An old Mason jar, found behind a wall, makes a perfect vase.
Things we found in the walls...
Hidden behind the lath and plaster walls of our 1905 building were glass bottles, Mason jars, old tools, and even a wooden crutch.
Almost ready for tenants!
It's now been a year and a half since we bought the building. Way behind schedule and way, way above budget, we are finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The apartments – two one-bedroom apartments and four two-bedroom apartments – will be ready for tenants in June (click here for more information). The ground floor (pictured here) is already in use, and has been used as a party space for birthday celebrations and dinners this spring.
Original photo
Thanks to John at Purple Fiddle for pointing out this photo that he has on his wall. It's clearly taken of the inside of the Milkint Store. Notice the potbelly stove and the location of the counters.
Skylight
The skylight before and after demolition. We are keeping the skylight, but just going to clean and update the glass. We also have four other original skylights that were covered over with the roofing ten years ago. Opening up those will bring in a lot more natural light!
Skylight from the roof. The original iron frame is in really bad shape and falls apart in your hand.
Opening up the hallway
before--a bit dark.
Wish we could leave all those beams exposed, but going to have to cover up some, but will keep it lighter.
10" joists reduced to 2"
We took out the 'modern' bathtub--less than 8 years old--since it was leaking pretty bad. We discovered that they had cut almost 8" out of the 10" floor joists!! Unbelievable, really the worst damage we are finding to the building are the repairs done in the past ten years. The original work from 100 years ago is in good shape. A good cautionary tale for our own repairs!
Asbestos removal
We had a great crew from Cira and Associates Consulting come in and remove the siding and properly dispose of the asbestos. They started with good weather, but the last day the weather turned brutally cold with snow and high winds. Made removing the last few shingles quite a challenge. Credit to the contractor's crew for getting it all finished up.
Front and side before removal.
Almost removed from the front in sunny, but very cold conditions.
Then the weather changed a bit. The hard to reach final corner was a challenge.
Loft space
We took out all of the ceilings in the front space and it opens up the upper windows. Not sure why they had natural light into the crawl space originally. We plan to keep the front part open and expose the beams and then put in a loft space towards the back.
Only the tub remains
We love the old claw foot tub, so we think we've figured out a way to keep it and have a shower. We're also now planning to use the old sink as well.
