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Warning: The week I had to rewire a 1920s house in Cincinnati changed my view on old work

Last week I was in a 1920s bungalow replacing knob and tube, and the plaster walls were a nightmare. My apprentice, Jake, wanted to just fish new wire, but I insisted on opening more walls to be safe. We found three spots where the old cloth insulation was totally gone behind the plaster. What's your rule of thumb for how much demo is needed on these old jobs?
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3 Comments
maryt62
maryt627d ago
Opening more walls is always the right call.
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terry_carter15
My last kitchen reno needed three walls opened up just to run new plumbing for the dishwasher. The plaster dust got into everything, even the fridge across the room. It's like a law of home projects, for every wall you open, you create two more weekends of cleanup and repair work. I'm all for it, but you better really want that new layout.
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the_charlie
While @maryt62 is right, I also budget for the plaster repair that opening walls always creates.
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