Hey - I cannot thank you enough for the amazingly detailed reply. It took me a bit to google a bunch of stuff in there, but I have a much better understanding of the job ahead of me now. The big thing I didn't even consider until now is drainage, and hopefully that will be more clear once I get some of the trash and leaves out of the way.

Just two quick questions if you don't mind - You say "Back prime and paint the wall" - what exactly do you mean by 'Back prime"? I couldn't figure it out, even with google. Just prime and paint both sides of boards before putting them up?

Also you said, "You basically want to make sure the bottom of the wood is not touching anything except the concrete.... and there's a couple inches of drainage below the wood as well." - What exactly am I looking for with the drainage, and what do you mean by 'below the wood'? Just make sure there's a channel around the concrete? I'll check the sill plates are in good condition and are only touching the concrete for sure, but i'm not sure what else to look for.

Thanks again. Truly.

Bags of concrete absolutely have an expiration date. If you live anywhere humid they will absorb moisture and will set up in the bag. Never plan on storing bags of concrete or mortar long term

The problem is where to locate the values. The bathrooms I’m familiar with don’t have an easy place like under sink or behind toilet; the plumbing is all in the wall.

Did your home inspector not catch it??

Unfortunately most landlords will 'take you to the cleaners' over this kind of stuff. Try fix it yourself in an only additive way so if it does f'up it can be restored back to the start. This way the landlord can use your money to pay his brother 2000$ an hour to fill it with the same stuff and look worse but it will be 'ok' because it was done by a 'professional'

I think you've got the terminology right, we say the exact same thing here in Norway. The difference is just that in Norway, the inside is always the warm side. I'm pretty sure you would do it the other way around in Sinagpore.

Especially if you live in a fairly dry area I guess 30c outside won't make too much of an issue in the summer since it's just 5-10 degrees warmer than the inside which is not much compared to the 50c difference you could get in winter.

The more often you use it, the more moisture it will store.

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Insulation is cheap, if the walls are already open it seems like a good idea. I'm not sure if there are any concerns with that needing to be open for air/vapor reasons though. Seems like maybe insulation might be better than leaving that cavity open, for fire blocking reasons.

Wtf is this horror show???? Do not pay. Hire real contractor. File bond claim. Burn this picture.

Could have the terminology wrong. Where I live we typically call the interior the warm side. I'd also guess it is about temperature differential. The condensation problem is much worse going from humid 20c into dry -30c.... plus the moisture on the cold side isn't warm enough to dry the insulation and foundation. So vapour barrier goes on the inside with it's most important job being to keep warm interior air from condensing into a cold wall. In the summer, any moisture inside a wall can dry out and escape out the non-barriered wall.

Carpenter here..I screw any amount of this boards weekly....this is a shocking attempt and clearly has no idea how to do this...first take all that shit they put up down and quick.second find your joist and which way there running (length of timber above the drywall)make a hole have a look ...when ya find which way there running and how far apart they are your golden...your gonna use 70mm drywall screw with a washer trough your new drywall into the joist repeat this process throughout the ceiling using plenty of screws...if that' way isn't possible and your ceiling needs to be lowered(which ya don't want )remove all old drywall and and start joisting it again keeping it as high as possible then the new drywall will be alot easier to install...on my way to work right now and this pic will get some amount of laughs...let us know if ya had the balls to run these monkeys

Not, even, Mentioning! the fact that someone could have been hurt.

Demo in an old house by inexperienced DIYers is asking for lead poisoning/lung disease.

But before that, figure out where the moisture is coming from and fix it. This looks like an upstairs wall, so I would assume it's coming from the roof. If those are stairs down to a basement the moisture could be wicking up the wall from somewhere.

That was a helluva journey, thanks for sharing!

Molly, you in danger girl…

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My landlord went with weird shelves, it's actually turned into a boon as we use them as actual shelves (these ones are about 8-12" deep around one side of the house). I appreciate the extra storage space. I know it's a little to late for you but figured I'd chime in my 2c :)

Is it necessary to dig to the frost line if the building is heated? I ask because I have little floor jacks under my kitchen that I presume the renovators put in to help support the tile and granite that was installed. This is on a crawl so it gets cold below the house but it doesn't freeze or else my pipes wouldn't be very happy

Well I checked and didn't find anything loose either on the oven or light circuit. Another item that may or may not mean anything - the breakers are right next to each other. But then again the light circuit includes stuff like my PC/Monitor and the other bedroom's light none of which have issues.

Might just have to suck it up and pay a pro.

Hey. Just a heads up. This looks like a British home with an Artex ceiling - if built before 1999 there is a chance that it will contain Asbestos - albeit most likely in low amounts.

I'd suggest you get it tested before disturbing it anymore.

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Post your finished project. Good luck.

Yeah. I understand what they were saying now. In my jurisdiction Sheetrock is an acceptable fire block, so there’s nothing wrong with my “framing”. I haven’t even ordered any drywall yet, so that’s why that space is open right now.