Well, the den is 95% finished. There is some touch up work here and there and we need to hang the light fixtures once they arrive.
The living room is finished except for the bookcase doors that Juan is building.
Here are some photos.
The plaster ceiling in our den has been torn down. We now have open access to easily update the electrical work, plus add some wall sockets. I guess there is always a silver lining?
Later today the plumber is coming to remove an old gas line that is coming out of the baseboard. It is capped but still live. The gas line was leaking when we first moved into the house so I am relieved to see it go. We are having the open walls and ceiling cavity sprayed with borate to prevent future termite infestations.
Sometimes, I’d rather not know. Really, really rather not know. Really. The plaster walls are in horrific shape. Wallpaper is the only thing holding the ceiling up. The plaster has completely disconnected from the lath. The plaster ceiling cannot be saved and will need to be replaced with drywall due to cost restrictions.
The wall between the kitchen and den had already been replaced with drywall by the previous owner. Once the drywall came off we found that 3 of the wall studs, which support the second story, are damaged by dry rot. That corner of the room sits underneath the upstairs bath. That must have been one hell of a water leak! The bottom of the studs are completely eaten through by dry rot in places. It makes me wonder why the second story hasn’t started to sink into the den?
We discovered that new copper plumbing had been installed. The thing that bothers me is that a hole was drilled through each stud along the wall to accommodate a copper pipe. This compromises the strength of the framing and it really pisses me off because this was something done recently when they should have known better!
On the same wall we found fraying 92 year old asbestos insulation around the heating duct and vent. We decided the safest course of action would be to encapsulate the asbestos with duct tape since removing it could cause a lot of fibers to be released into the air because of the way the duct runs up between two stories.
We also discovered an old termite infestation. There were no live termites but they had been there and eaten away some of our window frame and the lath. To top things off, mold was growing on some of the lath.
Gee, lets see, termites, mold, asbestos, questionable plumbing practices, dry rot, and shot plaster. A homeowner’s worst nightmares encapsulated in one 12′ x 12′ space. It was another bang up day in home ownership!
See our sad little den.
Juan’s team has made fast progress in the den. Most of the paint has been stripped off the woodwork. They will start removing wallpaper from the walls next. Hopefully, the walls in that room will be in better shape.