UPDATE 5: Interior Demolition
It’s Finally Demo Time
When demo starts, the demolition crew looks at the plans to understand what areas of the home will be left untouched and what areas will be removed. Here is a rough outline of some of the larger items being removed:
- Walls: Interior walls like that from the kitchen to the dining room came out first. This wall in particular really closed off the kitchen and made the space feel incredibly tight. Existing crown along the wall will remain to provide consistency between the remodeled kitchen and the dining room beyond.
- Cabinetry: Cabinetry comes out next! Removing the cabinetry and appliances really opens the room for framing and rough-ins later!
- Soffits: In the previous kitchen layout, soffits hid plumbing pipes below the joists. We will eventually be removing those pipes and pushing the new plumbing into the floor cavity above, making the room feel and look much more open.
- Flooring: Our demo crew uses a small hammer drill with a flat bit to detach the kitchen tile from the subfloor. We also removed one entire layer of subfloor using a skill saw to cut rips into the plywood
- Plumbing and Electrical: The demo crew doesn’t directly remove the plumbing, electrical or HVAC, as the next trades coming in will want to see existing conditions and tie back into existing work as needed. Small pieces like the existing recessed lighting cans get taken down while the power is shut off.
Surprises You Won’t Like But Are Good to See
With the Walls down and the floor joists above exposed, sometimes you find a few surprises, like an unsupported beam. In fact, we’ll be adding 3 more LVLs at the location of the former kitchen closet, as the existing beam was short of the necessary bearing point, which could cause a structural failure. Our construction and design team specified all new LVLs to extended an additional 1.5′ passed the closet into the new mudroom. Though not the most fun reveal, these surprises are actually pretty beneficial. The greatest gift of a remodel, “Yikes – look what we found!” situation, is that our team can preemptively and effectively relieve an unseen issue before it causes big problems for the homeowners later on. We meet unexpected roadblocks with problem-solving and work with the homeowner to understand the problem and all possible solutions.
What is an LVL and Why Use them?
An LVL, laminated veneer lumber, is an engineered wood product made by layering wood and adhesives upon one another to form a rigid board. They are ideal structural products because of their relatively low cost and production variation and their impressive strength, especially with respect to their weight.
Demo – Cost Savings Versus Time Savings
Homeowners can save a little on remodeling costs if they do some of their own demo work. Consider the extent and magnitude of the labor first. Realistically, proper demolition work takes time, lots of tools, and tons of hard, sweaty work. It’s not glamorous, and if you’ve ever taken on your own demo, you know what we mean. The effort taken to take something apart thoughtfully and carefully can be immense. Also, consider not only how much time you can reasonably give to the task but also how much you’ll be handling. Specialty areas like plumbing and electrical are involved on top of the heavy hauling. The physical demands of the process are certainly no small part of the process. Even so, if changing the budget a little is a motivator, considering a little sweat equity might be right for you.
