Demolishing a 100-Year-Old Kitchen: What We Found in the Walls

Day 1 of the kitchen gut in downtown Toronto. Shawn Morren and his son have three weeks to take a 20-year-old kitchen back to the studs and build it new — but first the old one has to come out: a fridge to save, a dishwasher wired to the basement lights (illegal, by the way), a range hood that did NOT want to leave, a pressed-tin ceiling from the 1940s, horsehair plaster, a little mold, and a missing cat. The old sink goes out to the curb — and finds a new home in record time. Old Blue makes short work of the ceiling. One minute and 0.84 seconds, if you're counting — and we were. Shot on site with DustiCam — the jobsite photo app Shawn uses to document his work for clients. Chapters: 00:00 Cold open 00:58 The mission 02:49 Protect the goods 04:57 The hood fight 06:37 The sink goes free 09:13 The tin ceiling comes down 12:05 Lath, plaster & horsehair 15:25 Old Blue vs the ceiling 17:06 The damage report HOME RENO with Shawn Morren is a construction and renovation series following a real general contractor through a full kitchen gut renovation in Toronto — demolition, plumbing, electrical, drywall, cabinets, and the reveal. Next time: the plumbing rough-in, and George the Sparky gets his call. #renovation #demolition #toronto #oldhouse #kitchenremodel #construction