Old Sink Removal

Today we removed the old 1950s era Sears sink in the original kitchen of the house in preparation to remove layers of flooring including cheap stick-on tiles from the 1990s on top of thin sheets of luan flooring, and what appears to be yet another layer of cheap floor covering to expose the original floor, and also so that the lead paint can be treated on the trim, and the walls repaired.

I knew that there was significant rot beneath the sink but I was surprised to see the extent of the damage, caused by probably decades of neglect which had caused severe rot to a main support beam, baseboard, flooring, wall studs and plaster.  You can easily see straight through to the basement!  Now I know why they had nailed big pieces of metal sheeting to the wall and floor behind the sink fixture.

I also removed a hideous lighting fixture which was wired up with old armored cable (the cable that replaced primitive knob & tube wiring) which contains two conductors (it is hence ungrounded) of copper wire covered with rubber and fabric insulation with a metal outer jacket.  Since I've found no evidence of knob & tube in our house, this is likely the original electrical wiring installed in our house, circa 1930s!

Next plumbing / demo project…  removing the old bathroom toilet, sink and bath tub!

We're in Hot Water!

Just a little note from the Mister:

By far the most insanely frustrating task I have ever attempted as a homeowner is repairing leaking old water pipes and shutoffs. Finally, after a couple of challenging days and many failed attempts at properly sweating a solder joint (I soldered entire sections only to find several leaks and to have to deconstruct the whole thing), I have successfully replaced 3 elbows, 2 Ts, a ball valve with drain, and a copper sleeve to join two butt ends of 3/4" tube. What a relief to have the water working again!

Big announcement!

This blog has been quiet.  Too quiet.  Suspiciously quiet perhaps.  Here is why: we have been working for the last year to secure a new loan.  A special loan to cover the cost of removing and encapsulating the lead paint we found out is all over our first floor.
Lead is kind of a big deal when you have kids.  A lot of the work on our house stopped because of our fear of releasing lead dust into the air.  Peter took a course to teach him how to safely do some of the work but a lot of it takes specialized training, and the costs are high.  We found a contractor in the next town over, and work will begin hopefully on March 1st.
This means we have to move out.  For 4-6 weeks.
So yay! but a simultaneous ugh! We have two littles and have to move out of our home, and away from our animals for a long time.  I have tons of more thoughts on this, but not much time to share them.  Perhaps later?
I'm going to be photographing the entire house before work starts, posting them room by room, and asking your opinions on some things because on top of the paint, we're stripping all wall paper, floors, and tearing down ceilings at the same time.  We might even get wild and relocate a small wall.
Best,
Jenny Lee