What I found when I ripped down my wall.

I’d planned on discussing more chimney stuff today, but I got too involved w/ work, it’s now 8pm and time for wine.  So I’ll just show you what I found in the wall.

BACKGROUND: A major reason John & I were able to buy this house is b/c two rooms on the first floor need to be restored.  One room is more complete than the other, but basically both need floors. and either partial or full reconstruction of the walls.  We have sketched out a plan for the first of these two rooms – which just happens to be the one needing more work.  Of course.  I spent the bulk of today working on Room #1.  This will be our dining room, once it’s restored.

dining room - BEFORE

The former owner began the process many years ago, by framing the wall and installing plasterboard.  Unfortunately this plasterboard is now in pretty bad shape, with holes in several spots.  First up: Removing this old plasterboard in preparation for new drywall.

dining room - removing plasterboard

Here I am – halfway done.  You can see the old insulation (love the vintage labels)

old insulation

and the original brickwork of the chimney behind the support beams.

chimney brickwork

All routine until the very last piece of plasterboard.  When I pulled off a chunk, there was some debris on the sill.

crap behind wall

A fragment of wood, spiderwebs, a bunch of dusty looking lint, and then I noticed a nasty bit which looked a lot like..

ancient rodent

rodent skull

a rodent skull – complete w/ desiccated maggots & disembodied limbs.

rodent foot

rodent leg

So that was my day – how was yours??

PS: GOOOOOO PHILLLSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

16 thoughts on “What I found when I ripped down my wall.

  1. I’m glad it wasn’t me. All the more power to ya. My prayers are with you folks. However, you must know. The neighbors always thought there must be some hidden treasure hidden between the walls or under floor boards or behind bricks in the house. I’ve looked and haven’t found anything, but then I never looked behind the wall board. Have fun exploring. Kate

  2. a. GO YANKEES

    b. dead rodents? and you did flee, screaming? woman, you’re too much for me. where are THE PEOPLE?

    c. so glad you have a furnace. at dinner, i was just showing ant the pics of your brick fireplace flues and he was like, ‘geez, they’re a regular little house on the prairie, stoking fires all night long. it will be a cold winter for them!’

  3. a) retch.

    b) i did feel a slight bit nauseous. after documenting w/ photos, i spent 10 mins out in the yard, calling to the birds.

    c) HHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHHH. yep that’s gonna be us.

  4. Now you know why we have had such a hard time saying goodbye to the house that became our foundation. Lots of work but it was a fortress for us against the elements. Though the airport is only a mile away, your house doesn’t shudder when jets fly overhead, as some ‘modern’ houses in the neighborhood do, because of the sturdy timbers supporting the home. And those two huge chimneys, too, supported by the arches. We always knew that we were to get under the arch for protection if a tornado were to come our way. Thankfully, Maine doesn’t know, first hand, about tornados like the mid-west gets. See? You live in a fortress. Kate

  5. While the house I grew up in (c. 1904) was not as old as my new boyfriend, I too dreamed to treasure under the floor boards.
    Good thing my dad doesn’t read your blog because he’d probably be ticked to find out that I often tried to lift the tongue-in-groove flooring up, hoping for neatstuff.
    Alas, the only thing I ever found were ghosts.

    P.S.
    House, you’re a dirty bird! You’re the one with chimneys!

  6. Unfortunately, the Phillies did GO – home. Boo. Pedro looked like he was fighting the flu, tho. If I tell Bouncy and your house to get a room, you have plenty to spare, right?

  7. P. S. Your little rat paw skeleton is disgusting. But man, it would have been PERFECT to put in the bowl of candy on your porch, wouldn’t it???

  8. Hah! Skeleton was vacuumed up yesterday, tho it would have made an authentically gruesome Halloween decoration… As for Stephanie & House, at this rate she’s gonna be giving birth to a bouncing baby shed, just in time for spring!

  9. Oh my goodness a body, did you call CSI to come & look at it with their tiny torches. Your wall cavity is a murder scene. AAAIIIEEEEEE!!!!!

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