[masraum]

Originally Posted by look 171

I fon't understand the drywall over shiplap? It looks like someone decided to hang drywall over existing and decided not to remove anything and "just cover it up" so you ended up with layers and layers of finish wall on top of each other. If you are just repairing that section then there's really no reason to remove the drywall which adds to the overall cost and more importantly your labor. If you decided to remove it, then I suggest removing the entire wall from corner to corner to see what's behind there and plan according from that point. I bet you will open a can of worm. There's always something else to fixed once walls are opened up. If there isn't anything else going on but a few holes from staples or nails, then just patch, paint and enjoy until something comes up like a leak from the window or something else then tear it open and perform the necessary repairs. Unless you really enjoy home repair, you will become a slave to an old home.

The house was built either in 1920 or 1924. The guy that built the house died in 1960 and his wife died in 1965. I spoke to the folks that owned the house in the 1990-1996 range. According to them, the house had fallen into disrepair. They spent a lot of time fixing it up and making some mods (upstairs had been an attic, they finished it as rooms for their kids), added Central HVAC, replaced knob and tube, probably completely redid plumbing to all PVC, etc....

What the old guy told me was that when they came in, there was something on the interior walls that served the same function as drywall, but it was more like a heavy duty cardboard (his words). The shiplap that I can see behind the drywall appears to have never been painted or finished in any way. The shiplap, at least where I can see, also doesn't run floor to ceiling, but it's possible that's due to some work in the past, maybe a few boards were pulled here and there to help with wiring, adding insulation, etc....

I have a feeling that I'm going to be a slave for the next year or so, but then hopefully, things will relax a bit after that.