Anyone find anything cool hidden behing walls during demo’ing?
I recently found an old 8″ torpedo level. Aluminum, with curved bubble tubes. Not pretty, but still works just fine. A set of ford keys, i’m still checking for the car. An ID badge. And a couple unused chopped off lead pipes. Damn heavy and their softness is almost eery, strange material.
And damn is 100yr old dry wood hard!
eric
Replies
Hey, that level is mine, I forgot I left it.
When ya find the car, do me a favor and drive it over here....Not only did I forget I had left the keys in your wall, but now I can`t remember where I parked the damn car!
Thanks.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"
Some McDonalds toys are waiting for the next owners or remodelers to discover in our walls. Our daughter has done some nice drawings behind millwork and under finish flooring.
I was ripping up my brothers place and found Circus/ and fair posters from the 50s. They put them up against the sheathing boards to keep the wind out, as there was almost no insulation.
Found a signed check from LLBean to the owner of a house that has been in historical societys hands for probably 70 years... that was strange... the check was probably few hundred dollars, I cant remember what it was dated.
-zen
While I was gutting my current project house, I found all kinds of notes from the original builder, penciled onto the inside of the siding; dates each section of the house was completed, how the project was coming along, even the weather from back in August of '25.
A couple of 1917 NY Times, a few liquor bottles stashed up in the attic above the storage area, water and tax bills and insurance forms through the 40's. Oh and a bread pan lined with cloth for the squirrels to sleep in....that's not a mistake, it's rustic
I spend my time hammering away at san francisco's victorians so i have found a few things..... we always turn them over to the owners for it is after all their stuff...... sometimes they keep it , sometimes they sh(t can it.
the more memorable finds..
a one handed reader from the 20's, along with an empty pint of booze and a very rusted cap gun
one whole jobs worth of municipal rail transfer tickets
countless newspapers
cufflinks stuffed above interior door trim
the list goes on and on...
james
I opened up a wall on the third floor of a 3 family just big enugh to put an air conditioner in and right there hanging on a nail was a framed picture of jesus looking back at me. It made my hair stand up.
he everywhere, everywhere.
Inside an old stairwell I spotted a large travel bag, I was sure it was full of money! It had an old log end and a tattered running shoe in it.
My duplex had it's party wall full (and I mean stuffed full) of circa 1950 bottles from a local beverage company. I had thousands of old bottles nobody wanted!
Best thing we've found is an old ww1 scabbard with bayonet along with some rubanesque girlie pics from the time period.These were in a attic rm we were renovating,in the wall.
Another time we were working in an old building that used to be a stable for mules @ the c&o canal. It was becoming a restaurant. We found lots of old artifacts,presumably left by workman at lunchbreak;pottery,bottles, etc.