Rewiring a cigarette smoke-filled home: Demo to the studs?

[Matt Greenfield]

Hello BP Community, 

The time has come for me to deal with one of my biggest real estate fears... rehabbing, and specifically rewiring, a cigarette smoke-filled home. Hopefully, at the end of this journey I will view this problem as more of an opportunity, as I am sure there are plenty of other cigarette smoke-filled homes waiting to be restored. 

A bit of context... I purchased this home back in 2020 knowing full well that eventually it would require a good bit of rehabbing. I have recently reached a point where the existing electrical components of the home are in need of replacement. I'm not exactly sure the extent of the project, but I know the panel needs to be relocated and replaced and most likely a good bit of the wiring throughout the house will need to be replaced as well. I am planning to move into the home for at least a year once the existing tenant's lease is up in a month, and I intend to keep it as a rental for the foreseeable future. I want to make sure I do the rehab correctly, but I also do not have an unlimited budget. The house is 1,800 sqft.

When it comes to a cigarette smoke-filled home, combined with the need for a rewire, I am assuming the correct answer is to perform a full gut, right? Is there a world where it makes sense to leave parts of the dry wall up and try to just clean them? What about insulation, trim, appliances, the wood floor, etc? Does all that need to come out too? Also, It is an older home so lead-based paint may come into play during a potential demo vrs a kilz paint over. 

Appreciate any insight you may have into these types of issues. 

Thanks,
Matt

[JD Martin]

Quote from @Matt Greenfield:

Hello BP Community, 

The time has come for me to deal with one of my biggest real estate fears... rehabbing, and specifically rewiring, a cigarette smoke-filled home. Hopefully, at the end of this journey I will view this problem as more of an opportunity, as I am sure there are plenty of other cigarette smoke-filled homes waiting to be restored. 

A bit of context... I purchased this home back in 2020 knowing full well that eventually it would require a good bit of rehabbing. I have recently reached a point where the existing electrical components of the home are in need of replacement. I'm not exactly sure the extent of the project, but I know the panel needs to be relocated and replaced and most likely a good bit of the wiring throughout the house will need to be replaced as well. I am planning to move into the home for at least a year once the existing tenant's lease is up in a month, and I intend to keep it as a rental for the foreseeable future. I want to make sure I do the rehab correctly, but I also do not have an unlimited budget. The house is 1,800 sqft.

When it comes to a cigarette smoke-filled home, combined with the need for a rewire, I am assuming the correct answer is to perform a full gut, right? Is there a world where it makes sense to leave parts of the dry wall up and try to just clean them? What about insulation, trim, appliances, the wood floor, etc? Does all that need to come out too? Also, It is an older home so lead-based paint may come into play during a potential demo vrs a kilz paint over. 

Appreciate any insight you may have into these types of issues. 

Thanks,
Matt

 I wouldn't rip out all the drywall at all on this unless it's just all to hell. Let the electrician cut his/her pockets for pulling the new wire and do the patches, then seal everything with an oil-based primer and repaint. What you're suggesting is way overkill. If the floors are beat to hell, then get them sanded and poly'd in place. Paint all trim, clean the appliances and call it a day. 

I lived in a house where a lady smoked 3 packs a day for 40 years. There was so much nicotine & tar on the ceilings that it looked like someone painted them orange. She died in it from (of course) lung cancer. We painted and sealed everything and you could never know anyone smoked in it at all. 

[Scott Mac]

Bin Zinsser makes products to cover over cigarette nicotine stains and smells.

Some of their products have a toxic smell so you have to be wary of that, especially if you have animals around neither you nor them can be exposed to it.

Meaning you might want to test paint a room and see if that solves your problem.

Good Luck!

https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/Zinsser

[Patrick Roberts]

What type of foundation does the house have? If it's pier and beam with a crawlspace like many Charleston homes, it's pretty straightforward to rewire from beneath without removing the drywall. 

Personally, I'm a fan of going studs out because I can QC the process and make sure that things are bulletproof for the foreseeable future. That being said, it's probably not necessary in this case and will likely add cost and time. If the drywall is in good condition overall and just needs cleaning and paint, this is probably you're most practical path forward. 

If it was me, I would get a contractor to quote hanging and floating drywall for the whole house to have an idea of the price differential. 

[Kevin Ivey]

you can give the walls and ceilings a cleaning using TSP before painting and sealing as suggested.

also you only need to remove one side of any shared walls for full access if you really wanted to see everything vs electrician cutting access and patch.

I would say you should remove all the trim to get a good seal behind, and help update.