August 2014

We found so many more odd things, and so much more dirt and debris. For those of you looking for some kind of This Old House blog, I hate to disappoint you. I look forward to when we can install new floors and restore original doors, but for now its all cleaning and gutting.

The car is gone!

The realtor told me the car had been removed by David in our absence, so it wasn't a surprise when we arrived. I raked the spot to try and encourage the grass to grow.

The Attic

Pete finished cleaning out the attic. Neither one of us noticed this before but there is a chimney missing! There's a boarded up hole in the floorboards where the chimney for the fireplaces in the dining room and back bedroom should be.

What happened? Why would someone do all of that work? Pete has a theory that someone was really bent on installing another window in the attic and the chimney was getting in the way. Maybe it fell apart. Can that happen?

The closet in the attic has a linoleum floor. This newspaper was underneath, which I guess was used for insulation.

More smut, this one found in the attic.

Here's the attic all cleaned up

Christmas in August

There were several large boxes of Christmas ornaments, lights and wreaths in the attic, most of it exhibiting some pretty extreme dry rot.

This wreath was falling apart in my hands

I remember this milk carton planter project in grade school, although this pine tree branch was petrified wood when I found it.

This elf had that plastic ring melted to its head. 

I've never seen these types of ornaments before

I don't know what this used to be, but that brown substance looked pretty gelatinous. 

 These vintage Christmas tree ornaments were the only thing worth keeping.

This music box still played.

I hate to be Grinchy, but all of this had to go!

The 15 layer floor

 This was under the back patio floor. There are many layers of sheet rock, plywood, and what may be baseboard molding used as spacers. Well, the floor was level, so I will have to give some credit to this technique!

A signature behind the walls

There's an extra layer of sheet rock in the front bedroom. Curious as to why, Pete pulled it down. We found some electrical wiring, and this:

April 25, 1970, I wasn't even born yet!

This is the second time we found something intentionally left in a wall or ceiling. I suspect there will be more surprises like this in the future. 

Here's the front bedroom pretty much cleaned up

The back bedroom

Cleaning out the basement

Pete tore down the plywood and aluminum wall in the basement and we brought all the refuse to the dumpster.

I was relieved to see all the metal support columns holding up the house!

Behind that cabinet there is a small hill of soil. Its where the gutter was broken and water has been trickling in for who knows how long. The mound had pieces of clay pipe and brick in it, and I expected to find finger bones or skull fragments buried inside. Moving that dirt was the most strenuous work I've done so far.  I've been watching videos on how to re-point stone foundation, because I'm sure this corner needs reinforcement. Instructions include applying new mortar with a trowel, but I'd like to sew giant vinyl lined pastry bags and just squirt the stuff in. 

This is the ash pit for the kitchen fireplace

To the left of the ash pit is the crawlspace below the back porch. Stuffed inside was some moldy insulation and this stuff:

 This is one of two handmade American flag pillows.

A vintage floral pattern sheet.

After working in the wet basement the mud in my boots dried to form a readable impression of the tread.

Food fight

I found these two cans in a kitchen cabinet. It looked like a pretty vicious brawl.

In the blue we have LaCena Pinto beans, direct from Spain, weighing in at a lean 425 grams.

In the green we have Flanagan Krrrrrrrrisp Kraut. A classic German condiment with un-explainable Irish origins." Without a doubt, the worlds best kraut"

More noteworthy trash

Another early 1970s relic in the kitchen. I think my family had this exact model when I was little.

More ironic items

This vase really shows the extensive smoke damage from the kerosene heaters

Nun chucks handmade with electrical tape 

A makeshift monogram at the tip. Maybe the owner fantasized about leaving his initial on his enemies.

A dry rotted last supper rug 

An uninstalled toilet left in the basement

We didn't find the microscope that went with this vintage instruction booklet. 

Pete thinks this may be an old lightning rod. Or the last nail holding the house together.

This may be the base for the fondue pot left behind.

A very ambitious restoration project. We plan to sell this to one of those Soho shabby chic furniture stores.

These can be used as maracas, see video below.

Our itty bitty landfill
Does the sanitation department blacklist someone that doesn't pay his local taxes? That's our best guess as to why this trash pile is in the backyard.

 There's cement under all that garbage!


Flora and fauna


The basement was filled with these white dead spiders. They turned to dust if touched.

Pete saw this bug drag this dead spider across the pavement. He's resting when this photo was taken.

I managed to catch this little guy flying in the house crashing into the windows in a panic. Luckily he didn't hurt himself.

This mummified bat was on the floor in the kitchen.

I brought him home for a proper photo session. I'm impressed at how perfectly preserved he is!

These are the only flowers in our yard. They must be pretty resilient, because all we have for plants besides these is the garden graveyard in the backyard. 

This is our only tree on the entire property. (plus one stump in the backyard) If anyone knows what species this is please let me know. One of the neighbors thinks its a peach tree but says it hasn't sprouted any fruit, and I don't know what those red/yellow berries are. Apparently peach trees can grow this far north but the fruit has a very short window to sprout. The former resident that I correspond with thinks it may be a plum tree.

Our neighbors told us there is a gopher (there are a few holes in the lawn) and lots of deer that wander in from the surrounding woods. My garden will have to be deer proofed.  I still cant believe we are ten minutes from the city!

The end of our second trip

Its Miller Milwaukee's Best time. Our neighbor across the street brought us a couple of beers. "I'm getting exhausted just watching you two" I love our neighbors already!

Shopping for home renovation
My sister in law's friend told us about the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store, a second hand store for building materials. Like any thrift store, merchandise comes and goes, so visiting is a different experience each time. If you are remodeling a house or just like a good random bargain I recommend you visit, there are Re-stores all over the country.

The re-store carries books too. We bought a few for our creepy book collection

Besides a few $6.00 used rakes and shovels, Pete got this $10.00 exhaust blower fan. They are about $125.00 new, so he was pretty happy.



Construction Junction is what really got me excited. Its like the Re-Store, but with mostly antiques.

Pocket doors

Hardware for pocket doors

There are a lot of antique gas stoves at Construction Junction. We may take this route since one of our chimneys is M.I.A!

This stove is so pretty! Can those heating elements be replaced?

Lots of balusters and table legs

I'm sure you can match any door in your old house with this extensive collection.

Huge tin crown molding

I cant remember how much these corbels cost, but ones that are half this size can be up to $85.00 new.

A fleet of pastel colored toilets, for all of your 1960s-1970s bathroom renovation needs. See http://retrorenovation.com/ for restored homes from this era.