The Fascination of Demo
We’ve always found demolition to be an amazing stage of most projects. While messy and raw, it is also informative and in some cases even poetic. All the mysteries of a house or building are finally exposed and the assumptions and discrepancies of as-built drawings can finally be resolved. The layers of history can be peeled back and deciphered. Depending on the project, it can feel like an archeological dig removing the wood paneling of the 80’s to remove the wallpapers of the 70’s to reveal the lathe and plaster of the 40’s. As architects and builders we’ve always had a curiosity about the methods and techniques of those who came before us and a building in demolition is a little museum to their craft. So for today’s post we’re highlighting photos that you wouldn’t normally see on a design blog – demo photos.
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By Kyle, April 7, 2010 @ 2:44 pm
Demolition has always been one of my favorite stages of a project – thanks for representing this aspect of a project too.
By Richter, April 7, 2010 @ 2:52 pm
Demo always pisses me off; after you design a typical remodel to meet the stringent building code, you open up an existing house only to learn that it can stand up with half the lumber and the structural engineering of a six year old.
By Keiser, April 7, 2010 @ 2:54 pm
I always get crap in my contact lenses during demo – so I’ve never actually seen what it looks like. thanks for the clear photos.
By Lauren, April 7, 2010 @ 7:39 pm
This is timely…we just did some major demo on our own home. We were disappointed that we didn’t find any $100 bills or gold bars hidden in the walls, but it was interesting to peel back the layers of time and find 4-5 layers of vintage wallpaper under the heavily painted lath and plaster.
By Build LLC, April 8, 2010 @ 8:31 am
A photo series on the various layers of wall coverings would make a nice collection. Maybe on the next one…
By Shelley, April 9, 2010 @ 7:42 pm
Did you mention that remodeling is like sausage making? Hi – I am the owner of the lovely home in this blog. Kevin forgot to mention that I wanted to hurry and put it all back together (to sell!) upon initial viewing. But now have the vision – will be great when all is said and done.