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What is the purpose of the sheet metal behind the trim in my 1962 home that doesn’t appear to go all the way up and is not continuous, with sheet rock 36 inches above it?

Asked by Greg Bishop
7 months ago
Last Updated: May 16, 2024

Hey everyone, I’m working on some home projects and noticed there’s sheet metal behind the trim. It’s not a full piece and doesn’t seem to go all the way up. Any thoughts on why it’s there? The house was built in 1962. Just wanted to see if anyone had any insights. (By the way, there’s sheet rock about 36 inches above it in the third photo.)

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Gabriella Bennett

Possibly where a heater or vent used to be located

Jorijn Aartman

It runs along nearly every baseboard in the house.

Lody Happel

Is this part of a bathroom?

Jorijn Aartman

‘s place is the kitchen

Margot Franck

Seems like that could be Sheetrock corner bead that got squashed? Maybe around 2 1/2 inches tall? Not sure why it’s there. Could it have been added when the Sheetrock was being installed to provide extra support at the bottom? Is the height from floor to ceiling more than 8 feet?

Jorijn Aartman

Has 8-foot ceilings throughout the house, with a thickness of about 2.5 inches. We were thinking that it may have been used to hold something in place since it is not continuous, making it a poor moisture barrier.

Margot Franck

Do you notice how it slopes in at the bottom? There’s a space there. After being there for 60 years, I think the Sheetrock covers some of the bottom plate, so it’s probably fine to leave it as is. It’s likely that the person who installed the Sheetrock did the walls before the ceiling, causing it to be an inch from the floor instead of half an inch.

Jorijn Aartman

I’m planning on leaving it as is for now. I’m just in the process of hanging cabinets, so there’s no need to change it at the moment. My question was more along the lines of “what’s the purpose of your existence?”

Margot Franck

Haha, I know right? A little mishap hidden by some trimming. Can’t you just hear Urkel saying, “Did I do that?”

Jorijn Aartman

Does something truly exist if it’s out of sight?

Margot Franck

It’s like that hole in the wall that got hidden by a poster in my daughter’s room. ‘I have no idea how it got there, but now it’s invisible.’

Jorijn Aartman

I own a rental property where the tenants attempted to conceal a hole using a similar method.

Marko Roger

So, I’m guessing you’re on a slab, and these are the exterior walls, right? Your home was actually a pre-fab kit home, which was super popular until the 1960s.

Jorijn Aartman

Oh yeah, the house sits on a slab. That’s a clever way to solve that issue. This wall specifically separates the kitchen from the garage.

Marko Roger

Do you happen to have 2×2 walls inside instead of 2×4 walls?

Jorijn Aartman

Hey , yeah it was a bit challenging to install overhead lighting. It was quite a task to find the right size boxes.

Marko Roger

Hey ! I just finished redoing one room, and had to put in some effort to fix up a few others in this area.

Jorijn Aartman

My favorite part of the project has been removing the rivets on the conduit to access the wiring.

Marko Roger

Haha, all the ones in this area were wired with early romex and cut-in boxes.

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