A job in an old Boston brownstone taught me to check every box twice

Found a live knob and tube behind a wall we were opening up, the homeowner swore it was all updated. What's your rule for dealing with hidden surprises like that?

3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

3 Comments

troy_adams6mo ago

Yeah, "assume nothing is as described" is the only way to work. That's a rough find with the live knob and tube.

8

hunt.taylor7mo ago

That line about checking every box twice is dead on. I've learned the hard way that "updated" can mean a lot of different things to a homeowner. My rule now is to assume nothing is as described until I see it with my own eyes and test it myself. If a wall is coming down, I'm scanning and poking around before the first swing of the hammer. It adds time upfront but saves huge headaches later when you find the real story behind the plaster.

2

mitchell.daniel7mo ago

Tell me about it. I once opened up a wall and found a phone book from 1987 used as insulation. Guess that counts as an update to someone.

5