 each. We decided they would be useful on all future projects so we sprang for the heavy duty ones. And believe it or not, these beastly masks are way more comfortable (and easier to breathe in) than those flimsy paper dust masks.
Safe renovating, my friends!
Lucky Girl Brake 
Man, your wit and sense of humor should be on television on HGTV! Love reading your informative and thorough take on this adventure :) Thanks for sharing ~ love you both.
Aww, thanks Momma Douglas. That’s high praise coming from an HGTVaholic. :)
Ha! — the worst part about being an HGTVaholic is they keep presenting more new shows to attract us hooked viewers.
— and now I am hooked on the “Rehab Addict” show Thursday evenings where a spunky gal named Nikki Curtis is only like 32 years old and full of beans — she rehabs old houses in Minnesota and Detroit — woo! Wears me out to watch her, as they bleep a lot of her running commentaries…. Beware of the “Rehabaholic” trap too ! Here’s a description of Nicole on the Website:
ABOUT THIS SHOW: DiY (Do it Yourself) Network “Rehab Addict” Show
http://www.diynetwork.com/rehab-addict/show/index.html
Nicole Curtis is a sweet-talking, hammer-swinging whirlwind. Working in Minneapolis and Detroit, Nikki discovers historic houses once the pride of the neighborhood that have fallen on hard times. Pushing her rough ‘n’ tough crew, arguing with her family, wrangling with city officials and dealing with the usual litany of old house headaches, it’s not always pretty. By the time the dust clears, a house that was ready for the wrecking ball is restored to its former glory.