Renovations?

[Mia]

Do any of you do renovations? Live in a quite old home, and things tend to fall apart or simply not be what's expected. Decided to plaster some holes made when I put up some pictures. The drywall began to crumble, so, we decided to remove the drywall (in this case it's 63 yr old gypsum board) and re-drywall the room. We removed the drywall with it's layers of old wallpaper and paint, almost as thick as the original drywall, and found out that there was no real insulation.
Underneath were one foot wide spruce boards, with their cracks filled with horsehair, grass and long pieces of burlap. In back of the wood boards is another layer of wood and then the sheathing of the house. It was a shock to discover no insulation other than wood and burlap and grass. Has anyone encountered this type of thing during reno's before? What have your experiences with renovations been like?

 

[Streetwise]

i know in suffolk and Norfolk and other parts of England horse hair mud were used on the outside of buildings and some new owners get a new supply and stick it on again internet says clay animal dung and straw make daub and woven lengths of wood called wattle are underneath the daub this technique was used on medieval houses in England
the org English heritage probably might have more info as in the UK old houses are protected by grade listings grade 2 is the oldest and grade 1 the more recent

Do any of you do renovations? Live in a quite old home, and things tend to fall apart or simply not be what's expected. Decided to plaster some holes made when I put up some pictures. The drywall began to crumble, so, we decided to remove the drywall (in this case it's 63 yr old gypsum board) and re-drywall the room. We removed the drywall with it's layers of old wallpaper and paint, almost as thick as the original drywall, and found out that there was no real insulation.
Underneath were one foot wide spruce boards, with their cracks filled with horsehair, grass and long pieces of burlap. In back of the wood boards is another layer of wood and then the sheathing of the house. It was a shock to discover no insulation other than wood and burlap and grass. Has anyone encountered this type of thing during reno's before? What have your experiences with renovations been like?

 

[xudo]

The house we live in is only around 30 years old, and to be honest I wouldn't have a clue about renovating anything. My first thought would be to call someone who I could pay to do something. My Dad basically gutted (not himself, he paid builders) his parents house after he inherited it. It's over 200 years old and was in a very sorry state. Now, you'd never know all the issues it had.

 

[Mia]

These two walls seem to be the only un-insulated walls which are in the living room. Don't know why the grandparents didn't do these. All the other rooms are insulated. We originally built a floor to ceiling bookcase here, then moved it to another room. When we removed it, the room seemed to be colder than the other rooms. Now, we understand why.

Many Canadians and Americans do their own renovations by the way, home renovation in north america is a not unusual hobby for many. People teach themselves basic electrical, plumbing, carpentry, over the years I've done a great deal of this sort of thing. It's rare for homeowners to hire others unless it's roofing or major building.

 

[Streetwise]

just realised i got the grades in the wrong order grade 1 is the oldest and grade 2 most recent

 

[Questella]

I always loved doing stuff like this. I was fixing up my dads when his drug dealer other daughter and drug dealer boyfriend moved in on top of what I was doing and destroyed everything I was doing. They are still there. -._-.

Then they actually had the audacity to ask me when I was going to finish it for them.

I need to do a lot of work where I live now but I can't get more than 10$ together to do anything. I had done a lot of work about nearly 10 years ago but air conditioners and leaking pipes have rotted out many areas and now have to be replaced.