# farmhouse tear down



## philupthegastank (Feb 3, 2015)

ripped the exterior walls off my farm house this past weekend.  Only things we found were mouse poop, a few hornets nests and a honey bee hive, no gold, guns, newspapers, collectibles or cool things :/.  But i was glad to tear down the walls to get all that old nasty insulation out.


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## philupthegastank (Feb 3, 2015)

sorry, the first picture is flipped 180 degrees and the other one is flipped 90 degrees CCW


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## brian89gp (Feb 3, 2015)

Looks like a it is still in real good shape.


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## Fsappo (Feb 3, 2015)

Sorry you didn't find any "treasures".  Getting into old structures and finding history is always a thrill.


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## Bret Chase (Feb 3, 2015)

=


Fsappo said:


> Sorry you didn't find any "treasures".  Getting into old structures and finding history is always a thrill.



Sometimes the thrill isn't a good one..... like finding sticky hollow cardboard tubes (decomposed dynamite... extremely sensitive).

During the continuing rehab of my 1865 farm house.. I only have had to call the Maine State Police bomb squad once...  I found a 5# brick of Semtex.. in my attic 

I have found a lot of less explosive things that were very cool.... and have made a pretty penny off of what was basically garbage.  It is astonishing what someone will pay for an old tobacco tin w/ the tax stamps still on it...


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## Fsappo (Feb 4, 2015)

I am trying to figure out why someone would store semtex in the attic


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## Seasoned Oak (Feb 4, 2015)

Found a 1923 penny inside a wall the other day,still hoping for the big treasure find on a rehab.


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## Fsappo (Feb 4, 2015)

That's an old penny.  Did you look it up to see if it was a valuable mint?


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## Seasoned Oak (Feb 4, 2015)

Fsappo said:


> That's an old penny.  Did you look it up to see if it was a valuable mint?


No mint designation. Like a  (d)  or an  (s) Still waiting for that 1909 VBD


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## Fsappo (Feb 4, 2015)

My son and I went thru a 5 gallon water jug full of chance, took weeks (he was 4) found lots of coins from 20's-40's.  by lots, maybe 50 or so.  I looked online, some pennies were worth 15 cents, to a dollar, etc.  Found a silver nickel,, etc.  Anyhow, those few dozen coins with a face value of maybe $2.00 got us about $50.00

North quite worth the man hours if that's all you were looking at, but it was very fun.  Kind of like a treasure hunt.  Kept him off the iPad for a good long time.


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## Bret Chase (Feb 4, 2015)

Fsappo said:


> I am trying to figure out why someone would store semtex in the attic



 I have no idea... and am glad its gone.

buuuut... people used to (when anyone could buy it) store dynamite in the attic too... even though its just about the worst possible place for it (aside from sitting on top of the wood stove).  it is amazing more houses didn't just randomly blow up back then.


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## Whitepine2 (Feb 7, 2015)

philupthegastank said:


> sorry, the first picture is flipped 180 degrees and the other one is flipped 90 degrees CCW



Don't you just love all that horse hair plaster just 2 years ago finished the last room
and don't care to ever see any again. It gets into everything and will be years before it's all gone funny how it keeps popping up.


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## philupthegastank (Feb 7, 2015)

yeah, all the dust is horrible, plus the dust from the old insulation... gonna have to rent an industrial vacuum to suck it all up


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## Knots (Feb 8, 2015)

Man that looks good.  No water damage.  That's the treasure you found.

My last house was built in 1938.  I was digging the dirt floor out in the barn in order to put in a concrete floor.  In the exact center of the barn I found one of those big metal milk cans buried.  I thought for sure I hit the old man's money stash.   Pulled it up and it had a little weight to it.   Opened the lid and there was a plastic bag inside.   Pulled the plastic bag up and there was nothing but a few inches of sand in the bottom.  

Oh well - it was a nice milk can...


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## brian89gp (Feb 8, 2015)

philupthegastank said:


> yeah, all the dust is horrible, plus the dust from the old insulation... gonna have to rent an industrial vacuum to suck it all up



What I do is take a normal shop vac, hook up a oneida dust deputy to it, take all of the filters out of the shop vac itself, and hook up a hose to the outlet/blower and hang it out the window.  The dust deputy gets the majority of the dust and whatever it doesn't gets blown out the hose out the window.  Plaster dust and the old coal soot is so fine it tends to just plug up filters real quick.

Look for the Shop Vac Bucket Max.  It is a motor/powerhead that you put on top of a 5 gallon bucket.  Costs around $30.  Plaster dust will get the shop vac extremely dusty and you might want to have one dedicated to the task.

Full face filter masks are also nice.  I use the one in the link below, good filters that keep that super fine dust out of my lungs and also the mask keeps all of that dust out of my eyes.  Have pre-filters that snap on over the filters so I don't plug them up as frequently.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JZ1M10


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## Bret Chase (Feb 8, 2015)

I have never even heard of a dust deputy... that is awesome!  What I did when I gutted my dining room was use the $40 HEPA filter for my shop vac while wearing an N100 particulate mask..... AND I had 2 20" box fans blowing out of the two dining room windows.

And despite all that..... the water ran grey down the shower drain each night.

I need to get upstairs and tear out all of the plaster.... been kind of avoiding it.... its a terrible way to spend the day.


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## CrufflerJJ (Feb 8, 2015)

Many moons ago, I helped my parents rip loose the plaster & lath covering the interior of their 2 story log home (built in the very early 1800's).  Inside a covered-up window frame was a cedar shingle.  On the shingle was drawn (in pencil) a naughty picture (as drawn from the rear) of a female bending over.  It had five guys' signatures on it, along with "May 24, 1869  The Whore Masters of Miamisburg".


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## Fsappo (Feb 9, 2015)

CrufflerJJ said:


> Many moons ago, I helped my parents rip loose the plaster & lath covering the interior of their 2 story log home (built in the very early 1800's).  Inside a covered-up window frame was a cedar shingle.  On the shingle was drawn (in pencil) a naughty picture (as drawn from the rear) of a female bending over.  It had five guys' signatures on it, along with "May 24, 1869  The Whore Masters of Miamisburg".



Even though naughty.....when I see some random, down to earth piece of history like that, I try to take some time and imagine the moment.  Try to imagine the 5 guys..their lives, their commute to that job site.  Their conversation while drawing the rump.  Like a trip back in time.


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## CrufflerJJ (Feb 9, 2015)

Fsappo said:


> Even though naughty.....when I see some random, down to earth piece of history like that, I try to take some time and imagine the moment.  Try to imagine the 5 guys..their lives, their commute to that job site.  Their conversation while drawing the rump.  Like a trip back in time.



Yup - it's a part of history.  When my parents sold the house about 20 years ago, the shingle stayed with the house & new owners.


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## brian89gp (Feb 9, 2015)

Bret Chase said:


> I have never even heard of a dust deputy... that is awesome!  What I did when I gutted my dining room was use the $40 HEPA filter for my shop vac while wearing an N100 particulate mask..... AND I had 2 20" box fans blowing out of the two dining room windows.
> 
> And despite all that..... the water ran grey down the shower drain each night.
> 
> I need to get upstairs and tear out all of the plaster.... been kind of avoiding it.... its a terrible way to spend the day.



36" or lager cage fans work real well for clearing the dust.  Those 20" box fans are better then nothing but they don't really move much air in comparison.  Usually situate the 36" fan in a doorway and open a couple windows on the opposite sides of the house, the cross airflow tends to keep the dust down somewhat.  Course I am usually de-plastering an entire house at once.

The dust deputy is also very cool for repointing old lime mortar stone foundations, just vacuum out the joints...  Its not perfect and some of the super fine stuff still gets through but its nice not having to buy bags and filters all the time.  Also use it for dry cutting concrete (9" angle grinder) and it seems to capture at least 75% of the concrete dust.


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## Bret Chase (Feb 9, 2015)

brian89gp said:


> 36" or lager cage fans work real well for clearing the dust.  Those 20" box fans are better then nothing but they don't really move much air in comparison.  Usually situate the 36" fan in a doorway and open a couple windows on the opposite sides of the house, the cross airflow tends to keep the dust down somewhat.  Course I am usually de-plastering an entire house at once.



I used 20" fans... because that is what would fit in the windows.  I have a 42" fan... I didn't want to blow the dust through the rest of the house.


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## ironpony (Feb 9, 2015)

Just an FYI, most of the old plaster contains asbestos. Be safe.


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## Bret Chase (Feb 9, 2015)

ironpony said:


> Just an FYI, most of the old plaster contains asbestos. Be safe.



most of the old plaster contains horse hair... and lime.


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## Shari (Feb 10, 2015)

Fsappo said:


> I am trying to figure out why someone would store semtex in the attic



More convenient than storing it in the basement???


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## Adios Pantalones (Feb 10, 2015)

Bret Chase said:


> I have no idea... and am glad its gone.
> 
> buuuut... people used to (when anyone could buy it) store dynamite in the attic too... even though its just about the worst possible place for it (aside from sitting on top of the wood stove).  it is amazing more houses didn't just randomly blow up back then.



Semtex is entirely stable, thankfully (can hit it with a hammer, light it on fire, run it over with your car), but you did the right thing calling for disposal- it could also lead them to ask questions about the origin.

Now old dynamite... maybe different story


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## Bret Chase (Feb 10, 2015)

Adios Pantalones said:


> Semtex is entirely stable, thankfully (can hit it with a hammer, light it on fire, run it over with your car), but you did the right thing calling for disposal- it could also lead them to ask questions about the origin.
> 
> Now old dynamite... maybe different story



They did ask... I told them the truth.... I don't know... the previous owner is deceased.


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## Whitepine2 (Feb 10, 2015)

ironpony said:


> Just an FYI, most of the old plaster contains asbestos. Be safe.


Too late I'm a gonna die,guess slow death cause it's been 40 years now!


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## jharkin (Feb 20, 2015)

No undoing it now... but any particular reason why you wanted to gut the place?  Was the plaster failing?   Its hard to tell from the photos but the old insulation looks like grey blown in cellulose.. if it is its not that old and actually quite harmless.  One of the best options for retrofit insulation actually in an older house when you want to retain original detail and charm.

I wish prior owners of my place hadnt ripped out all the original plaster. Kept maintained a good plaster job can outlive us all and has some advantages over drywall.


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## peakbagger (Feb 20, 2015)

A friend years ago was rehabbing an old house including a bathroom. In some old medicine cabinets there was a slot to dispose of old razor blades that would fall into the wall cavity. When they pooped open the wall in that area they found all sorts of coins and no razor blades.


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## Clarkbug (Feb 20, 2015)

jharkin said:


> No undoing it now... but any particular reason why you wanted to gut the place?  Was the plaster failing?   Its hard to tell from the photos but the old insulation looks like grey blown in cellulose.. if it is its not that old and actually quite harmless.  One of the best options for retrofit insulation actually in an older house when you want to retain original detail and charm.
> 
> I wish prior owners of my place hadnt ripped out all the original plaster. Kept maintained a good plaster job can outlive us all and has some advantages over drywall.



Any good tips for patching plaster?  Going to pull down the sweet fake wood paneling in several rooms soon, and its plaster underneath.  Probably going to hang shiplap over it to clean things up, bit if the plaster is in decent shape, I would love to save it.


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## brian89gp (Feb 20, 2015)

peakbagger said:


> A friend years ago was rehabbing an old house including a bathroom. In some old medicine cabinets there was a slot to dispose of old razor blades that would fall into the wall cavity. When they pooped open the wall in that area they found all sorts of coins and no razor blades.



I'll be.  I've done a few houses that I find these wall cavities full of razor blades.  The medicine cabinet was long gone so I was always left puzzled as to why there were all these blades in the wall.


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## brian89gp (Feb 20, 2015)

Clarkbug said:


> Any good tips for patching plaster? Going to pull down the sweet fake wood paneling in several rooms soon, and its plaster underneath. Probably going to hang shiplap over it to clean things up, bit if the plaster is in decent shape, I would love to save it.



Use lime on lime, gypsum on gypsum.  Plaster washers on loose plaster.  The application of the repair material is similar to drywall mud on drywall, except it dries much slower and is not really sandable at least in the case of lime.  Also a lot of old types of paint will make it very difficult for any new repairs to bond unless it is a mechanical bond (scoring the original surface or attaching metal lath etc)


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## semipro (Feb 20, 2015)

Clarkbug said:


> Any good tips for patching plaster?  Going to pull down the sweet fake wood paneling in several rooms soon, and its plaster underneath.  Probably going to hang shiplap over it to clean things up, bit if the plaster is in decent shape, I would love to save it.


I've seen somewhere where setting-type drywall compound was used for plaster repairs.  Just throwing it out there, don't know enough about it to recommending it.


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## Ashful (Feb 20, 2015)

ironpony said:


> Just an FYI, most of the old plaster contains asbestos. Be safe.





Bret Chase said:


> most of the old plaster contains horse hair... and lime.


I think you two have different definitions of "old".  Asbestos plaster was a thing of the mid-20th century, not old.  Bret's lime and horse-hair plaster is 18th into 19th century, with portland coming into the mix starting around 1860.

Now, why in the world would anyone tear out plaster and lathe?  To replace with cheap, temporary, and less attractive drywall?  Do you have any idea what a good plaster and lathe job costs, today???  I've never seen a case where the structure was good as yours, and the plaster was beyond repair.



Clarkbug said:


> Any good tips for patching plaster?  Going to pull down the sweet fake wood paneling in several rooms soon, and its plaster underneath.  Probably going to hang shiplap over it to clean things up, bit if the plaster is in decent shape, I would love to save it.



Check out Big Wally's Plaster Magic.  I've used it on two rooms so far, and it's holding very well.  If you give them a call, they'll talk to you about plaster repair well into the evening.  Really excellent product, with great support behind it:  http://www.plastermagic.com/

The other option is the traditional screw and washer technique, with new top coats.  Definitely works, but you're adding thickness and weight, and you're going to want to redo all of your trimwork, if you go that route.  Plaster Magic might give you another 40 years or more, before you have to go to screw and washer.


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## Bret Chase (Feb 21, 2015)

Joful said:


> I think you two have different definitions of "old".  Asbestos plaster was a thing of the mid-20th century, not old.  Bret's lime and horse-hair plaster is 18th into 19th century, with portland coming into the mix starting around 1860.
> 
> Now, why in the world would anyone tear out plaster and lathe?  To replace with cheap, temporary, and less attractive drywall?  Do you have any idea what a good plaster and lathe job costs, today???  I've never seen a case where the structure was good as yours, and the plaster was beyond repair.



I have been tearing out the plaster in my house... because the only thing holding it up was habit.... and the wall paper.  There's only so much repair that can be done when the nails have pulled out of the riven lath.  I also needed to remove the last remaining knob & tube.

in the unused two upstairs rooms..... there is no saving the plaster.... it's done.  and I'd like to get above a r-lol in the ceiling assembly.


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## Ashful (Feb 21, 2015)

Riven lathe!  [drool]  The lathe in this house is about 50 years newer than the house, installed during a major make-over around 1820, and thus it's sawn.

Yeah, in your case Bret, I understand.  However, the OP's structure seems to be in excellent shape.  I can't imagine the plaster was that bad.

In my last house, we left all the old knob and tube in place.  None of it was in use anymore, those circuits having been redone in Romex, it was just hanging out there.


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## Clarkbug (Feb 22, 2015)

Joful said:


> Check out Big Wally's Plaster Magic. I've used it on two rooms so far, and it's holding very well. If you give them a call, they'll talk to you about plaster repair well into the evening. Really excellent product, with great support behind it: http://www.plastermagic.com/
> The other option is the traditional screw and washer technique, with new top coats. Definitely works, but you're adding thickness and weight, and you're going to want to redo all of your trimwork, if you go that route. Plaster Magic might give you another 40 years or more, before you have to go to screw and washer.



Thanks for the info!  Ill check it out and might give it a shot.  Would love to keep the plaster alive and well if I can...less work for me, less $, and I am trying to keep the old house as original as I can.  Definitely keeping the windows, which has been a challenge, but appreciate that I can fix them and rebuild them myself without having to replace them.


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## jharkin (Mar 6, 2015)

Joful said:


> Check out Big Wally's Plaster Magic.  I've used it on two rooms so far, and it's holding very well.  If you give them a call, they'll talk to you about plaster repair well into the evening.  Really excellent product, with great support behind it:  http://www.plastermagic.com/



Thanks for this link! - I'll have to check it out the next time I need to do any repair.  Ive only got 3 rooms left with plaster and so far only had one big nasty crack to deal with that I managed by opening up the crack a bit, using plaster washers and then filling with patching plaster.   Its held up one winter OK but looking at the plaster magic site that would have been a better fix.


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## Ashful (Mar 6, 2015)

Damn, Jeremy... I thought you'd have known about this stuff!  It's not cheap, but I'm satisfied.  I always use 2x - 3x more than I plan and purchase, not because I'm using more than recommended, but because the project always grows by 2x - 3x what I see on initial inspection, as things progress.

I'm at a crossroads with my plaster ceilings on the second floor.  All indications are that this house had wood planked walls and open joist ceilings on the second floor, when it was built in the 1770's.  Someone did a massive renovation, probably around 1820, in which they added plaster walls and ceilings.  So, now I have very old plaster work, which any old house nut would die for, but it's covering even older original colonial work, which is really what I would love to see.

I have already redone two of the three bedrooms and the hall bath on the second floor, so those aren't getting touched again real soon.  However, the master suite and hallway will need attention at some point, and I'm really toying with the idea (as horrendous a job it would be), of tearing out that 1820's plaster work to expose what's hidden within.


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## jharkin (Mar 6, 2015)

Never had a lot of reason to go looking yet, as almost my entire interior was gutted and redone in drywall along the way in renovations.  There are only 3 or 4 places that still have old plaster - the front entry, the stairwell, the front parlor (now tv den) and a small room that probably was a buttery and I now use as home office.

Most of the plaster is in really good condition and as best I can tell its all sawn lath so its either not original to first construction, or the house is younger than I think.


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