Doors, hardware, and trim (casing) make a house distinctive. Remove and store them till you are done with tearout and rough framing. Remove doors and hardware worth saving and clearly mark them “Salvage” so they don’t get tossed. Most of the time, it’s easy to pop hinge pins and lift doors out of the frame. But if that’s not possi­ble and hinge leaves are encrusted with paint, use an old screwdriver or a chisel good for little else to chip away paint from the screw heads. Or apply paint stripper.

To gently remove trim, first run a stiff putty knife between the frame and the trim to break the paint seal. Don’t use anything with a sharp blade, because a sharp blade will slice into the trim. Then gently tap a flat 8-in. prybar behind the trim, as shown in the photo below, preferably near the nails holding it down. Pry up along the entire length of the trim, raising it little by little. Be patient. As you remove trim pieces, use a per­manent marker to number the back of each so you can reinstall trim assemblies correctly.

REMOVING PLASTER AND DRYWALL

Whether you’re cutting a large hole for a skylight or gutting the whole ceiling, try to minimize the mess. Using a reciprocating saw with a demo blade to cut out 2-ft. by 2-ft. sections of drywall or plaster, you’ll create a lot less dust and have a compact load to carry to the trash. But that’s not always possible.

If the old plaster falls off the lath as you try to cut out sections, go ahead and break it out. Pull the lath and plaster down together, using a pick or crowbar, or use a hand sledge or a 2×4 to pound it down from the attic space above (place planks across the attic joists) or from the back side of the wall, if it’s exposed. After separating and bundling the lath, shovel the plaster into buckets.

Dress for the job: hard hat, goggles, dust mask, heavy gloves, long-sleeved shirt. Wear thick-soled work boots when gutting plaster:

Lath nails are ubiquitous and razor sharp, and they’ll puncture tennis shoes in a flash.

Ceilings. О If ceiling joists are exposed in the attic, first take out the insulation from the area to be removed. If it’s loose insulation, use a dustpan to shovel it into a garbage bag.

If you work on the ceiling from below, use movable scaffolding for ceilings 10 ft. or higher. Otherwise stand on 2-in.-thick planks straddling sawhorses or stepladders. If the plaster is solidly adhered to the lath, use a reciprocating saw to “outline” sections. Then rock them from side to side till the nails holding them to joists work free. Hand the removed section to a helper on the floor. Then proceed to the next plaster section.

If plaster is sound but sagging in a few spots, you may be able to reattach it with washered screws or cover it with 14-in. drywall, as described in “Attaching Top Plates,” on p. 166.

Walls. О Walls are easier to gut than ceilings because debris won’t rain on you. Start at the top of each wall and work down, periodically carting out debris before it restricts your movements. Again, use a recip­rocating saw to cut out 2-ft.-sq. sections if possible; otherwise break them out. Tile walls, you’ll need to break out. If you’ll be putting up new drywall or plaster, this is the time to pull old nails. Likewise, remove any old wires and pipes.

Before removing bearing walls, first shore up the joists or other loads they support. But if you’re removing a nonbearing partition, you can do so after stripping plaster or drywall. Cut through the middle of each stud, using a recipro­cating saw; its thin blade is less likely to bind than a circular saw’s. With studs cut, pull them away from their plates. To remove plates, pry them up with a wrecking bar (goggles and a hard hat are musts). Use a metal-cutting blade in a reciprocating saw to cut through any remaining nail shanks.

REMOVING WOOD FLOORING

If they’re solidly attached, old wood floors are generally left in place, to be refinished later or floored over. However, it’s sometimes necessary to pull up a few boards so you can install joists or blocking, run wires, or patch-repair floor sections elsewhere. Partitions installed over finish floor­ing make it difficult to pry out floorboards.

If you’ll be reinstalling the floorboards, try to pry them up in an inconspicuous spot, such as along the base of an existing wall. Remove the baseboard trim and try to insert a flat bar under the leading edge of a floorboard. You may need to destroy the first row of boards to get them out if they’re face-nailed or, at the very least, break off the tongue on tongue-and-groove flooring. Successive courses will likely be toenailed through the tongue.

If you’re gutting wall surfaces, the space between studs is a good place to fit the curved head of a wrecking bar, to pry up a first row of floorboards.

Reinforcing and Repairing the Structure

This section focuses on upgrading nonbearing structural elements: adding blocking, leveling ceil­ings, straightening stud walls, bolstering joists, and treating rotten or insect-damaged wood.

ADDING BLOCKING

In renovation, it’s common to add blocking (short pieces of wood) to bolster existing joists or studs, to give new framing something to nail to, and to provide backing for the drywall or plaster lath to come.

Attaching top plates. To attach the top plate of a new partition, first cut back finish surfaces to expose ceiling joists. Snap two parallel chalklines to indicate the width of the top plate. If joists run perpendicular to the partition, cut out a 4-in.- wide slot to receive the top plate. Remove plaster or drywall sections, relocate insulation (if any), and pull nails sticking out of the joists. Use a util­ity knife to clean up ragged edges before nailing up the top plate, using two 16d nails at each point the plate crosses a joist.

If joists run parallel to the partition, cut back finish surfaces to joist centers on either side of the proposed plate so you can add blocking.

Snap chalklines to indicate joist centers, and cut along those lines. (Set a plaster-cutting circular – saw blade to the thickness of the ceiling drywall or plaster. Wear eye protection.) Install blocking that’s the same depth as the joists, spaced 24 in. on center. Cut blocking square for a tight fit, and make sure that its lower edges are flush to the

underside of the joists. If there’s access, end-nail each block with three 12d nails, through adja­cent joists. If you toenail them, use four 8d nails on each end. A pneumatic palm nailer is ideal for driving nails in such tight spaces.

Finally, add backing for the ceiling patch to come and reattach plaster or drywall edges along joist centers, as needed. Metal drywall clips (see the photo on p. 360) are a good alter­native to blocking. Nail them to the top edge of the top plate.

Blocking for walls. (^) To effectively nail off a new wall where it abuts an existing one, first cut into the existing wall to expose the framing. Start with a small exploratory hole to determine exact­ly where the studs are. Then cut back finish sur­faces to the nearest stud center on either side.

Even if your new wall runs directly to a stud in place, add blocking for metal drywall clips to reattach drywall patches.

If, as is more likely the case, there are no studs in the spot where you need a nail off, add them, as shown in the drawing "Where Walls Meet,” at right. These nailers will be stronger if you preassemble them and then sledge them into place. Face-nail them together with 16d nails staggered every 16 in. Full-length nailers should be toenailed with three 10d or four 8d common nails top and bottom. Or prenail metal L-angles to tie nailers to plates.

Blocking for sole plates. Nail partition sole plates to the framing below, not merely to floor­ing or subflooring. If the partition runs perpendi­cular to the joists, use two 16d nails at each point the sole plate crosses a joist. (See p. 169.)

However, if the wall is parallel to the joist grid, try to locate it over an existing joist. If that’s not possible, add blocking between the joists so there’s something solid to nail the sole plate to.

If the partition is nonbearing, use blocking the same depth as the joists, spaced on edge every 24 in. on center. Cut the blocking square so that it fits snug, flush to the underside of the subfloor­ing. Use two or three 16d common nails to end – nail blocking through the joists. Blunt the nail points to prevent splits.

Note: Bearing walls should be supported by two full-length joists, on edge, running directly under the sole plate. Add blocking to adjacent joists to keep the new joists from rotating, and attach both ends with a double-joist hanger. Because doubled joists are, in effect, a girder, they may also need post support beneath; see "Beam Span Comparison,” on p. 213, which offers sizes and spans. But because local codes have the final say, consult a structural engineer in your area.

Managing mess is crucial to a successful renova­tion. Torn-out plaster and drywall are nasty stuff to handle and worse to breathe. The dust gets everywhere, and the volume of debris is prodi­gious. If you’re sloppy as you renovate, you’ll pay later: Finish floors are particularly vulnerable to grit that isn’t swept up and to nails that go astray. Lath with nails sticking out creates a hazardous workplace. Heed these tips and your life will be a lot easier:

► Cover floors with heavy plastic, thick floor-covering cardboard (it comes in rolls), or hardboard panels duct-taped together.

► Isolate the demolition area by duct-taping clear plastic over door and window openings to contain the dust. Clear plastic lets in light.

► Clean up as you tear out.

► When demolishing outside, drape heavy tarps to protect your plants and to avoid a lot of raking later on. After discarding large pieces of debris, two people can lift the tarp and shake the remnants directly into the trash.

Organize your debris. Maximize Dumpster loads by first putting in dense materials such as plaster, concrete, and soil. Place lighter, bulkier items on top. If your community has a recycling center, set aside recyclable materials such as unpainted wood, brick, glass, or metal. That may be cheaper than sending them to a landfill.

TEAROUT

Before you construct anything in renovation, it’s usually necessary to tear out part of what’s there and beef up what remains. No sooner have you torn out plaster than you’re nailing up blocking for partitions to come. This natural flow from demolition to construction is a little frustrating for how-to writers who like to pigeon­hole everything, but it’s a fact of life if you’re renovating. Frequently, you’re doing both at the same time.

Conserve when you can. If most of a plaster surface is sound, avoid damaging adjacent areas when removing loose plaster, exposing framing, or adding openings. For example, if you’re adding a medicine cabinet, set your circular-saw blade to the depth of the old plaster and lath, and cut back those materials to the nearest stud cen­ters on both sides so the plaster edges can be renailed before you patch the opening.

On the other hand, if at least half of a room is to be affected by demo or if the existing plaster walls are cracked and damaged, it is often better to gut the room. When wires, pipes, framing, and rotted areas are exposed, new framing and dry – wall go in faster and finish better. It’s tough and time-consuming to patch extensively.

Living in a house that’s being torn apart and ren­ovated isn’t fun, and it can be murder on mar­riages. But you can minimize the stress caused by disruption, noise, confusion, and dirt. If you don’t need to be around the house during the demolition, don’t be; that’s a good time to take a vacation. If you just bought the house and can afford the expense of keeping your old place until the demo is done, do so. But if you’re there for the duration, create a clean room—usually a bedroom—in which you do no work at all.

Isolate the zone by covering the doorway with sheet plastic held up by duct tape or by installing temporary plastic walls with zippered doorways such as the Zipwall System®. Situate your Shangri-La upstairs if you can, because dust set­tles downward. If you are beneath a room being renovated, particularly one in bad repair, tape plastic to the ceiling. In the clean zone, store clothes, stereo equipment, art—anything that

I Kneewalls

could get ruined by the omnipresent dirt of tearout. At the end of the day, go there and relax.

LAST-MINUTE PRELIMINARIES

Take care of these items before you start:

► Notify gas, water, and electric companies if you haven’t done so already. Utility repre­sentatives can tell you what temporary hook­ups are safe and who must do them.

► If you’ve newly purchased the building and if inspection reports indicated signs of insect infestation, have a pest-control profes­sional treat the condition before you move in.

► Make sure your general contractor is properly covered by insurance. Or, if you’re acting as your own GC, check with your insur­ance company to make sure you and any helpers are covered.

► If you don’t have a cell phone, have a telephone installed so you can call for help in an emergency. Have a first-aid kit and fire extinguisher handy. Ensure that everyone on site has had a tetanus shot.

USEFUL TEAR-OUT TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

Many of the tools mentioned here are shown and discussed at greater length in Chapter 3.

Safety. Be sure you have a voltage tester, hard hat, goggles or safety glasses, a respirator mask with changeable filters, sturdy work gloves, a droplight, and shoes with thick soles.

Dismantling. Your kit should include wrecking bars of various sizes (see the photo on p. 44), a flat utility bar, cat’s paw, hand sledge, full-size sledgehammer, and heavy scrapers. If you’re tear­ing out masonry, rent an impact hammer with carbide-tipped bits.

Work aids. Rent scaffolding if you’re doing a lot of tearout over your head. Have a good supply of rolls of sheet plastic, duct tape, and heavy tarps; heavy cardboard, Masonite or!8-in. doorskin ply­wood can be used to protect finish floors. Gather heavy rubber trash cans (they work better than metal ones), wheelbarrows, push brooms, dust­pans, square-nose shovels for scooping debris, stepladders, and planks. Rent a Dumpster for big jobs.

Cutting. Wear goggles when cutting out materi­als, for you’re likely to hit nails. Most blade mak­ers sell demo blades, which are often carbide tipped and frequently thicker than standard blades. Reciprocating saws with demolition blades are the workhorses of renovation. Such blades typically have pointed ends that enable plunge-

you know is hot, to be sure the tester is working correctly. To double-check a receptacle or to check a switch, however, you’ll need to remove the cover plate. To do so safely, follow the proce­dures described in Chapter 11.

Junction boxes. о As you break open drywall or plaster or pull up flooring, you may find junc­tion boxes. To get at the wires, remove the junc­tion box cover. The wires inside will either be spliced together with wire nuts or be tape wrapped. Using pliers with insulated handles, carefully pull wire groups out of the box and remove wire nuts or tape to expose wire ends. (If you are at all uneasy about handling wires, turn off all the elec­tricity in the house and remove the wire nuts before proceeding.) Touch your voltage tester to the black and white wires simultaneously, then to each wire group and the metal box.

There are also pen-like voltage detectors that can detect electrical current through a wire’s insulation. You simply place the tester sensor near the wire.

Hidden wires. (^) If you unexpectedly discover cables hidden in a wall you are demolishing, stop and turn off all power in the house. Then snip the cable in two with a pair of insulated wire cutters, but never do this when the power is on. After test­ing both ends of the snipped cable with a voltage

tester to make sure that there is no live current, separate the black and white wires, and wrap the individual wires with electrical tape or cap them with wire nuts. While the power is off, also pull any staples holding the cable to the studs so that you can remove the studs later without damaging the cable.

With the cable thus severed and protected, you may proceed with the demolition. If the cable is to be discarded, disconnect it from the entrance panel. If the cable is to be reconnected, reroute it after the structural work is complete— and house all new connections in a junction box. Again, consult Chapter 11 for further details.