Looking worse before looking better - Part 1

As promised, here is the week two update on the house. As I started pulling paneling and particularly damaged/poorly installed sheetrock off I discovered a number of interesting "features," as you will see in the pictures. Here is the short list: the beam holding the roof up is about three feet short of the exterior wall, the foundation turns out to be slab on grade and has some major (but mostly patched) cracks, some extremely interesting wire routing solutions that involved cutting grooves in structural beams, a random capped natural gas pipe, and studs with the middles cut out of them supported only by the drywall. Enjoy. Thank you to many good friends and family for all your unflagging support and able assistance. 

Exposing the beam in the kitchen.

Another view of the kitchen beam excavation.

It turns out the entryway was gift-wrapped in festive gold stripes. 

Drywall issues and the outline of a dart board.

More drywall damage.

This the end of the structural beam holding the roof up; that ends three feet short of the exterior wall... Current speculation is that three extra feet of building was added at some point.

A very cool mercury switch inside of a thermostat. 

This turned up behind a piece of panelling.

Most of the ceiling tiles are gone and the place looks like a wreck, but just wait...

It appears that one nail is holding the roof beam to the header, which is presumably attached the post below it.

Should I try the number of the building manager??

Wiring issue A.

Wiring issue B (more wire damage).

I am not sure what to say about this one other than wtf. Also the wiring in the top left of the photo has been routed through a grove cut in the main beam.

For some reason there is scorching around this pipe for the baseboard heat.

Wiring issue C (black wire in the insulation).

The only thing holding these studs together is drywall.

Another wtf scenario. The green is another layer of drywall.

The closet with the electrical panel in it being dismantled.

There might have been a boiler here at one time. It has yet to be determined if there is gas in the capped gas line or not.

A mix of water damage, creature damage, and person damage. More investigation is needed on this one. It is on an exterior wall and quite a bit of cold air is coming in.

My tenants dogs came for an unauthorized visit. Their names are Smith and Weston.