11.14.2008 — By now, most of you have seen your new construction business shrink from last year's levels and are doing retrofit work instead.

The retrofit market could consist of previous customers, for example, adding speakers to a patio, or even a complete whole-house audio and video system.

Performing in this segment of the market probably requires skills beyond what you may already have developed working in new construction.

Hand in hand with those new skills will be tools that enable you to do things your customer doesn't think can happen.

I've had the good fortune to learn from three top-rate retrofit professionals: the great Roy Bowling of Labor Saving Devices, Calvin Hamada and Jim "The Fisher King" Dorr.

Each of these gentlemen taught me to be patient, to examine all possible angles and to understand where I was in relation to where I wanted to go.

The first thing to understand when going into a retrofit situation is the nature of the beast you are trying to tame.

The Important Questions to Ask

Is it an old-time house, with plaster and lath construction? Or is it Sheetrock? Maybe it's Sheetrock on top of plaster and lath.

Where are the studs? Are there fire blocks in the wall?

The structure might not have been finished all at the same time or even the same era. My 1920s Minneapolis house had an unfinished second floor until the 1960s.

A general understanding of construction methods will go a long way in improving your retrofit skills. I'm afraid I'd be lost working on an adobe house in Santa Fe, but I'm quite comfortable with construction methods used in northern States.

Know what is on each side of your project. Is there a basement? Is it finished or unfinished?

What about an attic or crawl space? What's on the other side of the wall?

Knowing that there's a heating and air conditioning vent on the second floor -- on the same wall where you're planning to work -- can save you from having to make an expensive wall repair.

And you really don't want to put a loudspeaker into a heating duct.

Pay attention to plumbing locations, too. Is there a bathroom, laundry room or kitchen near the spot where you're working? I've known people who drilled into a hot water feed pipe and caused loads of damage — even after being warned.

The same warnings can be given for high- and low-voltage wiring. Nicking a 220-volt line is not a pleasant experience.

Working in the Walls and Ceilings

Here are few tips for retrofit work going into the wall:

• In walls, the framing timbers most often travel up and down.
• On a ceiling, use a stud finder to discover which way the joists run
• When you're using a stud finder, rest it on a clean piece of paper to keep the wall or ceiling looking perfect

When you are working in finished rooms that have can-style ceiling lights:

• You can easily remove the cans to get a nice-sized observation hole
• Make sure that the painter hasn't sealed the lip in place. It's really ugly pealing a piece of paint from a faux finished ceiling because you didn't check first.