We finally made it — after a few notable setbacks — the duplex is officially gutted. Today we’re sharing photos, a video tour, and some of the plans for rebuilding both sides.
From our experience with the pink house, when a property shows extensive moisture damage it’s safest to remove the walls back to the studs. That way there are no surprises about mold, rot, or structural problems hiding behind the drywall. This duplex already had obvious trouble spots before demo — black mold on a side wall and a ceiling that had caved in from moisture — so a full gut was the right first step. Unsurprisingly, demo uncovered a number of additional issues: poor framing, unsafe wiring, failing plumbing, and even squirrel nests inside the walls and HVAC. Yes, actual squirrels in the ductwork.
The photo above shows the left-side living room before demo (you can find more before photos in our original duplex tour). Below is how that room looks now. The hardwoods are dusty but should clean up nicely, much like the floors we refinished at the pink house. I’m already planning a celebratory dance on them once they’re restored.
On the right side, the living room showed fewer visible water issues when we bought the place, but demo revealed serious rot on a right-hand wall and framing that needs reinforcement. No squirrels on that side, thankfully.
One last before-and-after pair: the right-side kitchen was tucked into an enclosed side porch. If you follow our podcast, you might remember that this area was where water began pouring out of the walls when we first turned on the water meter. The discolored, rotten floorboards were already present when we bought the house.
After demo, the back wall revealed some very non-code structural work — it looks as if someone built it from scrap wood. It’s a wonder it held up at all.
We have many more photos, but the best way to see the whole space is the video tour embedded in the original post. In the video, Sherry walks through the property and points out the floor plan changes we’re considering and the odd discoveries that emerged during demo. We’ll publish a follow-up post with finalized floor plans once a few decisions are set.
If you can’t watch the video right now, here are the main changes we’re planning:
First, we’ll open up the entryway on each side so the stairs feel less closed off. We plan to remove several studs from the side wall of the staircases so the stairs visually connect with the living rooms instead of feeling like narrow vestibules. We’ll add railings to keep the stair openings safe while making the spaces feel brighter and more integrated.
Another important functional upgrade is adding a powder room on the main level. Each side previously only had a full bathroom upstairs (and, hilariously, a random toilet beside the back door on the right side with no door). We’ll convert the closet beneath the stairs into a proper half bath with a sink, toilet, and privacy door.
We’ll also widen the doorway between the living room and the back room that will become the kitchen. This former dining area will be reimagined as a larger, more open kitchen with the dining table moved to the far end of the living room. The wider opening will bring in more light and make the kitchen feel less confined.
Planned kitchen layout: the sink will sit on the back wall beneath a slightly shorter window so we can install cabinets under it. Cabinets will continue along the right kitchen wall, housing the range and refrigerator. We also discovered a brick chimney behind the walls and plan to expose and keep it as a feature.
The left-side galley kitchen (formerly bright orange) was also in an enclosed porch. We’ll use that area for laundry, pantry storage, additional cabinetry, and a small mudroom that connects to the back door and outdoor shower.
Framing in some sections is unusual — studs set the wrong way in places — so parts may need to be rebuilt from scratch. We’ve done full reworks before, so that’s not new territory for us.
Downstairs, there’s a momentary view through from one side to the other that will soon disappear once walls and defined rooms return. We’re savoring those wide-open sightlines while they last.
Upstairs, the existing bathroom was very long and underutilized. We intend to reclaim some of that length to form a small third sleeping nook—similar in spirit to the pink house’s bunk room—adding extra sleeping space for a vacation home without sacrificing comfort.
One striking observation upstairs is how shallow the roof is: the roof supports sit just inches above the ceiling, leaving almost no attic space. We’ve received approval from the Historic Review Board to increase the roof pitch, which should create space for the upstairs HVAC and improve water shedding to reduce leaks.
The front bedroom will remain largely the same, while the back bedroom will gain an en suite by turning a window into a door that leads to a small addition above the existing back bump-out. That change will increase each side from one bathroom to 2.5 bathrooms total. The Historic Review Board approved the tiny addition and a new window near the chimney, so we won’t lose bedroom light.
One curious discovery after demo: the chimney twists between floors. It’s parallel to the kitchen walls below but angled above, which becomes obvious now that the interiors are open. We’ll keep that exposed brick as a character feature on each side.
It’s been an eventful demo and an exciting start to a big renovation. The video walkthrough included earlier in the original post has great context and orientation if you want to see the spaces in motion. Thanks for following along — more updates and final floor plans coming soon.
P.S. For more background on this duplex, check the original posts and podcast episodes in the site’s archive for our purchase story, the before tour, and the setbacks that led up to this demo.