A Crack in the Exterior Brick Wall AND Another Blow to the Budget
We are one month into what is turning out to be a complete gut and overhaul of our circa 1905 brick row house in downtown historic Bethlehem, PA. As is the case with most historic home renovations – there is a very limited amount of assessment you can do when you don’t own the property yet! Yes, we could pop out a few acoustic ceiling tiles and get the previous owner to abate the asbestos wraps that were covering the ductwork in the basement, but we don’t have x-ray vision to see into the walls and ceilings. On the surface the previous owner had done a great job keeping the property clean and in working order. But we really did not have a clear picture or plan of attack until the building was ours and we could start ripping out old plaster ceilings, stripping wallpaper and opening up walls.
I had always planned to reclaim the original back alcove in the kitchen that had been converted to a bathroom by the commercial owners. The kitchen footprint was small to begin with and there were three entry doors and 4 windows – not much wall space to put cabinets. As a kitchen designer I had already considered the flow of the kitchen and we knew our back door, which was off the back patio and parking area, would be the main entrance AND major pathway into and out of our new home.
Planning ahead I had already gotten a permit from the city to remove the wall and add a steel I-beam because the wall was an exterior brick wall above the kitchen area. My architect had provided the necessary specs on the steel beam and the mason was on site with the rest of our crew. But once they started the wall demolition we found that there was a crack in the exterior brick wall above the kitchen! So in order to make this exterior wall structurally sound we would need to dismantle the compromised brick and rebuild the wall.
Brick Wall Removal
I watched my husband’s face as we were given the news of yet another unexpected hit to our budget. I could feel his internal temperature rising (John is really a calm guy by nature.) Cha-ching – cha-ching…. the cash register sounds were continually adding up in his brain. The additional repairs were unexpected – but necessary. A blow to our budget AND our time schedule, but still another no-brainer.
Being a naturally positive person – and wanting to keep my husband calm – I immediately looked for the positive side to this extra cost. The removal and rebuild of this exterior brick wall area now required the full demo of the “Men’s Room”, sitting directly above the kitchen. Originally my plan was to keep the original plumbing layout intact in order to save money.) BUT now I was able to start from scratch with the bathroom design. This, in turn, allowed me to fit in the claw foot bathtub and a separate stall shower. I was thrilled as this bathroom layout had been giving me angst from the beginning. John was still fretting over the budget, so I was not going to mention to him the idea I had for the clawfoot tub…. But that’s another blog!