[masraum]

Originally Posted by javadog

The small holes are one thing, the problems around the window are another, bigger one. You don’t want to just cover up that gap with the trim.

In my last house, I did a fairly comprehensive remodel. That involved removing the existing drywall in most of the rooms. That allowed me to replace the window headers, all of which were essentially non-functional at that point, to replace the insulation with something more effective and run new piping and wiring as needed.

Given that your house is older than mine was at the time, and it wasn’t as well-built, my suggestion would be to demo the drywall in that room and see what you have. My guess is you’ll find all sorts of things. At the very least, It will give you the opportunity to end up with a reasonably airtight room and flat walls and a good finish.

Originally Posted by Zeke

New insulation as well as wiring and cabling as good inspirations for tearing out exterior walls.

Good point about the ability to upgrade or fix stuff "while you're in there."

A couple of points to that.
The folks that owned the house in the '90-96 time frame did some pretty major upgrades. Then entire house is PVC for plumbing and modern romex for wiring, so that's a huge plus. Also, most of the places that I've had a chance to look seem to have some modern insulation as well. We need more in spots, and the areas around the windows seem to be lacking.

Even if the wiring doesn't require replacement, it would be nice to be able to add outlets.

The one other tidbit that I forgot to include is that the interior walls seem to be mostly shiplap.
I haven't seen much of what's behind the drywall, but based on what I can see and feel through the gap at the windows, the walls are mostly shiplap, but some boards appear to have been removed (or never installed). And there is insulation behind the shiplap (hard to see in the photos)