Demolition Archives

October 8, 2018December 7, 2023

Kitchen Ceiling and Electrical Demolition

Day #48

October 7, 2018 – Today I completed the kitchen ceiling removal and started the electrical demolition. There was work on both the inside and outside of the cottage.

Inside Demolition

I removed the batt insulation and ceiling fiber board. The insulation was very dirty and covered with nut shells and mouse turds. I am really hoping that the mice are long gone because, as we know, mice are a real pain in the ass!

With the ceiling removal complete I started on some electrical demolition and re-wiring.

I removed the old school fluorescent light. This light fixture only worked about half the time! To take the place of the fluorescent light I rigged up some temporary construction lights.

One wall in the kitchen and one wall in the living room will be removed for the kitchen expansion. Therefore, on these two walls, the outlets and wiring were removed for demolition safety. With the living room exterior outlet removed we will use the new exterior GFCI outlets.

Kitchen Ceiling Demolition — Preparation for the removal of the kitchen ceiling.

Old Fluorescent Light Fixture — Just prior to the removal of the old florescent light fixture.

In the process of removing outlets I opened several junction boxes in the ceiling. It is surprising to see the connections inside are soldered and wrapped in old style fabric electrical tape. I don’t know if this was common practice in the 1950’s or not but I’m sure it takes a lot more time to install!

Electrical Demolition - Kitchen Junction Box — Kitchen junction box with soldered connection, old fabric electrical tape and burned wire.

The outer jacket on the old wiring is brittle and comes right off. On some of the wire there appears to be burn marks on the insulation. I don’t know if this is from soldering or overheating but it confirms our suspicions that the old wiring needs replaced.

Outside Demolition

I removed the old motion-activated flood lamp from the corner of the cabin. As it turns out, this light was not installed correctly. The installer did not use a weatherproof junction box. For this reason, the internal wiring and connections can exposed to rain and snow. This could have caused a short circuit and possibly a fire. We have another light just like this at the other end of the cabin. You can bet I’ll be removing it on the next trip.

Old Flood Light — Old motion-activated flood light removed from cottage exterior.

Cottage Exterior - Old Flood Light — Old flood light removed from this corner of the cottage.

Next weekend I hope to remove the remaining wing wall and open up more of the living room ceiling.

August 13, 2018March 31, 2024

Frost Wall Demo

Day #35

August 11, 2018 – Today we set out to do some frost wall demo. I rented a concrete saw from BestLine Equipment in Mechanicsburg. When we got it to the cottage I realized that it was to big for what we needed to cut. I was not able to get the saw close enough to the top of the wall to make a cut. Because the was too low to the ground I couldn’t cut along the face either.

Plan B was the old 3 lb. hammer and chisel. Fortunately the wall along the front of living room was constructed with large river rocks. Concrete does not stick to river rocks so I was able to easily hammer and chisel 6″ off the top of that section of wall.

I hoped to remove a section of frost wall along the side of the living room for the new kitchen sink drain piping. This wall was all concrete. The saw was to big to cut it and it was to hard to hammer and chisel. Looks like we will re-route the drain line.

After the frost wall demo I continued on the floor framing while Robrandi leveled out and backfilled the low areas. It was still all mud. She used the lawn tractor to smooth it all out. At the end of the day we were ready for landscape fabric and stone.

Frost Wall - Concrete Saw — Concrete saw was to large to use.

Frost Wall - Hammer & Chisel — Frost wall demo with a 3 lb. hammer and chisel.

Frost Wall - Ledger Board Framing — Ledger board framing above the old porch wall.

Frost Wall - Floor Framing — Floor joist framing at new kitchen addition along the frost wall.

July 9, 2018March 31, 2024

River Rock Demolition

RainDay #15

June 23, 2018 – Not much going on today. It was very hot and humid. The mosquitoes were horrendous. I dug some of the big river rock out from under the living room door. It seems that area was excavated and back filled with primarily river rock.

Rained all night and filled the plumbing trenches.

On Sunday so we packed up early morning and headed home. On the next trip I hope to start batter boards and layout.

Good news was that it was the opening day for the Pennsylvania Art of the State 2018 Exhibition. I have one image in the show. Get down there and see it!

River Rock — Some of the river rock under the living room door.

Flooded Trenches — Plumbing trenches flooded from over-night rain.

July 3, 2018February 22, 2024

Concrete Porch Demo

Day #14

June 17, 2018 – Wolfley Excavation & Septic Pumping was on site today to remove, load up and haul away the remains of the concrete porch.

river During the excavation we discovered the removal of the frost wall sections under the kitchen and living room doors had the potential to damage existing piers. In light of this discovery we decided to leave two sections of frost wall in place. The section under the living room door seems to be backfilled with quite a bit of large river rock.

With the removal of the porch complete I can begin layout of the new kitchen and porch addition.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkxXAd6A7gY/

Concrete Porch Removal & Remaining Frost Wall — Two sections of frost wall could not be removed.

Porch Concrete Removed — Porch concrete removed.

July 2, 2018December 6, 2023

Back Bedroom

Day #13

June 16, 2018 – Today, underneath the cottage, I fixed two leaking cpvc elbows on the water system . In the back bedroom I got the rough opening for the new window framed out. We set the new window in place and sealed it up with Pella weather tape.

On the way to Shy Bear Brewing (our new favorite dining location in Lewistown) I had a run in with a snapping turtle. With a little luck he will make it to the water before getting run over by a lawn mower.

Wolfley’s Excavating & Septic Pumping is will arrive tomorrow to begin hauling the porch concrete away. Demolition should begin on the frost walls.

Back Bedroom - Window Rough Opening — Rough opening for new window framed in.

Snapping Turtle — Snapping turtle confrontation on the lane.

July 2, 2018December 6, 2023

New Bedroom Window

Day #12

June 6, 2018 – With the wall framing in place we decided the new bedroom window we purchased on Monday was to big. Today we went back out to Lowe’s and exchanged it for a slightly smaller model.

The new white Pella window looks a lot like the existing windows, which is good. It is also slightly smaller than the old windows but it’s not noticeable.

We ran out of time, so once again, the new window installation has to wait for another day.

New Bedroom Window — New window ready for installation.

June 27, 2018December 6, 2023

Sewer Pipe Tie In

Day #11

June 5, 2018 – Today I finished the sewer pipe tie in to the existing lateral. Now both the bathroom sink and the toilet flow into the septic tank. Provisions were made to tie in the kitchen sink in the future. Also began to backfill the sewer and drain trenches with pea gravel.

Demo’d the rotted out window/door panels in the back bedroom. Installed a new stud wall with exterior grade plywood and dried it in with a layer of #15lb felt. We worked until it was dark. The new window installation will wait for another day.

Sewer Pipe Tie In & Pea Gravel Backfill — Backfilling the sewer lateral with pea gravel.

Demo'd Opening — Rotted window/door panels removed.

New Stud Wall — New stud and exterior plywood wall dried in.

June 27, 2018December 6, 2023

Sewer Piping Repair

Day #10

June 4, 2018 – Today I got all the new pipe and fittings sorted and laid out. I finished digging up the existing sewer piping. Inside the bathroom I removed the toilet. Outside I started the sewer piping repair.

Tomorrow I should be able to tie in the new piping to what remains of the existing sewer lateral.

We sized up the rotted out bedroom window/door panels. Took another trip to Lowe’s to get studs, plywood and a window for the replacement work.

Once again had dinner at Wingman’s.

Sewer Piping Repair — New plumbing pipe and fittings.

Sewer Piping Repair Trench Excavation — Trench excavation for existing sewer piping.

Bathroom Toilet Removed — Bathroom toilet removed.

Rotted Windows — Rotted out window/door panels to be removed.

Harley's At Wingman's — Admiring the nice Harley’s at Wingman’s.

June 26, 2018December 6, 2023

Plumbing Supplies

Day #9

June 3, 2018 – Today we watched a Gray Catbird mother count her chicks, went to the Lowe’s to get some plumbing supplies, checked out Spuds McKenzie’s long lost cousin, Lewistown Louie and had dinner at the Wingman Brew-N-Que. Not a very productive construction day.

Tomorrow I’ll start the sewer piping repair.

Gray Catbird Nest — Momma Catbird counting her chicks.

Lewistown Louie guarding his beer stash.

June 26, 2018March 31, 2024

Sewer Piping

Day #8

June 2, 2018 – Today I dug up the sewer piping from the bathroom and discovered that the 4 inch elbow coming from the toilet waste had a crack in it. Also discovered that the bathroom sink is on it own 4 inch drain lateral.

I was hoping that the sink drain and toilet waste piping came together somewhere but that was not the case. I dug out from the cottage 12 feet and they did not meet up.

Rather than dig all the way to the septic tank we’ll install new 4 inch schedule 40 pvc piping and tying them together outside the edge of what will be the new porch foundation. I hope that this will hold up well into the future.

Sewer Piping Cracked Elbow - Toilet Waste — Cracked Elbow – Toilet Waste

Sewer Piping Drain & Waste Laterals — Separate 4 inch sink drain and toilet waste laterals running parallel.

Tomorrow we will have to make a trip to Lowe’s for sewer piping supplies.