Last weekend the temps at night were finally such that I decided to strip off the sheetrock in the south-facing wall in the living room. I immediatly found why the heating bills were so high, but why the house stayed cold.
Yes, you can see pa duct running up outside the wall because the top 9" of wall has no plywood on the outseid - it is open to the overhan of the foof. So I spent a lot of time custom cutting plywood pieces to scab into the holes.
last night I caulked the edges of the plywood to keep insects and small rodents from using that as an egress into the house. It will be several weeks that this area is open as I plan on replacing the window. I also plan on stripping a whole lot more sheetrock in other rooms as those holes at the top have to go the entire perimeter of the house (the configuration of the roof guarentees that).
Already used to any project in this house being more involved and taking longer than it should becasue of all the weird issues that crop up.
How in the world did that house pass code to get a certificate of occupancy? Or...is NH so independent that no one has ever bothered with such niceties? *laughing* I see/read no mention of insulation? Egad! Aren't you glad that you took the sheetrock down - even if it leads to a whole-house perimeter of work? Well done!
Posted by: Cop Car | May 17, 2014 at 09:16 AM
Hah, I can believe it. The things you find when you start pulling down walls (my parents discovered that at some point previous their house had had a fire......)! Don't feel to bad, ours passed inspection dispite having several pieces of water pipe replaced with electrical conduit and no shut offs in critical places, like, under the sinks....
Posted by: Ruth | May 17, 2014 at 09:36 AM
The probably didn't have inspections back in 1960. Heck, they may not even have had codes back then. There is no state enforced code. Each town decides to adopt (or not) a code if the voters chose to. Deering didn't give occupancy permits until we forced them to in 1989 because the bank required one before they would convert our construction loan to a regular loan. A couple of years later it became a warrant article that the townpeople voted on to pass.
Posted by: bogie | May 17, 2014 at 08:33 PM
I already knew there was no insulation, that was the reason I tore out the wall. Just didn't realize the extent of the issue.
Posted by: bogie | May 17, 2014 at 08:41 PM
Ruth - our inspection consisted of the inspector putting his hand behind the insulation and making sure we used real wire and not extension cord. He never looked at the plumbing or any other part of the electrical.
Posted by: bogie | May 17, 2014 at 08:42 PM
When you sell that house, you will be able to offer a whole photo album attesting to the condition of parts unseen.
Posted by: Cop Car | May 18, 2014 at 09:43 AM