Starting on the new window

Wednesday, April 27:
I began the second major phase of this project: preparing the wall for a new window.

This little cordless Makita 3.5" circular saw is perfect for cutting through drywall.

Just set the blade for the exact depth of the drywall. (I learned this lesson the hard way a few years ago at one of my rental properties. The blade was too deep and it nicked a high-pressure air-conditioning line that was jammed inside the wall. The AC repair and Freon cost me $500.)

First, I cut vertical lines through the drywall  –  all the way to the ceiling. Then, I put on a good dust mask and started ripping the sheetrock off, small pieces at a time, with my gloved hands. (When I was in my 20s I never bothered with dust masks, even when handling fiberglass insulation. These days, I don't feel so invincible.) 



With all of the sheetrock removed and carted down to the trash can, the next step was to remove these pink batts of R-19 fiberglass insulation. The outer walls of this house are framed with 2x6 studs, allowing for excellent, thick insulation.   Below:  I bagged up the insulation so I can reuse it when I have reframed the wall.





With all of the insulation removed, a layer of thin tar-paper is exposed on the far sides of the studs (above and below).  I took a knife and sliced into the paper and found (below) that there is no exterior plywood. Some parts of the house have a wrapping of such plywood beneath the stucco to provide extra rigidity for earthquakes.   The gray matter below is actually the back side of 1-inch-thick stucco.

I am quite happy there is no plywood to deal with.  This means that I can take a sledge hammer and bust most of this stucco off from the inside of the house.  That will be a lot easier than chipping it off on the outside –  and will be less wear and tear on my elbow and shoulder.

There are tiny stands of wires up against this tar-paper. The wire provided some reinforced backing to the paper so that the stucco guys – 20 years ago – could trowel the first coat of masonry against the paper without tearing it. Stucco goes on in 3 layers –  I will get to that step once the new window goes in and the inspector likes the way the framing looks.



As the room stands . . .