Behind the Wall

Behind the Wall

The workers did a little archaeological dig on the house today. Granted, it was at the expense of the loss of our original door frames (and Megan’s hard work in stripping 85 years of paint from them!), but we did find some cool stuff buried behind the walls.

The above photo may look like a pile of faded news pulp, but it’s actually a peek into the window of 1932. The photos of various people are collectible trading cards of Golden Era Hollywood actors and actresses. Some of the names are recognizable – Buster Keaton, Bela Lugosi, Maureen O’Sullivan – while others are just like that vast sea of unnameable baseball players you’d get in a pack of Topps cards. What’s neat is that they’re all date stamped from various days in 1932, and they all have fortune cookie-like missives on the back. Jack Oakie at Paramount Pictures, for example, insists that “although inclined to be light-hearted, you are deeply serious about the important things in life.” TrĂ© zen!

Thanks to Megan’s diligent research, we now know the cards were sold with cigarettes or at a weight machine in J.J. Newberry stores. (The purchaser vacillates between 131 and 140 pounds.) Their fate until we rescued them was to serve as mere shims for our way off-kilter door frames. Simply horrible. Their liberation will serve as a reminder not only to our home’s interesting past, but to freedom!

There’s also some cardboard milk bottle tops reminding us to wash all bottle before return and a booklet for girl’s clothing store Jordan’s on Colorado Boulevard in the picture. If we get a chance, we’ll type up the fascinating serialized adventures wedged between ads for dolls and toddler’s dresses in the brochure.

The Purge

You may have noticed a recurring trend when a wall is excavated in the kitchen. The wall abutting the second bedroom/office was 3 inches off plum, the wall abutting the living room was less sturdy (and better constructed) than a child’s Lego project, etc. Our bungalow is a neat little hodge-podge of both poor and weird building practices. As one of our contractors calls it, it’s a “Mickey Mouse” job.

You may have noticed a recurring trend when a wall is excavated in the kitchen. The wall abutting the second bedroom/office was 3 inches off plum, the wall abutting the living room was less sturdy (and better constructed) than a child’s Lego project, etc. Our bungalow is a neat little hodge-podge of both poor and weird building practices. As one of our contractors calls it, it’s a “Mickey Mouse” job.

Kitchen Ceiling

The trend continues! The ceiling has been removed because it, too, is uneven and, well, needs to be made even. There was some water damage in the bathroom several years ago, but there’s no explanation for the house’s slightly trapezoidal shape. It’s really impressive how the crew has been able to right the 80-year-old wrong, though. And seeing them frame out the new kitchen window is excellent.

Kitchen Ceiling DSC00126

I’ve been home while they work today, and listening to them drop the ceiling was an experience in and of itself. Huge chunks of aging drywall and paint continued to hit the ground for the better part of an hour. I didn’t know exactly what they were working on, and when I investigated, I found 6 solid inches of insulation and plaster coating the floor.

Fiberglass Insulation

Kitchen Demo

As Matt commented last night, this is all getting very real! We came back from a nice visit up north for Thanksgiving on Saturday and spent the rest of the weekend cleaning out the kitchen. The kitchen demo started yesterday. Now the back of the house is pretty much officially joined with the addition.

As Matt commented last night, this is all getting very real! We came back from a nice visit up north for Thanksgiving on Saturday and spent the rest of the weekend cleaning out the kitchen. The kitchen demo started yesterday. Now the back of the house is pretty much officially joined with the addition.

Window on kitchen sink wall…

DSC00101

DSC00105

Looking towards laundry room, new bathroom…

DSC00104

Old linoleum and floor…

DSC00102 DSC00108

I’ve watched enough HGTV home renovation shows to know you never know what you will find when you look behind a wall! Someone didn’t know what they were doing when they built this wall. The 2×4’s should extend all the way down the wall. This wall was put together with what looks like scrap wood. This will soon be fixed. This is the stove wall between the kitchen and loving/dining area…

DSC00111 DSC00110

DSC00106

Back bedroom update…

DSC00112 DSC00113

What is left of the kitchen…

DSC00116

Everything looks like it is torn apart…but our new bathroom is coming together very well (save for a really back ordered toilet!). Shower doors have been ordered and shower fixtures have been installed. We were even able to give Indy a bath in here on Sunday!

DSC00115