Old houses are wild, right? I’ve pulled up floors and found everything from old Sears catalogs to flattened cereal boxes under there. You’re spot on—sometimes even a solid buffer doesn’t cut it if you get hit with a surprise leak or ancient pipes that crumble the second you touch them. Honestly, catching those issues early is way better than pretending they’re not there. Have you run into any weird insulation or “creative” fixes behind the walls yet? Always makes me wonder what folks were thinking back then...
Have you run into any weird insulation or “creative” fixes behind the walls yet?
- Pulled off some drywall and found a whole nest of old newspapers from the 60s acting as “insulation.”
- Also, someone stuffed socks in a gap by the tub. Not kidding.
- My favorite: a random fork wedged behind a pipe. No clue why.
- Bathroom remodel cost? Let’s just say it started at “reasonable” and ended at “I need to sit down.”
That’s wild—socks and a fork? I thought I’d seen it all when I found a pile of old phone books jammed behind my vanity. It’s amazing what people used to do to “fix” things. The costs really do creep up, especially once you start opening up walls and finding surprises like that. Hang in there; it sounds like you’re handling the curveballs as well as anyone could.
I’ve definitely seen my share of odd “fixes”—once found a plastic spoon wedged in a drain pipe. Makes you wonder how many hidden surprises are still lurking behind the walls. Did you end up having to rewire anything, or was it mostly plumbing headaches? Sometimes electrical can really blow the budget.
- Plumbing was the main headache for me, but I did end up having to rewire a chunk of the bathroom.
- Old wiring was cloth-wrapped and brittle—no way I was leaving that behind the new drywall.
- Swapping out the old vent fan meant running a new line anyway, so I just bit the bullet and did it all at once.
- Honestly, electrical doubled what I thought I'd spend. Fixtures, GFCI outlets, new breaker... it adds up fast.
- All in (materials + permits, no labor since I DIY'd), I was around $8,500 for a full gut and redo on a smallish bath. If I'd hired out the electrical, would've been closer to $11k.
- For anyone budgeting, I'd say always plan for at least one surprise—there's always something lurking in those walls.
Funny thing—found an old razor blade stash in the wall cavity. Guess that's where they went before plastic disposables...
