Journey of Discovery

"To destroy is always the first step in any creation."  E. E. Cummings

We were still in the planning phase but no matter what we knew everything in the house had to go.  There wasn't a doubt in my mind that we wouldn't find a stitch of insulation in the walls. I already knew from my tour in the crawl space that the wiring need to all be redone.  And I was mentally preparing myself for what other surprises we would find along the way.  It was only a tiny house so the demolition shouldn't take long.....right?
A hundred year old home with wall covered in wallpaper on drywall.  It really shouldn't be a big deal to rip all of this out. A couple, maybe a few weekends and we should be ready to start the rebuilding process.
I was guessing that given the age there was probably just plaster and lathe behind that drywall so I did what every red blooded man would do, I tried to put my fist through the wall. Now I am not seen by those around me as a small man, but my first punch didn't even make a dent in the wall.  In fact it hurt a little! But I was a man!  I wasn't going to let any thing plaster wall hinder my testosterone fueled display!
Suffice it to say the wall didn't budge the tiniest bit and the air around me may have turned blue for a brief period.
My framer's hammer at least made a dent in the wall.  Being a blacksmith I did not have a paucity of hammers so I pulled out a big boy....which only made a little larger dent in the wall. By now most of you are thinking "you are hitting over a stud you silly ass, just try a different spot." That occurred to me as well, but still no joy.  It was time for the big hammer!!  It made a hole.
My walls were not plaster and lathe.  They were two layers of some kind of drywall or gyproc covered by 5 layers of wallpaper (at least).  Underneath those layers of drywall was plaster, and under that was solid 1X6 shiplap.   That explained why my hand hurt so much.

Layer upon layer upon layer of wallpaper

What I expected should have been a few weekends of demolition turned into week after week after week.  The drywall was nailed on ever six inches.  Nothing came of in big pieces.  The shiplap was nailed on with 3 inch nails.  I don't know if you ever tried to pull nails out of wood that had been drying around that nail for a very long time, but let me tell you it was work!!!  I tried desperately to preserve that wood but eventually just resorted to running the sawsall down between the studs and pulling out 18 inch long pieces of shiplap.

Along the way we made many interesting  discoveries, including the fact that our home was once 4 separate cabins all place together.  This is apparently not uncommon in our area where coal miners would haul shacks into town and place them together to make a larger house.  The walls between rooms were almost 9 inches thick because the exterior walls of the cabins were just placed against each other so if you can picture this  the walls were 2 layers of drywall - 1 inch shiplap - 2X4 - 1 inch shiplap - some kind of asphalt siding - another layer of asphalt siding - 1 inch shiplap - 2X4 - 1 inch shiplap - 2 layers of drywall!!!

Anyone wanna shag?  There were two layers of vinyl flooring under this and yes, we found original hardwood under sit all.

I am pretty sure I had hair before this.

That drywall came off in 4 to six in chucks through the entire house.

We have skeletons in our walls

The Toronto Star Weekly, Saturday, November 5th, 1932.  Another little treasure within our walls.

This knife was found in the walls.  We would love to know more about it if anyone can tell us. I would also love to have some suggestions on cleaning it up without damaging it.

Carole called him Fred.  I wanted to call him squishy but she wouldn't let me.

Christmas card postmarked 1921

 

"to To destroy is always the first step in any creation.

e. e. cummings

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To destroy is always the first step in any creation.

e. e. cummings

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/eecummin379418.html#J8SBUvd9MXS4Fc60.99

Your Introductory Tour

Welcome! Join us on our first real tour of our crooked little house but bundle up because Baby its cold INSIDE!!  It is a very quaint little home from the front, although quaint may be over sizing it.  The tree is gorgeous though!  Oh wait....through the branches....is that a tiny little window I see?

As you can see from these pictures it was colder, and icier inside the house then it was outside.  There wasn't a surface not covered in ice crystals, which are really quite beautiful, but maybe not so much when they are on your walls and ceiling.

As you enter the front door you are greeted by this "warm" inviting living room with the lovely orange shag carpet. The door on the right leads to the kitchen.  The door on the left leads to the bedrooms.  Both doors are so narrow that I had to turn sideways walking through them.

The window on the left is the only window in the house large enough to actually let light in.

This is the view from the living room through the kitchen to the back entrance room.  Lets take a step into the kitchen and have a look.  It is a thing of beauty I am sure!!

Oh!.  Look at that lovely tin cabinet.  And the ice in the window is such a lovely touch! 

Those kitchen cabinets aren't so bad....but something tells me the people that put them in were either missing 8 inches off their measuring tape or they were not all that tall.

A workable cooking area and such a lovely drop ceiling.  It will be a shame but I think we may need to replace that light.

And here is the washroom, just off the kitchen.  Now I have a sense of humor but even I can't joke around about just how awful this bathroom is.  I would love to say that is a huge window over the tub but the fact is that is the smallest tub I have every seen and the window I think they stole from a doll house.  The toilet was so low you would be better off squatting over a hole in the floor.

The electrical panel in our back entrance, which unfortunately I do not seem to have original pictures of.  Probably has something to do with the fact that there wasn't room for me an a camera in the back porch.  Picture a narrow hallway that angles over a bit the last 2 feet to allow for a door to be opened wide enough that you can squeeze out it.

The main bedroom.  There was one small window in here as well.  I think the previous tenants must have either been vampires because they were clearly afraid of sunshine and light.  That door at the back leads to another small bedroom. Once again there are no pictures because there wasn't enough room for both me and the camera in there.

Well?
What do you think of our new home?  Gorgeous eh?  All almost 900 square feet of it! 
This was pretty much the point where the little voice (actually all the little voices) in my head were screaming at me saying "what the hell did you get yourself into!!!"  It was also the point where we were doing the cartoon thing with me holding Carole's shirt while her feet spun under her as she tried to run away. I am pretty sure I heard that scrambling feet sound from a Hanna-Barbera cartoon.
Now you have seen where we started.  It all had to go.  Everything was coming out down to the studs. I had a vision and that vision with a few amendments and modifications would someday become reality.  The plan was slow and steady.  We weren't taking out a mortgage to make quick changes.  We weren't running up unneeded debt.  This meant that nothing happened fast but stick with us and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Earlier in my post I mentioned how beautiful ice crystals can be.  Mother Nature is truly an amazing artist as you can see by these works she etched into our windows.

The Story Begins

Chance. That is what brought us here. Chance and good luck.

We drove to a small town in rural Alberta to look at a house we had come across in real estate listings. That house was never found but we did come across a small house on a wide street with a huge pine tree standing in the front yard. It looked a little doll house. A far cry from the over sized, cookie cutter, crowded buildings people are building as homes today.

When we got home we checked the listings and found the little doll house listed for a reasonable price. A price that at least made it worth looking at, especially when compared to the half a million dollars they wanted for homes in Calgary. A call to the real estate agent and we soon had our chance to view the interior of this quaint little home.

It was a cold, snowy day in December of 2012. We pulled up to the front of the house and saw doors open and curious activity going on. It wasn't long before the real estate agent came out to greet us....with an apology. It seemed that the home had been rented out but that tenant had moved out. The heat was off. The water was on. It doesn't take much to guess the rest.

We had made the long drive out already so we decided to have a look in the house anyways. I had an idea of what to expect but Carole on the other hand looked rather shocked from the moment she walked in the door.

Ice crystals covered the walls and ceiling and the smell was of something old. Very very old. A couple of steps told us the floor was anything but even. That floor was covered in a deep, once orange, shag carpet that the moisture squished out of as we stepped on it. One look at Carole and I could see her only thought was how quick can I make it out the door!

We pushed through anyways. Well I pushed through while Carole bravely followed behind me into the dank bowels of the house.

If you have ever visited a heritage site and walked through one of those old homes then you will understand what we were seeing. A few very small windows that barely lit tiny rooms. Doors that you almost had to turn sideways to walk through. “Unique” construction to make some semi modern amenities fit into the old structure. Wiring that ran the gamut from ball and knob on up. Floors that were so uneven you felt like you were walking through a fun house at the midway. You pretty much had to be there to understand.

I popped down into the crawl space, fired up a flashlight, and saw what I needed to see. My mind was made up! And I am pretty sure Carole's was at this point too so when we got in the truck and she asked me what I thought with a knowing grin on her face she was shocked when I said we should make an offer.

It took some convincing, some explanation, and some discussion, but we made an offer. It was an extremely low offer, not even worth the property value alone. We were pleasantly surprised when the offer was accepted, though I am not sure “pleasantly” is the proper word. On December 30^th, 2012 the doll house became our “project” and launched our decent into more then a year and counting of renovation work.

People have a way of looking at old things and not seeing any value in them because the are old or broken down. They want new, shiny, big. What they miss is the character that age and love and use brings to things of age. A little love and care and that character comes out along with the stories and history and so much more. This doesn't just go for homes and items but people as well.

You can follow this chapter in this home's life in this blog. Feel free to join in the story and add your comments.

Larry.