Can't Judge a House by its Cupboards

When we first began to fix up the kitchen we thought that it wouldn't be too drastic of a change, take out the island, fix the rotten corner, fix the floor, paint and all would be well. Hey ok for all you seasoned Housebloggers quit laughing...the mushroom effect has taken hold and is growing rampantly. So far we have ripped out the island, http://wilsonfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2007/01/hi-ho-hi-ho-it-is-off-to-house-we-go.html. Then removed the corner wall and a section of countertop to get at the rotten piece.

Realizing more needed to be done to get at the rotten piece we removed a section of the cupboards and the sink.

Next came the floors. There was vinyl flooring, press board underlay, tiles and linoleum and then boards which we believe is the subfloor. No hardwood treasure under here! Just hard work getting all those layers and all the nails that went with those layers up off the floor.

Behind me in this picture you can see a little room called the pantry. I am not sure why it is called the pantry because it is really too small for a pantry. I have been told that it had been used for a ringer washer and later a small spinner washer but the room is really too small for that too but since the Wilsons who built this piece (Willard & Sarah) aren't around to ask what their intentions for that room were we call it the pantry. Not to be confused with the old pantry that was part of the older portion of the house. But I digress, the reason I am bringing up the little room called the pantry is the tearing apart we did in that room. I am really beginning to like tearing things apart! We tore down the walls, ceiling and the floor. I don't have any pictures of this part Well actually Clarke was trying to take up the floor when his crow bar went through the floor, so hence Clarke and Stephen had to put in new beams and a floor. It had a little bit of insulation but it was looking in not the best of shape, so we ripped that out and put in new. Similar situation happened when they removed the ceiling and discovered that the floor and beams of the bathroom above was rotten and needed to be repaired. So the little kitchen project is getting to be a large kitchen project.

And the demolition has only just began.........the saga continues, stay tuned.

Nancy

Behind Closed Doors

The best way to get a good view of what is behind closed doors is to take the doors off! With the hope of restoring the cupboards we removed the doors to make it easier to repair and paint the interior. I am going to paint them whether they need it or not, it has only been about 50 years since their last paint job. We had a crew helping us. Thanks Stephen & Zachary! It was amazing how long it took to remove the doors and all the old hardware.

What surprises lurked behind those doors? There was 3 cedar shingles nailed to the back wall of one of the cupboards. When we removed the singles to reveal this.

It is not quite what I had in mind for the best way to fix a hole. But then again if you don't fix a leak you get this.......

If you think that is bad you should see the bedroom walls that are above the kitchen!





My favourite story in How Come They Just Didn't Fix It genre?

The Hole

This past spring I had walked into the kitchen and all over the sink was what looked like the makings of a birds nest I looked up under the valance that covered the top of the kitchen cupboards to discover that indeed a bird had built a nest in a hole that was there. Thinking that this was a new hole I questioned Ethel about its origins, to my suprise she said that hole had been there for a long time. The hole that had been cut into the wall to help vent the heat from the woodstove because at one time all their cooking was done there. A vent pipe went from the stove across the ceiling and out the wall. When the vent was no longer needed they removed the pipe but did not fix the hole. I asked is this the first time for a bird to nest in the hole? No I guess the birds have been coming for years. How did you stop the mess inside the house? Masking tape and wallpaper! I just couldn't believe it! Clarke's sister Charlene can remember the hole being there as long as 30 years ago. Nobody had bothered to fix the hole! What was I to do this year? You could already hear the cheep! cheep! cheep! of little birds, so a board was nailed to the wall to stop the baby birds from falling into the kitchen. In the fall we filled the hole with expanding foam. We will have to make a birdhouse and attach it to the outside of the house over the hole because I don't want those poor birds to be homeless after 30 years.

Nancy