The first project I got into with Chez Melendy was the complete demolition of the interior walls. This was a pretty drastic measure considering it meant I was going to throw away a good part of the house that I just spent a quarter of a million dollars on, but there were several reasons I felt it best.
The house had never been renovated since its construction, aside from modernizing improvements such as indoor plumbing and electrical service. It was good that nobody had gone in and destroyed original details that might be worth saving but it was bad that there was no insulation; the electrical was a patched together system that included remnants of every kind service since its invention (knob and tube, cloth insulated 2-conductor, metal conduit, and romex); and there were a variety of toxic materials covering the walls and floor such as lead paint and asbestos. It was also bad that the couple who lived there prior were heavy smokers. The plaster walls were virtually imbedded with stale tobacco smoke. Why did I buy this house you ask?
I imagine that few people embark on a gut renovation project with any real knowledge of what they're getting into. On paper it makes perfect sense, get rid of everything you don't want then rebuild and restore the house to your liking. Demolition can be fun, right? Get out your frustrations on tearing apart some walls, and all that. Strap on a dust mask grab a crow bar, and go to it. Unfortunately the fun of destroying walls fades pretty fast, and the work of gutting a small house takes an enormous amount of physical energy and much longer than you might expect, not to mention the bleak task of dismantling something that someone else put together through hard work and sweat 100 years prior.
The first thing to consider in any demolition project is disposing the waste. Getting rid of construction and demolition debris (C & D as it's know in the waste disposal business) is not cheap. The best option is to rent a Dumpster. Disposal and recycling companies provide Dumpsters in sizes from 1.5 cubic yards to 40 cubic yards on up, and charge handsomely using a variety of fee schedules. If you've got a big project, try to find a company that doesn't charge a time-based rental fee. Despite your best hopes of completing demolition in a given amount of time, like every aspect of a renovation project, it's going to take longer.
Because my town has a transfer station that provides a C & D Dumpster, I opted to haul the debris myself. It was a substantial savings but meant handling what turned out to be tons of material a few more times than if I was throwing it into a Dumpster parked in the driveway. Looking back, it's difficult to say whether this was right way to go. I could have saved myself a lot of heavy lifting by spending more on a disposal service, but it's also true that the money I saved meant more available for making improvements to the house down the road.
The tools of destruction are basic. A flat pry bar was the handiest of all. It worked great for pulling old plaster away from its wooden lathing, poked holes in wallboard with one swing, and yanked nails will little effort. I also wielded a small sledge hammer for loosening up the more stubborn plaster and boards, used a shovel to clear the floors, and carried it all away in contractor bags.
A reciprocating saw was indispensable and has remained so throughout every stage of my renovation project. Don't skimp on selecting one of these. There seems to be no end to uses for this fine invention. Get a good one and it'll serve you well for years. A word of caution though when wielding a sawzall: be sure of what lurks behind the wall. It's easy to overlook the possibility of electrical service or plumbing runs when you're hell-bent on destruction, and the ease and speed at which these saws work can get you into trouble quickly. Another word of caution is: be aware of what kind of wall you're destroying. Is it simply a partition, or is it providing structure to the floor above?
But even before picking up the tools of destruction, you'll need to dawn the equipment of health and safety. Don't get started on demolishing an old house wearing a bandana wrapped over your mouth and nose. And don't think a dust mask held in place with a rubber band is going to offer you sufficient protection. Old houses contain all kinds of materials that can become serious health hazards when released into the air as particulate. The microscopic size of many of these particles pass easily through your 10 cent dust mask.
Invest in a professional respirator that provides HEPA certified protection from fine particulate, and read the instructions closely. An improperly worn respirator is as good as wearing none at all. Wearing a respirator takes a little getting used to but consider it as another tool of the trade, complete with a learning curve. Your lungs will thank you.
I donned a Tyvek suit for all the demo work as well. It made it easy to leave the dust at the worksite and not bring it home in my hair and work clothes. I also left my shoes at work. Anything that might carry harmful particles home to where the family might inhale them I did my best to leave amongst the debris.
After all this you might wonder why not pay some unskilled labor to gut your old house project. There's certainly an argument for that. But there were also many decisions I made while busting things apart, especially what NOT to destroy. The charm of an old house is the sum of many little things that can easily get swept away in a demolition. A piece of old door hardware, a fragment of wallpaper, an odd-shaped lintel. These things may seem like junk to some, but to the old house restorer, they can be irreplaceable. And you also never know what treasures you might find hidden in the walls....
handyman
Now I was about to cut into one of the framing members that was probably carrying some of that extra load. Before I started, I thought it best to replace the severed joist.
With the new joist in, I was ready to start cutting away at the rotted sill. There's still the issue of the wall studs that are supported by the sill, and how much sill I can cut out without providing support for those. There are 4 in question. The two on either side of the front door weren't getting any real support from the sill because of the rot, so I'm not worried about those. The two studs on either side of those, however, may be carrying some load. I'm relatively confident that I'll be alright taking the sill out from under those if I have to. Again, the wood frame has the ability to transfer its load through the sheathing and across the top plate. It's not like removing one leg of a three-legged stool. It's more like taking 4 legs from a 60 legged stool. Still, I'll be removing pieces of the rotted beam carefully, and plan on providing temporary support where I can.
