Demolition
"Uh Leilla. Why is EVERYTHING gone?" A friend of mine asked after walking into the stripped shell of the house. We discussed why the stair and fireplace came out in a previous post, but as is often the case when we started peeling back the layers we had some surprises. We began with trying to save what we could but there were several issues that came up:
Subfloor is not attached and easily pushed below the support joist.
1) Lead paint detected on all existing drywall and cabinets/doors.
2) The wood floor was stripped because there was clearly an issue with the subfloor. We were surprised to find that the subfloor was only 1/2" and not secured in many places! You can see how bouncy it is in this video. It definitely needs to be replaced.
3) At some point some of the windows were replaced in our bedrooms, and were installed incorrectly. They barely opened and when the drywall was removed we found moisture damage below. These are being replaced with more efficient windows. Not to mention the insect nests we found beginning to form in the damp areas.
4) Our 'attic' is extremely shallow, and not really accessible. We had decided to remove the ceiling to replace the older insulation with spray foam...and found 50+ desiccated mice in the process. Sealing up the house will help with our energy efficiency but also with pest control!
5) And this was really interesting, finding actual holes in our exterior siding and ceiling. We conducted a negative air pressure test before beginning any work, and our report indicated that there were leaks around many of the windows, as well as around many of the outlets. We currently have 2 different kinds of siding finish, and will replace them all with out-sulation to create a warm thermal blanket around our house.
Many of the materials we stripped such as brick, operable windows and doors were re-used or rehomed with other people. Finding a contractor passionate about re-use and recycling was important to us.
Renovating an existing building is always a journey into the unknown. Exposing the structure changed the way we had to engineer the open plan spaces as the supporting walls were in a different location than we expected. But starting with a clean slate brings a certain clarity to the project and now we can watch th3 layers build up to create this reinvigorated space!