Another reason we’re glad we decided to open the wall between the kitchen & living room: major plumbing issues! There is lots of evidence that leads us to believe there was a major long term leak in the original cast pipes a while back that was finally fixed with PVC. That water was what started the deterioration of the structural posts. But there have been more leaks from the bathroom thru the same wall down to the basement crawlspace since it was “fixed”. In fact it was immediately apparent we had a leak as soon as the ceiling was down in the kitchen and someone washed their hands upstairs… Drip drip drip… Here are just some of the old pipes my dad cut out. Wow, the things you find in old houses… Eew.