It seems there is no end to the opportunities uncovered in remodeling an old house: wiring, plumbing, flooring, walls and on and on the list goes. Many of the changes are cosmetic and aesthetic, some provide greater comfort and some increase the safety of the place. And then, there are other changes that make it less likely to fall to the ground.

When we tore out the fire damaged plaster walls in the kitchen and living room, we discovered that the exterior wall had a problem. At first, it seemed that there was a slight separation between the sill header and the floor joists. Separation is not a good thing in this case. While absence may make the heart grow fonder, it can also make a wall go wander.

In this case, it had wandered out so far that the nails were pulled completely loose from the ends of the joists. At one place, the exterior wall was three inches farther out than it should have been. As you might guess, that’s well beyond tolerance. A sixteenth of an inch isn’t even noticeable, really. Forty-eight times that is another matter.

As my brother, brother-in-law and I investigated, we found that the foundation had shifted. Construction methods apparently in vogue ninety years ago did not have a system that interconnected the flooring, joists and walls. Flooring and joists stayed in place, wall did not. When the foundation shifted, the only resisting force was the linear friction of the nails in yellow pine end grain. Not sufficient.

When the foundation is secure, it bears the entire weight of the structure and the forces applied to it. When the foundation gives way, everything that is built on it is put at risk. This is as true of civilizations and nations as it is of old houses and people. When foundations are restored, the changes are miraculous.

H. Arnett
1/20/10