The dirty work is (hopefully) completed in my fixer upper entryway. See what was uncovered beneath multiple layers of paneling, linoleum, and old drywall.
MACTAVISH HOUSE | Updated October 29, 2024
They say that things have to get worse before they get better.
It is week two in the One Room Challenge and that's definitely the case here in my fixer upper entryway/mudroom, although I guess one could argue that the room looked pretty bad to begin with!
MISSED WEEK ONE?: Have a look at the Before Tour to see where the room started.
Considering all the demo in the house that I've done so far in the living room, dining room, and breakfast nook, this entryway is by far the worst room.
As I mentioned in my before tour, this space was added on long after the house was built to install the bathroom, so the flooring and walls are not original to the 1900s house. And the more layers that are pulled back here, I kind of get the feeling that maybe this was more of a homeowner's DIY than built by someone skilled in the trade.
You'll see what I mean.
Before we get into what I uncovered, I want to say a giant thank you to all of you who took the time to email me or comment on last week's post sharing your excitement and ideas for what I could do with this little room.
It is so helpful to see the space through another's eyes. A lot of people suggested a barn door or pocket door (one of which is in the plan!), while others thought about using wall sconces instead of an overhead light, installing vinyl flooring, and changing out the entry door to allow in more light.
In the week three post, you'll get a chance to learn exactly what plans I finally decided on.
It is so helpful to see the space through another's eyes. A lot of people suggested a barn door or pocket door (one of which is in the plan!), while others thought about using wall sconces instead of an overhead light, installing vinyl flooring, and changing out the entry door to allow in more light.
In the week three post, you'll get a chance to learn exactly what plans I finally decided on.
But today is all about demo.
THE WALLS
The first thing I did was take the dated paneling off of the walls. It had been installed by my dad about 40 years ago to freshen the room for my grandparents. Removing it revealed vinyl "tile" on the lower wall and drywall on the top.
As I mentioned in the before tour, there is an angled section of wall in this space to cover a heating duct running from the basement to second floor. My dad obviously was as curious as I have been about this odd wall because behind the wood was a duct-taped hole.
Continuing to remove the layers, when the vinyl tile was removed on the bottom I found drywall.
It looks to have been originally painted mint green and is now covered in the adhesive that held the tile on. And I'm not quite sure what that was behind it on the exterior wall as you'll see in the picture!
I decided to go further and started removing the old drywall on the long wall.
This work was done quite awhile ago because of the delayed start of the ORC thanks to the pandemic. I wish I could say that I remember why I was determined to do this at the time. Because now looking back I realize it would have been a better idea to leave it alone.
But what is done is done. I left the drywall intact on the other walls.
Behind the drywall were very rustic boards. While walls in our modern homes are structurally built with 2x4s and plywood, old homes were often constructed with three layers of staggered vertical boards like this. That is one reason why old homes do not have insulated walls....because there is no where for it to go unless you stud the original walls.
This part of the wall would have originally been the exterior of the house and covered in the same wood siding I exposed in the breakfast nook.
In addition to these structural boards is a section of wall built out of the side of beer crates....one of the first signs that this probably wasn't a professional job. You used what you had I guess.
This small area was added on when the room was built and is the reason why the entry door is bumped out from the other half of the house outside.
If you look closely, you'll see the profile of the wood siding I referenced above between the add-on and original structure.
When removing the drywall from the old exterior, I also took down the angled duct wall. Again, in hindsight, I should have left all of this alone to keep the job more manageable. As one learns with most fixer uppers, some things are better left untouched.....but you don't normally realize that until there is no going back.
This does now give a good chance for you to see the large duct running from the basement to the upstairs bedroom.
THE CEILING
I don't have a good image of the ceiling, but I removed the ceiling tiles my dad had installed when he did the paneling.
Underneath that was hardboard nailed in over-top the drywall and painted. When I removed this, it was obvious the owners had installed the hardboard because the drywall was pretty damaged. You can't tell from these pictures, but they had added texture to the ceiling with plaster and it was cracked in a lot of places and in others, the drywall was not attached to the joists at all.
THE FLOORS
I removed the worn linoleum tiles (again installed by my dad during the previous reno) and subfloor to find another layer of sheet linoleum and subfloor. It's all about the multiple layers in this house!
Underneath those four layers, I found hardwood flooring. At this stage, it was hard to tell exactly what condition the floor was in because there was a paper tape applied everywhere that the boards met and it was held on by an almost cement-like adhesive. Not sure what the purpose of this would have been other than to maybe make it smooth for the new flooring?
So this is where we are following the demo in this room. Like I said, it's bad, but it will get better.
In the next post of this series, I will get away from how horrible things look now and show you all the pretty I have planned for this space. I'll explain what my original plans were, and then give a glimpse into where the design is headed now thanks to the problems my fixer upper presented.
I've got to know, though.....is a project like this something that you would ever try to tackle on your own? Are you ever able to look at run-down homes or rooms and see what they could be or do you just see the problems?
More Posts in the ORC Mudroom Makeover Series
WEEK ONE: Entryway Before Tour - See what this space looked like before the demo started.
WEEK TWO: Demo in the Entryway - You are here!
WEEK THREE: Entryway Design Plan - An in-depth look at my original design and the changes I was forced to make.
WEEK FOUR: Cleaned Up and Painted
WEEK FIVE: Building a Console Table - Follow as I DIY a table inspired by Restoration Hardware using boards saved from my childhood sandbox!
WEEK SIX: Barn Door Project - Adding a track to an old door saved from this house for the bathroom
WEEK SEVEN: Mudroom Entryway Revealed
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