Ask the Home Remodeling Specialists…

What’s Inside Your Walls?

When we open up a wall during a remodeling project on an older home, we never really know what we will find.  It’s one of the most vexing and intriguing aspects of remodeling.

Sometimes we find a litany of unpleasantries: creative (unsafe) framing, questionable or illegal wiring, carpet over asbestos tile, and dead rodents of all types.  All of these things have to be cleaned out, and cleaned up, whether with a broom, a hammer and new studs, or an abatement company.   The expense involved varies, though it invariably involves additional cost to the homeowner.

House Age Related

Some of these problems can be generally anticipated based on the age of the home. However, there’s almost always something that surprises everyone: the rogue run of power cord buried in the wall, electrical tape covering the connections; the plumbing that would not have passed code anywhere at any time; the rock holding up three stories at the back of a home.  All of them make me shake my head and wonder: What were these people thinking?

House History

Those open walls also provide a road map to the history of the home.  It can be entirely evident from the framing where there was once a window or a door, or where stairs once ran.  All of these are clues to the home’s past, and the relative skill of those altering it – a sometimes cryptic record of remodels, both small and large.

Fascinating Finds

Inside the walls there are also sometimes amazing finds.  Sometimes it’s as simple as a scrawled number or measurement on framing lumber, or a glass soda bottle left unintentionally and plastered over before anyone noticed.

There’s also the newspaper.  At a time when insulation wasn’t commonly installed, many homeowners stuffed their walls with newspaper, or layered it on to try to keep the cold and damp out of their homes.

If Forest Gump had been a remodeling contractor he probably would have said: Opening up a wall is like a bowl of cherries – you never know what’s inside.