1931 Ericsson Main Level Remodel
A remodel is underway. Take a look inside.
Follow along as we work with a South Minneapolis family to adapt the main level of their 1931 Tudor while providing critical updates to building systems that will keep the home aging well for decades to come.
Demo
Four Discoveries in One Week: What Demolition Revealed Inside a 1931 Tudor Home
You might expect demolition to uncover some kind of surprise. What about four? In the remodel of this 95-year-old home, demo meant confronting several unknowns while clearing it of anything that won’t be kept to achieve the Scandinavian-inspired design. We’ll show you just what’s been sitting behind the plaster, invisible, for nearly a century, from bundles of 1931 newspaper and hidden rot to an undersized bearing wall and potential for a vaulted ceiling.
If left unresolved, three of those would one day become serious issues, while one felt like a gift. Finding solutions for all four was the differentiator that kept the homeowners feeling positive despite the early twists and turns.
Let’s take a look.
Demolition starts with site prep for the homeowners and the crew.
After living in the home for two decades, the homeowners faced the challenging task of moving everything from their main level, including all their personal items, kitchen appliances, and even the antique light fixtures. In the meantime, our project manager verified that the demo crew had a clear sense of which building materials needed to be removed and which should be protected from debris kicked up during construction, such as the existing hardwood flooring and fireplace. Dust control in this plaster-filled environment would also be critical. We installed ZipWalls to seal off the entire upper level and select areas of the basement.
One Week and Three Dumpsters Later
Think of demolition as a staged, selective teardown coordinated across multiple trades when needed. In a week, we filled three 30-yard dumpsters with building materials pulled across the main level.
- Most of the debris came from removing the plaster walls and ceilings, which meant manually breaking up and hauling a material that’s much denser than standard drywall.
- We also installed temporary structural support where we removed the central wall separating the living room from the rest of the kitchen and dining room beyond.
- All the existing kitchen cabinets were removed along with one kitchen window, the front door, and the undersized back door.
- Outside of the demo team, the plumber and electrician also came out to perform the proper disconnects.
First find: Newspaper Insulation from the Year the House was Built
The open stud wall cavities confirmed why the homeowners could literally use their front entry as a secondary refrigerator in the winter. There was no real insulation, apart from the crumbling newspaper found in some of the framing. While this strategy may have been standard practice in the 30s, current residential building codes and local zoning codes require a far greater resistance against heat flow from inside to outside. The 1930s newspaper performed about as well as you would expect, and our South Minneapolis clients felt those uncomfortable temperature shifts for the entire twenty years of their homeownership.
While insufficient insulation in this home made it uncomfortable and inefficient, the old electrical system we saw next was an actual liability.
Electrical work in a home this age tends to accumulate rather than get replaced, and only once the walls were stripped could we really survey the situation: original runs, later work spliced into them, and circuits routed in ways that made sense to somebody at the time. Likewise, this kind of knob-and-tube wiring often lacks proper grounding for everyday electronics, and the amperage is typically much lower than what modern appliances require. Worse yet is the fear of electrical fires caused by heat building up inside walls due to overloaded circuits.
Modernizing both the insulation and the electrical work during this remodel will provide an added layer of security and value to the home as it continues to age.
“Our walls were so cold in the wintertime, and our AC couldn’t keep up in the summer. Our electrical was 95 years old.”
Homeowners, Ericsson Main Level Remodel
The second and third findings definitely needed to be found.
In two locations along the exterior walls, we discovered that while the framing was in good shape, the nearby sheathing had completely rotted. Our investigation brought us all the way to the roof, where improperly detailed flashing created an opportunity for water infiltration and, eventually, rot. Having worked in many other older homes in Minneapolis and St. Paul, we knew how to fix the issue without disrupting the entire construction timeline. We discussed options with the inspector and the homeowner, then quickly scheduled the repair to create a much stronger, safer home.
The next find was structural. The shared back-to-back closets in the rear bedroom and laundry were load-bearing, yet had been framed with only 1.5” studs, at least half the appropriate depth of what the wall should have been. While that system lasted 95 years, fixing the undersized structural support during framing will keep the house standing for another hundred years.
Neither of these fixes was optional once located, as they present immediate health and safety concerns. Finding issues with the walls already open, the crew already on site, and both our project manager and design team available meant faster problem-solving and fewer headaches for what would have been even bigger issues if left unresolved.
“Our project manager was just like, ‘We know how to do this, and it’s not uncommon. We’ve got a plan. We’ll keep it on schedule, and we’re going to get it done.'”
Homeowners, Ericsson Main Level Remodel
Fourth Find: An Unexplored Architectural Feature
When we removed the flat plaster ceiling at the main entry, our project manager saw that the gabled roof above offered the perfect opportunity to create a vaulted ceiling. This was the kind of opportunity that our designers and clients quickly agreed would make for an even better remodel. The new plan then is to frame and insulate the entry as a vaulted space, gaining height and light fixture options.
What happens after an unexpected surprise turns up?
All homes hold their mysteries, especially older ones. On a full gut of a 95-year-old main floor, we knew that the question was never whether something would turn up but what needed to happen right after a discovery. The process was straightforward: we considered the options, talked to the homeowners, then put the proposed work in the schedule right away. Simple right? Sure. But for our clients, who don’t have the experience we do, agile and communicative processes are the difference between feeling supported instead of overwhelmed. Plus, getting a full accounting of exactly how to stabilize this home provided even more evidence that the remodel was already adding value to the home the family planned to stay in long-term.
“As soon as something is found, there’s no hiding it or putting something over it. The conversation needs to be had, and then it needs to be fixed. I put together the options, then I go to the client.”
White Crane Project Manager
Next up: Framing
The main level is down to the studs. Soon, the bones will be rebuilt, including a new beam that will open up the kitchen to the living room.
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