Construction Remodel – The Ace House

The trees have been removed and the clean up is officially done! Now it’s time for demo. Let me just say, this is no easy task! Demolition is hard work and you can multiply that by 100 when you’re trying to take down walls made of lath and plaster. Not only that, but the cellulose insulation in these historic homes is a crazy mess! DO NOT attempt a job like this without the proper gear. You will definitely need to make sure the area is well ventilated. You will also need a dust mask, eye protection, gloves and a deep tissue massage when it’s done. The tools we found most useful were tools that we already had on hand. We used a hand mallet along with a pry bar for the majority of the job. You would not believe the amount of rubble and dust that accumulates with the take down of just one wall! It literally takes 10 min of smashing and 45 min of cleaning per wall. It’s obnoxious! If it’s possible to just leave the lath and plaster alone when you’re remodeling older homes, that’s the way to go. There are actually a lot of benefits to lath and plaster walls. They provide great soundproofing, fire resistance and a measure of insulation. It also increases the value of a historical home because that’s how it was originally built. Our little house had already been remodeled several times over the years and then abandoned for many years after that. The walls were in really bad shape! If only these walls could talk though, I bet they would have some amazing stories to tell.