Deconstruction

Before demolition there is deconstruction.It is in this phase that you find very scary things, hysterical things, and some remaining gems that keep hope alive.

Before we made an offer on the house we pulled corners of carpet to check for wood floors. While in the crawl space we also looked for signs that the original wood floors had been removed. If for example, we saw new floor joists and plywood from below then we would know there were no wood floors waiting to be uncovered. Today, being bona fide owners of the property, I sliced into the carpet and ripped it back.

WOOD FLOORS! Beautiful wide plank floors in 4 of 5 rooms checked. This is good.

We are leaving the carpet down for a long time. Not only will it trap dirt that we put down, but we're hoping that it will keep the dust down in the house. We also know that there are holes in the floors- you can feel soft softs in different places. The carpet will help us not break ourselves while doing demolition.

Harris and I were very curious to figure out if we're dealing with plaster or drywall. Our little house has plaster and I love the soundproofing it provides. In the big house we had to remove the plaster as after we removed the paneling and drywall, the plaster fell off the lathe in huge chunks. Removing plaster and lathe is gross and time consuming. We were hoping that our new place did not require that.

4/5 rooms in the house have paneling covering the walls. Today, I removed some of the paneling and found the fireplace (double sided) and that some walls are studs with paneling affixed directly and others have 20 year old drywall underneath. So far, the only plaster we've found has been near the fire place and in the "undisturbed" room. We will remove more paneling on date night and post pictures. Today, I used the claw of a hammer and flashlight to peer behind.

Hysterical - After finding the double fire place I went looking for the other side fireplace. Since the house was a duplex, the right side needed to have a heating mechanism. I went to the back bedroom and pulled at the paneling on what I was 99% sure was a fireplace.



I pulled back the paperboard paneling to reveal....




...more paneling! The second layer was wood type paneling that seemed to be of a higher quality and much older. I'm guessing some slumlord installed in the 1970s or 1980s to class up the joint. I wanted to check on the condition of the chimney, but Mad'lberry woke up from her nap so we headed home for a shower.