What Crews Find Behind the Walls of Older Riverside Kitchens

Demolition does one job: it shows what the walls have been hiding since the house was built. The figures kept at kitchen remodel riverside ca smythwick castle track what shows up in older Riverside, CA kitchens, and a kitchen remodel in a house from before the 1980s almost always turns up at least one of the items below.

Wiring that predates today's loads

Older kitchens often have a single circuit feeding the counter outlets, the refrigerator and the microwave. Modern code asks for separate small appliance circuits, so the panel and the cable run get redone. Cloth or early plastic sheathed cable gets replaced, not extended, and a two prong outlet at the counter is a sign the whole run is original.

Galvanized and early copper plumbing

Galvanized supply pipe rusts from the inside, so a flow that looked fine at the faucet collapses after a new fixture is added. Drain lines of cast iron or old plastic get a visual check at the wall opening. Plumbing rough-in is easiest while the floor and wall are open, and the shutoff valves under the sink are replaced while the cabinets are out.

Stucco, framing and furred walls

Many Riverside County houses are stucco outside with plaster or drywall inside. Exterior walls hold less insulation than current standards, and opening a wall is the cheapest time to add some. Soffits over the old upper cabinets often hide ducts or a gas vent, so ceiling height gets measured after demolition, not before, and the framing is checked for notches cut by earlier trades.

Old paint and floor layers

Homes near the University of California Riverside and the older streets around Mount Rubidoux can carry lead based paint on old trim and asbestos in vinyl sheet flooring or its adhesive. A sample goes to a lab before any sanding or scraping starts, and the result decides how the demolition is staged.

Out of square rooms

A room that has settled over decades is rarely square. Cabinet runs are laid out from a level line struck across the room, and gaps are covered by filler strips and scribe trim. Ranch layouts across the Inland Empire especially have a wall that leans an inch over its length, and a long run of uppers shows it first.