As I took a break on Saturday, while gutting the ensuite bathroom, I quietly contemplated the events that brought me to this point. Virtually every selling point of the house that attracted us to it in the first place will be gone by the time I finish renovating. A feeling of anger came over me as I watched beads of sweat meander amongst the drywall and dust caked to my arms. Had the previous owner done his renovations properly, my life would be a whole lot easier, and my bank account a whole lot fatter. Instead, I am faced with the daunting task of rebuilding the house from the inside out.
Selling point: Ensuite bath with jacuzzi tub
Status: 50% gutted. As I tore down the drywall, I found some more hidden problems, like inaccessable junction boxes, and wiring sandwiched between the studs and the drywall. One of the studs had some significant rot, likely due to the fact that this bathroom did not have adequate ventilation. There was also a fair amount of mold behind the vanity. The visible electrical work was bad enough: plugs and switches that were easily reached from the tub– a big no-no in the electrical code. The hidden stuff was downright scary. Frankly, the more I find, the more I am surprised that the previous owners didn’t suffer serious injury or death.
Awkward demolition
The area where the toilet sat is only about 2 feet wide. Turns out that it is very awkward to use a pry bar to remove drywall in such tight quarters. My shoulder hurts.
Ceramic tile on drywall is heavy
I was able to pry off sections of drywall in fairly large pieces, with the ceramic tile intact. Those were heavy enough. Broken ceramic tiles and chunks of drywall debris filling a garbage pais are even heavier. My shoulder hurts.
Working alone is a pain in the butt (or in my case, shoulder)
Making multiple trips through the house to transport debris to the dumpster is not only time consuming, but also fairly fatiguing. My shoulder hurts I think it’s just a muscle strain. With the daily charges for the dumpster starting tomorrow, I’ll just have to work through the pain. Today, I took a break.
Still a lot of demo to go
I still have a LOT of drywall to take down in the ensuite. The outside walls should be especially fun, considering there is drywall over the original gypsum board and plaster. I plan to spread the work out over a few days. I also want to rip the tile and hardwood up off the floor while I have the dumpster, so that will probably take at least a day in and of itself. Oh yeah, and the basement too That will probably happen next week. My friend has offered to help me, so there will be at least one day that we are able to get a lot done. I’ll probably have the dumpster here for a couple of weeks. And considering the amount of debris, I doubt that my deposit will completely cover the expense.
On a positive note
The piles of scrap that were outside for more than a year are now gone! My neighbours must be thrilled.