Seeking expert in structural design around vestibule & inner door of brownstone

After two years of reconnaissance, we believe the source of a clothing moth problem is in the walls at the intersection of the front door vestibule, the inner door, and adjacent corner of the livingroom on the parlor floor. The moth nest could also be in the same areas on the floor directly above. In 1-2 months, a trusted expert will inject moth killing spray into the crevices of the walls in this area.

I’m looking for someone who can explain how these areas were built in a traditional brownstone, so that the moth killing spray can be injected in the right places (via cutting a small hole in the walls and pressure blasting the spray inside). I’m also interested in how moths may travel within the walls and spaces between the floors, to determine where else to treat. We did this tretment on a more limited basis last summer, and it was only partially successful. We have tried many other ways to get rid of clothing moths. Almost all areas of the house have been taken care of, but this area remains.

If this treatment doesn’t work, we will probably start to tear down the walls and ceilings of the vestibule to figure this out.

Expert advice about the structural design of these areas would be greatly appreciated. Even to be able to see into a current demo of this area could be super helpful.

Thank you very much in advance!

citizenjane

in General Discussion 2 years and 5 months ago

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justinromeu26 | 2 years and 5 months ago

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Op. While i am 90% sure of that wall construction simply because i have build walls (i took a construction class at city tech and this is what the class was about) i currently have a need to buy a thermal imaging camera for another customer. It is going to be something i will use as part of my home i spection business to find leaks and voids in walls and pipe locations. If you wish. I can shoot an image at that wall and ceiling and it will show me pipes, joists, beams, and now that i think of it, it might show that infestation. I will read about that now. If you brought me in to do this, i would be willing to drill the needed holes for the exterminator if he specified a size.

I am working sort of close by you.

Steve
Tinker’s Wagon &
Brownstonehomeinspection.com

cate | 2 years and 5 months ago

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Good luck and watch out for old gas lines that are still active. Ours used to go right though that area.

justinromeu26 | 2 years and 5 months ago

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a stud finder will help you here. i have one that i use in my own house and even with the plaster and lath it locates them. have to make a couple of passes. this is a modern electric one i think made by a company called zircon. i think.

once you locate one stud/joist, it is usually easy to locate another.

justinromeu26 | 2 years and 5 months ago

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i am only guessing but they probably have a top plate at the top of the studs for the vestibule wall. that top plate will set below the joists and on top of the studs. and the studs should be 16 on center. if you can get a stud finder you can locate them. they will sit on a header over the door. and you want to inject poison over the door in like 4 spaces between studs. that poison will not rise above the top plate – so it will not go between the floor joists.

in so far as getting up in between the joists above the vestibule. they will run across the house. so you will want to find the one to the front of that vestibule door and the one behind it (to the inside of the house). perhaps one sits right over the vestibule wall (if you are unlucky; then you have to drill on two sides of that wall). what you would do to hit those cavities is drill a couple of holes just street side of the vestibule wall. keep in mind the joists run across so you only need one or two holes to flood that cavity and if the next joist is on the other side of the wall, you will not have to drill holes inside the house.

you can drill holes and stick probes up there and send them front and back and you will hit the joists. you can send them sideways as well. you might hit bracing but that will be 1x? and the poison will pass them.

the interiors of the old houses are framed the same way they are today with some changes only in materials. layout is all the same, joists across top plates above partition walls and studs below. the only thing that has changed is the exterior walls on frame houses. not the interior.

nothing special or different about any of these walls.

if you buy a hand held bore scope, you can drill these holes and look inside. these things are like $79. on amazon now.