Ok, so after retiring and moving north to an old but renovated farm house I started in early February to renovate the only room that wasn't done - the kitchen. I'll try to recall how to add some photos.
Construction isn't my forte but I'm good at breaking things. So I got busy pulling things out, I mean right to the studs. Back in 1940 they didn't insulate these homes I guess. Basically it was built, (starting from the inside) vertical 7/8" tongue and groove Hemlock and Ash, tar paper, horizontal planks, then the fully 2x4 studs, more horizontal planks (now on the outside), tentest and then horizontal ship-lapped wood siding.
Besides several old mouse nests (in the walls and one in the ceiling) I found neat little artfacts that had been dropped behind the counter over the years; necklaces, buttons, darning needles, a file, knives etc. But the two coolest things I found were, 1. a receipt from a long gone car dealership for a new 1959 Plymouth, made out to the original house owner. He traded in his '54 Ford and the total price came to $1998.00. 2. a gun registration dated 1940 made out to the same owner for a Winchester 32 lever. It was signed by the local Police Chief (the Police Force has long been taken over by the Provincial Police) and had all the owners particulars, ethnic origin, occupation, intended use for the gun, serial number. I couldn't believe we had a long gun registry in Canada back then. I wondered if it had something to do with the war being on. The really interesting part was when I showed it to my neighbor. Without knowing, he ahd bought the gun from a local and had never known it came form his neighbor who had passed away when he was a boy. I gave him the registration to frame.
One not so nice thing I found was a series of live wires that led to an old switch box that was buried behind the wall! I discovered that there was an old entrance that led out the back. They had for whatever reason buried the door behind the wall and put kitchen cabinets there. You can see the old door frame behind the stove in one of the pictures.
Further, all the floor joists for the second floor were simply nailed to the studs, not supported by a plate. I fixed that and stopped worrying - the house after all has stood for 75 years with no sagging anywhere.
When I got the kitchen out, I sprayed expanding foam everywhere, insulated, vapor barriered, dry walled and now the pros have taken over to tape, mud and install the kitchen. It's looking good now although I don't have any recent photos of the taped and mudded product.. We'll paint later this week and the kitchen goes in next week. Yaaay! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
Too much fun - especially doing all the work outside in the snow!.
I
Construction isn't my forte but I'm good at breaking things. So I got busy pulling things out, I mean right to the studs. Back in 1940 they didn't insulate these homes I guess. Basically it was built, (starting from the inside) vertical 7/8" tongue and groove Hemlock and Ash, tar paper, horizontal planks, then the fully 2x4 studs, more horizontal planks (now on the outside), tentest and then horizontal ship-lapped wood siding.
Besides several old mouse nests (in the walls and one in the ceiling) I found neat little artfacts that had been dropped behind the counter over the years; necklaces, buttons, darning needles, a file, knives etc. But the two coolest things I found were, 1. a receipt from a long gone car dealership for a new 1959 Plymouth, made out to the original house owner. He traded in his '54 Ford and the total price came to $1998.00. 2. a gun registration dated 1940 made out to the same owner for a Winchester 32 lever. It was signed by the local Police Chief (the Police Force has long been taken over by the Provincial Police) and had all the owners particulars, ethnic origin, occupation, intended use for the gun, serial number. I couldn't believe we had a long gun registry in Canada back then. I wondered if it had something to do with the war being on. The really interesting part was when I showed it to my neighbor. Without knowing, he ahd bought the gun from a local and had never known it came form his neighbor who had passed away when he was a boy. I gave him the registration to frame.
One not so nice thing I found was a series of live wires that led to an old switch box that was buried behind the wall! I discovered that there was an old entrance that led out the back. They had for whatever reason buried the door behind the wall and put kitchen cabinets there. You can see the old door frame behind the stove in one of the pictures.
Further, all the floor joists for the second floor were simply nailed to the studs, not supported by a plate. I fixed that and stopped worrying - the house after all has stood for 75 years with no sagging anywhere.
When I got the kitchen out, I sprayed expanding foam everywhere, insulated, vapor barriered, dry walled and now the pros have taken over to tape, mud and install the kitchen. It's looking good now although I don't have any recent photos of the taped and mudded product.. We'll paint later this week and the kitchen goes in next week. Yaaay! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
Too much fun - especially doing all the work outside in the snow!.
I