Demolition is mostly done now, and the guys have started on rough carpentry. The big change this week was the transition from selective demo in the kitchen to full gut of the bathroom. We have definitely passed the point of no return …
From April 6, showing the open partition between kitchen and bath and old bead board in the bathroom that had been covered by sheetrock, probably since the 1980s. You can see where the old cast iron diffuser used to be, now patched with wood. We have one of these left, in the front entryway. Curious coincidence: the bead board seems to be painted the same color as the exterior of the house.
From April 7 … now showing big holes in floors as the contractor gets ready to patch weak spots in the floor or areas where the old boards were starting to pop up and form ridges. PVC waste piping in kitchen now cut back to a new rough in preparation for new piping.
By the end of the week, most of the major subfloor issues have been addressed, and most of the demolition is complete. Rough carpentry has started in the bathroom to prepare for recessed medicine cabinet and new volume control and thermostatic mixing valves in the shower.
It was slightly astonishing to see how many layers of construction there are in the bathroom ceiling – a layer of two-by framing below the original lath with water-stained ceiling tile, followed by a second layer of two-by framing above the gypsum ceiling that had been the finish ceiling before we started. But as depressing as it was to see how cheap the previous owners had been – I mean really, insert a new ceiling rather than spend a little extra on demolition? – it was very cool to see the old ductwork running between studs in the bathroom. The house was originally designed with forced-air heating and had beautiful ornamental cast iron diffusers in the walls near the floor. The tall baseboard would wrap around these diffusers, which pivot out from the wall during the heating season.