HOME 001 | The Reno Record: Demo, Drywall & Dumpsters

We taped out lines throughout the house anywhere we wanted to make changes.

Hello from the front porch,

If you’ve ever taken on a home renovation, you know it rarely goes as smoothly or quickly as you expect. Evan and I were no exception as we began the renovation on our 1900s townhouse.

The house had been a rental and, according to our neighbors, had been sublet to three or four families. That must have been a tight squeeze for a narrow one-bathroom house. Crowded by people, constant cooking, and a bathroom that likely never dried out properly, our little home was also crowded in another way: by roaches.

Our first discovery was that the previous tenants had left behind an abundance of food, which the roaches eagerly fed on. They’d also left about twenty loofahs in the shower. They were mildewed, tangled, damp, and they were crawling with roaches who had moved in long before we did. Needless to say, our first project was a deep clean.

After cleaning from top to bottom, we took a hard look at the bones of the house. We wanted to remove the dated beadboard, so we pulled down a sheet, only to find the plaster behind it in ruins. It was cracking, crumbling, and falling in dusty piles. We quickly realized it all had to go. Since we share a wall with a neighbor, we decided to add insulation between our homes and install thicker drywall for added fire and soundproofing.

As we removed the beadboard, we uncovered the original wallpaper, a piece of the home’s history that, though we can’t keep, we hope to pay tribute to in our design. On one side, the wallpaper remains, while the other reveals the lathing beneath.

To remove the plaster and take down the wall between the living and dining rooms, we called in our brothers. Between the two of us, we have four brothers, which turned out to be perfect for a demolition project. Two days, four crowbars, and enough food to feed a small army later, light reached farther than it had in decades, our drywall was down, and two 30-foot dumpsters were bursting at the seams.

The first stage of creating our home was complete. So, if you ever plan a renovation, learn from our experience: it always takes longer than you expect, and it’s helpful to have a few gym-loving friends or family ready to answer the demo call at a moment’s notice.

Goodbye for now.

Sincerely, The Grower