EcoRenovator - View Single Post - My "10 year project": rebuilding an efficient "tiny" crooked house in Canada

MetroMPG · 12-05-12, 06:21 PM

Here's what I've been up to in the West Wing (containing the bathroom & master bedroom - BLUE walls):

I've removed wall paneling, taken down all the drywall from the walls & ceilings, and expropriated a couple of old mice nests (long since empty, from the walls).

No vapour barrier, and about 2.5 inches of paper-backed fiberglass insulation:

I discovered a few interesting things about the West Wing:

1) It was added on years after the original part of the house (1910) was built. I know this because the bedroom "encapsulates" the northwest exterior corner of the house, and there were already several coats of paint on the exterior clapboard (maroon paint, left side of above pic), and on top of that a later layer of fake brick asphalt siding was there when the addition wall was nailed over top of all that.

This addition is at least 50 years old. In one section of drywall, I found a repair where someone had fixed a hole by wadding up newspaper, stuffing it in the hole & plastering over top. Date on the newspaper: May 31, 1963.

2) The house was already crooked by the time the West Wing / bedroom addition was built.

My plans for the bedroom are to:

1) rip up the floorboards to fix some rotten floor joists / wall bottom plate (water damage in one corner of the room from a leak in the roof, since replaced)

2) insulate the "crawl" space

3) add a window in the southwest wall (bottom left corner of the floor plan)

4) add 2 inches more insulation space to the inside of the walls, possibly also foam board on the exterior.

5) rewire (no grounded outlets)

BUT!

Before I start any of that, I'm going to the west coast for a couple of months. Woohoo!

10 year project!

12-05-12, 06:21 PM	#50
MetroMPG Infrequent noob Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: 1000 Islands region, Ontario, Canada Posts: 402 Thanks: 37 Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts	In the West Wing: bedroom deconstruction Here's what I've been up to in the West Wing (containing the bathroom & master bedroom - BLUE walls): I've removed wall paneling, taken down all the drywall from the walls & ceilings, and expropriated a couple of old mice nests (long since empty, from the walls). No vapour barrier, and about 2.5 inches of paper-backed fiberglass insulation: I discovered a few interesting things about the West Wing: 1) It was added on years after the original part of the house (1910) was built. I know this because the bedroom "encapsulates" the northwest exterior corner of the house, and there were already several coats of paint on the exterior clapboard (maroon paint, left side of above pic), and on top of that a later layer of fake brick asphalt siding was there when the addition wall was nailed over top of all that. This addition is at least 50 years old. In one section of drywall, I found a repair where someone had fixed a hole by wadding up newspaper, stuffing it in the hole & plastering over top. Date on the newspaper: May 31, 1963. 2) The house was already crooked by the time the West Wing / bedroom addition was built. My plans for the bedroom are to: 1) rip up the floorboards to fix some rotten floor joists / wall bottom plate (water damage in one corner of the room from a leak in the roof, since replaced) 2) insulate the "crawl" space 3) add a window in the southwest wall (bottom left corner of the floor plan) 4) add 2 inches more insulation space to the inside of the walls, possibly also foam board on the exterior. 5) rewire (no grounded outlets) BUT! Before I start any of that, I'm going to the west coast for a couple of months. Woohoo! 10 year project! Attached Images __________________ . To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.