Opportunity Lost?

By Bruce W. Maki, Editor.

Over the years I have seen many remodeling projects where the homeowner or contractor had removed the drywall, siding or flooring and passed up many good opportunities. Whenever a surface finish is removed there is almost always a chance to repair, upgrade, improve or enhance the things that lie beneath the surface.

Take interior walls, for example. When building a house, the drywall cannot be installed until the initial inspections are made for electrical, plumbing, heating/cooling, and of course, framing. Conversely, whenever an interior wall surface is removed, any of these systems could be examined or modified. Yet many people, contractors included, pass up the opportunity to improve what lies behind the wall. Why does this happen? Home owners often don’t know what enhancements could be made. And few contractors want to add complexity to their projects, such as bringing in an electrician for a minor change. Quite frankly, there aren’t many contractors that will give a darn about your heating bills. They are in business to make money, period. True, it would be a smart customer service to suggest some insulation upgrades, but it has to weighed against the profitability of the job.

Knowing what motivates the professional can shed some light on the many ways that Do-It-Yourselfer’s can actually exceed the quality of work that many contractors perform. Once a person knows the right way, the usual way, and the most common way of doing a job, then with a little information they can begin to exceed the customary level of quality.

• Insulation improvement, addition or replacement. A layer of foam could be added to enhance the existing insulation, at minimal cost. A vapor barrier can be added if none existed.
• Wiring update: addition of more outlets, wall sconces, light switches, wires to upper floors, wires to outdoor lights, phone and cable TV lines & jacks.
• HVAC: Additional ducting could be installed if some rooms were too hot or too cold. Ducts could be disassembled and cleaned.
• Plumbing: Repair and replacement of old pipes, especially galvanized steel. Old vent and drain piping could be corrected or updated. Drain cleanouts could be installed (with an access port in the new wall surface).
• Structural: Inspection of wall studs, window and door framing, water & insect damage inspection. Excessively cracked framing can be replaced or supplemented.

• Wiring, lighting improvements, addition of ceiling fans or recessed lights.
• Insulation enhancements, vapor barrier.
• Plumbing and HVAC improvements as above.
• If the ceiling in question is the underside of the floor above (such as the first floor ceiling in a two story house), then sagging or springy floors could be remedied by sistering the joists.

• Subfloor improvements: Squeaky floors can be remedied by locating the floor joists and screwing the subfloor down with deck screws. Subfloor could be removed to access wiring and plumbing, although this could be very time consuming.

• Additional foam panel insulation could be added.
• Structure could be inspected for damage.
• Plywood/OSB sheathing could be installed if rigid sheathing was not originally used. 
• Existing sheathing could be screwed to the studs, using deck screws.
• Sheathing could be painted with a good quality primer, to reduce the weathering effects of moisture transmission.
• An air barrier (Tyvek or Typar) could be added, to reduce wind infiltration.
• Additional outdoor lighting.

If there is a bottom line to this discussion, it’s that proper, careful, and detailed planning can result in the optimum remodeling job for the money and time invested. Many of my own projects over the years have involved long planning periods (sometimes months, or an entire winter) where I contemplated many different aspects of the task. Lately, I have been keeping file folders with notes of ideas and possibilities that I generate, so I can re-examine them (and remember them) later. Maybe this list will help someone discover what is possible when doing a major, surface-removing remodeling job.

If you have any additional points to add to the list, send them to us.

December 21, 1999

Copyright © 1999 HammerZone.com