With work underway, and the Kitchen cleaned of minor debris (how many wisk brooms does one person need, anyway?), we really started to see what we had to work with (see it came from inside the wall to see what we did not have to work with). You will notice a change in wall texture. We went from old dirty gloss paint to mat plaster. This is because homes built within the first half of the 20th Century would often have their utility rooms and wet rooms skinned in a canvas oil cloth and then they would paint them with 7 layers of gloss oil based enamel so that 50 years later, when you peel off the cloth, all the layers of paint shatter and blow off like Confetti and get stuck in your hair.

The cloth also served as a protective barrier so that the plaster would not be damaged while in use in high traffic areas. It blocked water and oil, prevented stains and dings and also hid any minor cosmetic issues that could come to light over time (cracks). There is the double edge sword in this brilliant concept. The canvas not only hid small cracks, it hid big ones too. So, after peeling the canvas, we had to chip out the major cracks caused by settling and re-plaster.

You can also see a color change in the drywall, going from white plasterboard to green board, as well as a strong patched line in the ceiling. To me, this would indicate that there was once a wall separating the once even smaller kitchen from what used to be a Laundry Room or Service Porch.

You will also notice that the 8 foot shop light is gone, the hole patched, and 3 new j-boxes installed. These will be the new home to some great period lights I found at www.rejuvenation.com. They have with porcelain bases with milk glass shades and are a perfect match for the period of the home.

Labels: kitchens

So guess what I found behind the dryer? Yeah. A big hole. There was once a time when things shocked me, but that time has passed. It really makes dealing with things much easier. This huge void goes so far beyond the standard size required for venting and completely explains the evidence of vermin we were seeing. But, horror and chagrin aside, it did give a full view of the plumbing situation. And as you can see, we have a variety of electrical and pipe, one of which looks like it was picked up at a rummage sale at the Hoover Dam. You can also see one of the many random pilot holes (lower left) that perforated the wall. I am not sure if the goal that inspired the holes was ever achieved, but they were humorously plugged with paper towels and old newspaper. It is situations like these that you thank your GC heartily when you discover he always buys extra dry wall and mud.