What Demolition Uncovers in Older Eastside Kitchens

Nothing behind an old kitchen wall can be assumed until the cabinets are out. The notes at kitchen remodeling bellevue ken anderson foundation, a record of older kitchens in Bellevue, WA and across King County, list the same handful of problems every time demolition opens a house built before 1980.

What is wrong with old galvanized supply lines?

On the Eastside, galvanized steel pipe rusts from the inside, narrows over the years and drops water pressure at the faucet. A line that looks sound at the sink may be nearly closed a few feet behind the wall. When one fitting is disturbed the rest often leak, so the safe choice is replacing the whole run to the main with copper or PEX.

How common is ungrounded wiring?

Two-wire cable without a ground turns up in many houses from the 1950s through the early 1970s, and a receptacle on it may have been swapped for a three-prong type with nothing behind it. Modern kitchens need grounded circuits with ground fault protection, so the cable gets replaced when the walls are open. Brittle cloth-covered insulation is a second reason the crew will not reuse it.

Why do joists get notched?

Earlier plumbers and electricians cut notches and drilled large holes in floor joists to run pipes, and some did it mid-span where the joist is weakest. Under a heavy stone countertop or an island, a joist like that sags. The fix is sistering a new member alongside, or a steel plate over the cut, and a framer or engineer decides which.

What does water damage under a sink look like?

A soft cabinet floor, black staining or a musty smell points to a slow leak that has run for years. Behind it the subfloor and the bottom plate of the wall may be spongy. A crew probes the wood with a screwdriver and cuts out everything that gives, then lets the area dry before building back.

How many layers of flooring are down there?

Vinyl over plywood over old planks is common, and each layer raises the floor a little. The new cabinets and the dishwasher opening have to line up with the finished height, so layers are removed or accounted for. Some vinyl from older Crossroads and Factoria houses may contain asbestos, so it is tested before it is torn up.

How are change orders handled?

A change order is a written note giving the problem found, the repair and the added time. It is signed before the extra work starts, so nobody argues about it at the end. Good bids carry an allowance for hidden conditions, and the clearest ones say who decides.