Demolition - New York Times

Demolition - New York Times: "The Rural Life
Demolition

By VERLYN KLINKENBORG
Published: November 25, 2005

Now that it's winter outside - wind chill in the single digits, ice and snow on the ground - I can feel again where the cold air leaks into this house. A couple of weeks ago, I began pulling apart the walls in the oldest part of the house, the mudroom and the laundry room. What I felt, as I worked, was a forensic hostility. The laundry room, for instance, had been built around the washer and dryer, making it impossible to replace them without taking the room apart. So I took the room apart. I found what appears to be the oldest beam in the house, dating, perhaps, back to the late 18th century. I found miles and miles of BX electrical cable. And I found the cold spots, which I am slowly plugging."