Careful Demo
I’ve had a second-floor balcony off my office since we moved into the house. I rarely use it, though, due to its condition; the flooring is splintered and weathered, the railing is a mess, and the paint over all of it is peeling. It’s not a pleasant place to hang out, to be honest.
Later this week, though, I will be refinishing it with my father-in-law’s help. To prep for that, I need to demolish parts of it so we can begin refinishing it when he gets into town, but I can’t just knock the whole thing down. Everything has to be carefully removed to preserve the framing beneath.
While I think the wood framing is salvageable, there’s a chance I will have to rebuild it. The support joists are okay, so I won’t have to worry about that part of it, thankfully.
My dad came over to help me surgically demolish what we could. It took eight and a half hours to remove the decking, electrical, and railing. By the end of the evening, I was dirty and sore, but I feel like I’m in a good place to start the rebuild on Thursday.