I love old buildings.  There is something about them that has always captivated my mind.  Perhaps it is the way they either age with grace or fall to the ravages of time like an old city in which there is the ability to not only imagine what might have been, but what could be. Often with old homes that have had a few owners, there have been multiple renovations during the course of time. Some good, some bad.  While prepping for the wood stripper I had the task of deconstructing a couple of fin tube radiators so that he could easily scrape and remove the stain, varnish and paint hidden behind them. Removing a radiator is a relatively minor operation, but a simple piece of advice is just make sure you cut the pipe at the higher elevation to avoid the gusher that so ardently washed the sweat from my brow. In removing the radiators I noticed that one set of them were fastened to a piece of plywood. Curious as to why there was plywood behind this particular set of radiators and not oak paneling, as was the case with all of the other radiators, i decided to remove the plywood.

Unbeknownst to me, someone had installed a vinyl window inside the wall cavity between the plywood paneling and stone masonry. Perhaps as an alternative to providing proper insulation, perhaps, well who knows… Your guess is as good as mine. As an architect, and the son of a contractor, I have seen my share of mesmerizing solutions to problems that arise in the process of construction. While I was not in the room when this decision was made it is nonetheless a problem that I am left to deal with.

What was done was not acceptable and is indicative of buying old homes.  When you purchase a building in need of a renovation and a little TLC, you hope and pray that there are no hidden problems. I tell this to clients all the time and I have heard it from contractors a thousand times over “you never know what your going to get when you open the walls”.