MB Remodel Pt II

Final demo is pretty much done and I have found a few structural issues that will need to be addressed. Mostly in that ceiling I oh so confidently announced would need no work. Man, that Murphy is a cold blooded fellow. Teach me to run my mouth.

When you're doing tear out on old houses there's no telling what you will find. Case in point. We found two dead spaces, that is space that was walled off and not used for anything besides collecting dust and insect carcasses. This is the north wall that is the bulkhead between the master and spare bedrooms. Note that big hole in the drywall on the right.

In the closet, on the east side was this built in shelf system.

Behind that and the bulkhead wall was a dead space that was about 2x2 and ran from floor to ceiling. It's not an issue just a head scratcher. Bear in mind that the closet space also had a dead space below the floor that also ran from side to side. I figure we'll add in about 75 cubic feet of space just by eliminating those two dead areas.

Time to get the rest of the drywall out. There's absolutely no reason this can't be fun as well as work. Here's Lu getting her Ninja destruction skills on.

And Heeerrrreeee's Sixie!

This is a good time to talk about recycling. I'm a big believer in reusing whatever I can. Within limits. Look at what you take out, especially dimensional lumber, with a critical eye. If it looks sound by all means use it if you can. If it looks even a little questionable my advice is to chuck it and use new. I tossed the top board but will reuse the one on the bottom. This is the time to look at everything and replace it if needed. Look for signs of termites, rot and structural failure. If in doubt now is the time to rip it out and replace it with new and modern materials. Chemically treat the surrounding areas as required. You'll never be in a better place to do this and the cost is much lower than having to rip out new construction to fix something you can easily do now.

The proper tools will also make the demo go easier and faster. Hammers, an assortment of pry bars and a Sawzall will make your job vastly simpler. That's me sawing out the old floor in the closet.

I recommend clean up as you go. We also take the time to do a thorough sweep up at the end of every day. It cuts down on the dust and you won't have to wade through piles of crap constantly. We have the trailer positioned in the backyard and a wheelbarrow outside the window so we can pitch stuff into it and carry it to the trailer pretty much constantly. And if you have a lovely assistant? Heaven!

Here's that North wall after final demo. You can see the closet opening and the spare bedroom behind the old bulkhead wall. I later covered that opening with a blanket.

All the drywall is out and the carpet and pad are gone. This is the view looking into the bedroom with the laundry room on the right.

This is from the bedroom, looking back toward the rest of the house with the laundry room on the left. That wall where Lu is standing will come down and be moved about 4 feet into the laundry room space behind her.

What's next? Well, the next phase will involve the structural changes I need to make as well as taking down the old walls and installing the new framing. I mentioned an issue with the ceiling. Take a look at this photo of the closet space we're eliminating. At the top you can see that the ends of the ceiling joists stop about 2 feet short of the masonry wall. That's bad because it turns out they are being used to brace the roof joists which are attached....poorly. I'll have to address this and in the next installment I'll show you what I decided to do. It will involve some new ceiling joists but not as many as I first feared as well as a new header for the roof joists and some new framing along the masonry wall. I'll also need to unload and extend these existing ceiling joists. It's going to be fun.

We're taking the rest of the day off, just because we can. That's the nice thing about working for yourself. Of course I do have to report to Lu but I know all her weaknesses :) I also have a video and if I can ever figure out how to download it I'll post it. More later.

Six