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Wife and I bought a house which has wallpaper in every room. Layers upon layers in some rooms. We think it would be faster (and maybe cheaper) to just take down the sheet rock and replace it. Now that winter is setting in we also noticed that one of the rooms are very cold. Possibly the insulation needs to be replaced?
If we took down the sheet rock and replaced it. That would give us the opportunity to also replace & upgrade the insulation. My question is what else should we be replacing or upgrading while the sheet rock is down and the walls are exposed? I can only think of electrical, but since this is a bedroom is that really necessary? It only has 4 electrical outlets. Also, is it necessary to insulate interior walls? I imagine that would be good for sound proofing and not much else. This house is approx 60 yrs old and I think the sheet rock is original.
This is probably a basic question, but we are noobies and really don't know the answers. We'd like to know as much as possible before taking on the work ourselves or hiring someone to do the work. We also don't plan on doing this work during winter. We will have to live with the cold room for now.
When upgrading outlets I like to put the double box in that gives me 4 outlets. I like to also raise them to 24" instead of 16". I installed speaker cable for the stereo. Your wiring may be aluminum or wire and loom. This is a great time to go with new grounded romex if needed.
Fiberglass insulation will not help on inside walls for noise. You can double up on the drywall to suppress noise, go with two sheets of 1/2" rock. Stagger the joints, no need to tape the joints on the first layer. This is a great time to add extra backing if you ever plan on hanging TV's on the walls.
Have you hung drywall before? It is extremely labor intensive. Experienced hangers make it look fast and easy, but for an inexperienced individual it can take days just to sand down one wall.
I agree on the electrical. Also, if you have any outlets within 5' of a source of water that are not CGFI, this is an ideal time to upgrade those.
I'm with ferret on this one....no need to insulate the interior walls, but electrical work should be done when you have the studs naked. We did the same thing...moved the wall outlets up. Be sure though, if you do the double sheetrock, to make sure that you set your outlet and switch boxes farther out on the studs. Now is the time to consider if you'd like them moved or would like to add some as well. If you want to add recessed storage on your interior walls, this is also a great time to take that into consideration. It doesn't seem like much, but that extra 3-1/2" of unused wall space can make a big difference!
Are you looking to upgrade your windows?....remove one?...add one? This is the perfect time to consider that project as well. Any time you have to pull down existing wall coverings, you should take into consideration things that you want to change about the whole room. How about enlarging or changing the closet? Now's the time. LOL Is your ceiling fixture where you want it? If not, now's the time to change that as well. Good luck! Since you're newbies at this, and you're not going to start the project yet, I'd strongly suggest doing your home renovation education now! Get online and watch videos and get ideas. Pick up some how-to books and get to learning. Do you have the tools to do your home improvement tasks? Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? Tools are on sale right now at your home improvement stores. I strongly suggest that you and your spouse get on the "right" page and buy each other some new tools for Christmas! Don't waste money on the "fluff stuff", spend it on practical tools so that you're able to do the work yourselves. Trust me, you'll save a ton of money. IMHO...new tools, especially for new homeowners, are NEVER a wasted investment.
Have you hung drywall before? It is extremely labor intensive. Experienced hangers make it look fast and easy, but for an inexperienced individual it can take days just to sand down one wall.
I agree on the electrical. Also, if you have any outlets within 5' of a source of water that are not CGFI, this is an ideal time to upgrade those.
OP...dry wall is a piece of cake if you pay attention to details. Also, if you PLAN on doing your own drywall, invest in an affordable texture sprayer. Not only is it easy to do, but that texture can cover a multitude of sins. LOL....that's just one of the many reasons it's used.
OP...dry wall is a piece of cake if you pay attention to details. Also, if you PLAN on doing your own drywall, invest in an affordable texture sprayer. Not only is it easy to do, but that texture can cover a multitude of sins. LOL....that's just one of the many reasons it's used.
Hmmmm. I helped a friend on a project once and it took FOREVER. I swore I'd never do it again. But maybe it was because he had no power tools. We sanded by hand. That was the longest part of the job.
Lots & lots of fun things to upgrade when you've got the walls opened up.
Top of list is, of course, the insulation. If you know what you are doing and have the time to do this right your return on investment, through both reduced energy bills, more comfortable home and better resale is sky high. Be sure to understand the need to have proper moisture barrier and also inspect the back side of sheathing so that if there is any water penetration that is fixed.
Second on my list would to verify the SEALS on duct work or any other HVAC equipment -- tremendous amounts of money are WASTED when the heated / cooled air you pay for leak out before it gets to living space.
I recommend using nice heavy rockwool insulation in the interior walls for sound control and to improve on the thermal effectiveness of HVAC systems. The obvious sound transmission of making the baby's room immune from noises in the home theatre or mom & dad's room often overshadow the sound of "quality" that you get from having the inner wall sounds of plumbing and even weather related sounds being eliminated. It the like the differencce between an el cheapo car and a luxury Lexus or Mercedes. Well worth the little bit of time and money. As I listed above, anything you can do to improve the abiity of your heating plant / AC to keep you/other people pets comfortable as opposed to letting hot or cold air leak into the wall cavities is money well spent.
Another great project to consider when looking at replacing drywall is to switch from surface mount light fixtures to recessed. The smaller very stylish units from companies like WAC are available is sizes down to 2" with highly efficient LED that have very good light quality for the lowest energy consumption. They work very well in hallways, bathrooms, kitchens, and as accent lights in living rooms as well as being appropriate for closests and perimeter lighting in bedrooms. With appropriate consideration to trim and spacing they will be inconspicuos with any style of home / furnishings.
Low voltage wiring for internet/ TV/ audio is also a smart upgrade in any home.
Hmmmm. I helped a friend on a project once and it took FOREVER. I swore I'd never do it again. But maybe it was because he had no power tools. We sanded by hand. That was the longest part of the job.
Ah.....but you see, DIYers make a HUGE mistake by not removing enough mud while it's wet. When you fill a nail hole, scrape it flush. Same thing with seams...I'd much rather have to go over those screw dimples twice, and seams, several times.....removing ALL excess immediately, than have to try to sand things flush later. Also, for sanding...invest in one of the actual drywall sanding TOOLS that accept a screw-in handle. It's still a manual sanding job, but much, much easier to do. We use ours for multiple projects, so it's not like it's only around for drywall.
You can buy all of the "right" tools for the job...AND the materials, for far less than it would cost to hire someone else. Also, you can buy driving heads for your power drill, for very little, which allow the screw heads to be driven to the precise depth. The nice thing about investing in the tools when you're starting out? You've GOT them for your future projects. Again....you can buy all of the right tools and materials, do it yourself and STILL save loads of money, doing it yourself.
A 60yr old house in Ct was probably done with a gypsum board/plaster veneer finish. What today is referred to as "blue board". Back then it was usually board in 2X4 pieces- as opposed to today's 4x8, 10, 12 boards.
You may find thicker walls than your standard 1/2" drywall. This can lead to other "jobs"- Door and window jambs that extend too far.
All the other "usual suspects" have been covered-
Insulation
Sheathing
Electrical
HVAC
Windows
One important thing to keep in mind- older homes were notorious air leakers- mostly because they used lap board siding- sometimes without sheathing or with 1X sheathing- allowing a lot of air infiltration. Fiberglass batt insulation will not perform to it's maximum potential if the walls leak like sieves. With this occurrence you basically have an air filter- not an R-factor. A very good, but expensive alternative that will not only give you a higher R-value but will seal all the air leakage is- foam.
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