More shots from the finished home.
These are a few photographs from the start of the Montalto home renovation project. It was disgusting to the point that I would literally come home and shower after being in the house for 10 minutes. The stench was awful.
Demo is Nearly Done
As I posted previously, we recently began demo on the renovation of a row-home in Philadelphia. Demo is largely complete, and some framing has begun. Demo is in many ways the most interesting part of a project. Plan as you will before-hand, you never really know what you have until demolition is complete. As you peel away layer after layer of a home, you reveal a home’s history.
It is a history complete with various generations’ worth of ideals and ideas. Aesthetics that seem awful to us now once were popular. The high ceilings that are so in vogue now were commonly lowered (presumably to reduce heating costs). In the case of this home, they were dropped not just once, but twice. Once the two false ceilings were removed we added nearly 4’ of height to the ceiling. In this picture you only see the removal of the first false ceiling - the plaster you see is now down, exposing some cool beams:
It’s a different room in nearly every way now. In the kitchen, we found the same. When my client purchased the home there was a fake wood vinyl pattern on the floor. Not that cool. We assumed there was hardwood underneath, and we were right. What we hadn’t realized was that there were a total of four layers of other flooring choices between the actual hardwood and the vinyl. To save money many people just add what it is they want rather than removing that which they don’t. In some cases I totally understand this approach. Over the course of 80-100 years though, the cumulative effect is pretty humorous in many ways (and a pain in the a** to remove).
In addition to removing the false ceilings, faux floors, and other issues, the crew also demo’d the entire 3rd floor. If you had smelt it before they started, you’d know why. In addition to the layout changes desired, it was pretty necessary just for cleanliness and livability. When we did this we unveiled some very cool hardwood floors, exposed a brick wall, and got a look at some very cool looking joists. We’ll need to cover those joists back up with drywall and insulation, which is a shame in some ways, but we’ll be able to add some great lighting and other nice touches. The 3rd floor is small, but we’re fitting a bedroom, full bath, and office up there. It will also have the stairs leading to a very cool roof-deck.
Out in back we faced an obstacle of cracked concrete, failing cinder-block fences, and general blight. Most of that concrete is being removed (with careful attention not to ruin the lady next door’s planter that was attached to the wall).
That’s quite a pile of rubble, but it won’t all end up in the landfill. We are going to chop it up into smaller pieces and use it as filler for a rain-water capture planter. Rain water will flow from the roof into an outdoor planter with much of this in it (which, along with other materials, will filter it), and then be stored in a cistern in the basement. We’ll then use that water to flush toilets (not potable, but certainly usable!).
While we had a good sense of the design before we started demo, many things have revealed themselves through the demo process that were not clear earlier. Now we can start to re-imagine the home as it will be. Hopefully we aren’t adding layers of finishes that a future generation will demolish, but rather completing the home in a timeless, attractive, sustainable way that will endure.
