I should warn you: many of the photos (and the video) in this post don’t exactly scream “rebuild”—more like “WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT HOUSE?!”—but there has actually been a lot of meaningful progress at the duplex. Here’s an update on the flurry of activity over the past few weeks, the floor plan changes we’ve made, and a few curveballs we’ve already encountered.
On this week’s podcast we talked about why the duplex has that bare-bones vibe at the moment. Short answer: we had to essentially rebuild both the inside and outside of the house because of extensive rot, mold, termite damage and some failing framing. When you take things that far back, this is what you end up with.
Doing aggressive demo makes it easier and more cost-effective to install fully updated, safe systems—new electrical, plumbing and HVAC—when the time comes. It can feel dramatic, but in historic downtown Cape Charles it’s common to pull things back to the studs after decades of moisture-related damage. Preserving the original structure also saves money compared with pouring a new foundation and framing from scratch, which are huge line items when building a new house. Also, being in a historic district means bulldozing the building isn’t an option, which helps preserve the neighborhood’s charm.
We followed a similar “skeleton-ization” process on the pink beach house, and the same framing crew worked on both projects. They said the beach house was in even worse shape—its foundation was sinking on one side and had to be rebuilt—so we dodged a bullet with the duplex. Below is the rebuilt portion of the beach house from about a year ago for comparison.
One reason the duplex demo looks especially dramatic is that we had to completely remove the roof. At the pink beach house we reshingled while leaving the roof framing intact, but at the duplex we got approval from the historic review board to slightly increase the roof pitch so it sheds water better. That improvement required reframing the roof, which meant stripping the entire top off the house.
After posting some photos we learned the house was built using balloon framing, where exterior studs run all the way from foundation to roof. That technique was common in houses built between 1880 and 1930; this one is believed to be from around 1920. Modern houses are framed one level at a time because wood in those lengths is no longer common.
The photo above was taken right before the windows were removed. We’re preserving the original diamond grills in those center upstairs windows and the corbels under the roofline, but many of the other windows were late, junky vinyl replacements and will be swapped for efficient, properly functioning windows—like we did at the beach house.
One unwelcome surprise during demo was discovering that the porch framing was far less stable than expected, so it needs to be fully rebuilt. The good news: the foundation turned out better than we feared, requiring almost no work. We had budgeted about $3K for possible foundation reinforcement and were able to reallocate that to fix the porch framing, so the budget basically balanced out.
Compared with the beach house, the duplex has fewer original details to save. Apart from the diamond grill windows and corbels, years of rental use left the place with many replacements and “cover-ups” such as sheet vinyl and wood paneling hiding damage. Still, we expect to save and refinish the original hardwood floors, which were at some point covered with vinyl tile and carpet.
Believe it or not, the best way to protect original hardwoods during a full gut is usually to leave them exposed. They might get a little wet while open to the elements for a few days, but then they dry in the sun. Tarping can trap moisture and cause more damage, so leaving them uncovered is common practice here. We used that approach on the pink beach house and once the floors were sanded and sealed they looked beautiful.
Here’s how the left-side living room looked when we first saw it (remember: both sides are mirrored) and after the interior demo.
Currently the diagonal boards you see are temporary bracing to hold walls in place while the roof goes back on and the interior is reframed. The back left corner required extensive new framing to make it safe, so we’re glad we stripped things down far enough to find and address those danger zones.
The second-floor view was especially dramatic when the house was open to the sky before the roof framing went back up. It felt like the roof had been lifted off entirely.
As for curveballs: removing the old siding confirmed known problem areas and exposed new ones. The back of the house had been a poorly constructed enclosed porch with studs installed facing the wrong way, which became a ramshackle galley kitchen. We’re turning that area into a secure laundry/mudroom and will reframe it properly so it’s solid.
There were also some smaller issues: slight sagging in one second-floor corner (fixed with better framing, not foundation work), and sections of interior flooring that were built up on top of old porch flooring. We’re stripping down to the joists and rebuilding the floors correctly so everything is level and secure.
Most photos above were from a visit two weeks ago. We returned last week and the roof framing and plywood sheathing were already back in place—shingles still to come. Our contractor Sean has also started laying out the new upstairs floor plan. We walked the house together and made a few tweaks to the plan, which Sherry describes in the video in the post.
We also adjusted the laundry/mudroom layout and will share renderings or another walk-through when we have them. We’re heading back this weekend and will post quick updates on Instagram Stories while we’re there. Renovations are entering a phase where progress is less visually flashy—new support beams aren’t as exciting to photograph—but they’re essential. To finish, here’s a final before-and-during: the left side as we bought it last fall, and the same view a couple of weeks ago. It’s a dramatic change, and an exciting one.
Bonus: all three satellite dishes are finally gone. Hasta la vista, baby.
P.S. For more details about how we bought the duplex, our plans, and previous video walk-throughs, check the duplex category on our site for every related post.