(left) with all the crazy rain we’d been having, small leaks were appearing on one side of the house, mostly where there are weird wall/roof connections. so mathew was up on the roof last weekend fixing what he could before the next storm hit. (right) and then it was back to work on the downstairs bathroom. here he’s just removed the vent (i’m not sure i would be standing below it, but that’s just me…)
(left) here mathew is planning where the new window will go. it needs to move to the right because as it is now it would be partially inside the shower and partially outside… and it’s a crappy, leaky, aluminum window too. (right) here he’s cutting open the wall and getting REALLY upset at the irresponsible wiring someone has done.
he kept calling it “spaghetti junction” (i’m not sure if this is an official electrical term from his books or if he just made it up…) but here’s the problem: they’ve run individual wires right next to the gypboard so if anyone were to cut or nail into the wall they’d hit a live wire. he says the wires should be black or white showing which are live and which are neutral, and they should be grouped and run through holes in the middle of the studs and/or placed behind metal plates, NOT wrapped with electrical tape then stapled to the studs. freaky.
(left) here mathew is pulling out all the bad wiring. during a previous remodel, the ceiling was made much lower in the bathroom so there is lots of space above the ceiling. (right) here i am sorting through the debris from mathew’s demolition. i’m sorting nails for recycling, tile for reuse, wood for composting and everything else for trash.
(left) another shocking electrical find… the ceiling light must have had a mouse (or something? it wasn’t still there,) living in it many years ago. it had burrowed a hole in the fiberglass insulation and gnawed all of the plastic insulation off one of the wires. a fire waiting to happen!? that mouse must have had a miserable, short life. humans can’t stand fiberglass exposed to bare skin and lungs, imagine living IN it? (right) when mathew was down in the garage i climbed up the ladder to take a look around and on the ceiling found the original gas lamp fixture and this really cool wallpaper/tile pattern peeking out from underneath the plaster and paint…
sunday evening i was cleaning tiles for reuse and mathew thought i should do something more exciting: screwing up plywood where the old bathroom door way used to be. earlier i also helped with installing insulation and barrier paper on this wall but we don’t have photos of it.
hope this was an okay post. mathew said my previous post “rainy weekends” wasn’t very good..!