I know what I am getting into and I am doing it anyway.The house was originally built in 1893 or 1894 by a prominent business owner in town. At some point a major renovation was performed. Then in the 30s or 40s ,the owners were living in Arizona and the house is in Texas, the house underwent another renovation. This time it was totally gutted, the porches removed, the inside changed from a single family home to an upstairs/downstairs apartments. When my grandparents bought the house in 1974 it had been returned to single family, but the entire upstairs had been covered in gold carpet and the ceiling got a popcorn treatment. In the 80's my grandparents uncovered the original staircase that had been covered by closets downstairs. This revealed at least some of the original woodwork and trim. All the other trim in the house is pretty basic. Door and window trim is a 1x4 with a 1x1 trim around the edge of the 1x4. Whatever the original kitchen looked liked is anyones guess. During the renovation to turn the place into apartments an identical kitchen was placed upstairs and downstairs. Pretty much a few cabinets with old Masonite counters. What I am getting at is, they went on the cheap with the renovation then just to get it in shape to rent. Much of the original character that would have been in the house is gone.
My grandmother covered up all the nasty cheesecloth and wallpaper with paneling that she painted and stenciled. Its ok, but not our style.
The house also has knob and tube wiring, space heaters and window units, maybe 3" of insulation in the attic.
We have a lot of work to do.
Total rewire of the house, zinsco panels and all. For insurability and because I am not going to insulate the attic over the old wiring.
HVAC for the house because it really is miserable most of the year unless you are in the one room with the AC or heater.
I am just wondering just generally, what do you do with a characterless kitchen? I am planning on taking everything out. The cabinets really are just pine boards cobbled together, there is no master craftsmanship there. Since we are rewiring, I am planning on a total gut on the kitchen for plumbing and wiring. I am also going to try to insulate the kitchen since it is on the north side of the house.
That does bring up a point. Is there anyone here I the south? In our town and I suspect much of Texas the walls are NOT plastered. They are all shiplap. What to cover with after I get the paneling off??
