House Update

Wonder what’s been going on at our house?

Restoration Diary, ,

The walls of the den are being plastered.

So much better than before!

This wall and the ceiling will be drywalled with a skim coat of plaster over it.

Comments { 2 } February 4, 2004

Den Disaster

Too many things wrong to mention...

Restoration Diary, , ,

Sometimes, I’d rather not know. Really, really rather not know. Really. The plaster walls are in horrific shape.


Ceiling

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.


Sad plaster walls

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.


Dry rot

That corner of the room sits underneath the upstairs bath. That must have been one hell of a water leak!


Dry rot

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?


Ugh!

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.


Sad little den!

It was another bang up day in home ownership! Tequila. I need lots and lots of tequila.

Comments { 3 } January 27, 2004

Living Room Plaster Walls Update

Proof that even badly damaged plaster walls can be saved

Restoration Diary, ,

Juan worked a miracle on our walls. He replastered them and we’re very happy with how they turned out. It is such a relief from the way the plaster walls looked before.

These pictures were taken yesterday while the walls were drying. The areas that look a little yellow are areas that haven’t completely dried. They did a final skim coat of plaster on the walls today. They also started on the ceiling.

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Comments { 5 } January 9, 2004

Living Room Update

My plaster walls make me want to cry

Restoration Diary, ,


Our house is really starting to resemble “The Money Pit”

Progress is being made on our living room again. Juan and his team are back after taking 2 weeks off for the holidays. David and I had planned on doing some work in there, like removing wallpaper, while Juan was away.

Ok, actually I planned and was going to tell David about it later but never got motivated. I just avoided that room and even started using the back door so I wouldn’t have to walk through the living room and feel guilty. Bad, homeowner. Bad!


Look at all those cracks around the pocket doors!

It was probably for the best. Once the wallpaper came off we discovered the plaster walls are badly damaged. It would have made for a depressing New Year.


Detailed view of the damage to the plaster walls.


Plaster walls around the gentleman caller’s bench. That piece of wood is holding the plaster in place. The plaster has separated from the lath.


I’m not sure if you can see it in this photo, but there are several long cracks running through the plaster over the fireplace.

Please, excuse me while I cry…

Comments { 5 } January 6, 2004