SYNRGYdesign

We are used to discovering things during demolition that may not have been planned for or need some sort of remediation.  It is very common in the type of jobs that we do that it is almost expected to find something that was put in a different location or built differently then the way plans say they should have been built.When we started work on the new house we were very interested in how it was built and we are impressed with the way it was built.  They did know how to make things last back then and it is not wonder the house is still in good condition even though it has been neglected for many years.When we decided to take the wood panelling out of the family room we discovered a diagonal brace probably used for sheer.  It probably does not do much and it certainly does not follow code today but since we were only replacing the finish we did not think to much of it.  We decided to mount the TV on that wall so we put some chases, plumbing pipe really, for the cables so they could be concealed in the walls. The diagonal bracing was accidentally hit and it basically disintegrated.  Termites had traveled down the wood and eaten it out from the inside.  The piece that was supposed to be a diagonal bracing support was basically paper.We decided instead of replacing the member we would just sheath the entire wall with half inch plywood making it a lot stronger and stiffer.  It works great and we now have the confidence that the wall will be strong enough to hold up the TV and anything else we may decide to put on it.  While it may have put us back half a day because we had to deal with this unforseen condition, it’s amazing that has really been the only unforseen issue we have had to deal with in a house that is almost half a century old. 

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