Time Capsule Found!

Kitchen cabinets with dishwasher removed

Here all along I thought everything in the house (except the wall to wall carpeting) was original back to when it was built in 1951. Come to find out I was wrong. Not the first time and definitely won't be the last. When I was removing the trim around the window to the left of the fireplace I found where one of the subcontractors had signed and dated the plaster back in the early '50s when the house was built.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I found another signature on the wall in the kitchen between the base cabinet and wall cabinet.

Come to find out the cabinets weren't seventy years old but rather ONLY fifty years old. I don't know what I was thinking. We could have easily got another twenty years of use out of the plywood and painted plastic laminate. Any way, I assumed that John Magers was another subcontractor that left his mark while doing his work. I continued to demolish the kitchen cabinets and came across a "newspaper" that was left in between the base cabinet and the countertop.

Apparently John Magers wasn't a subcontractor but the owner of the house at the time. It was kind of fun coming across the items that were left for future generations. Take some time to read the "Ten Commandments of Human Relations", some things never change.

By the way, when I was ripping out the old flooring I noticed the manufacturer's label. The carpet was made in 1990. It too probably had a few more years of use.

The tearing out of the plaster continues. Will probably be continuing for at least two more weeks. Don't expect anything new and sexy for a while.

Front door and vestibule with what used to be the coat closet to the right.

The wall separating the entry way from the living room will come down and when the renovations are complete you will walk directly into the living room as you enter the house. The entryway will be wide enough to add a new front door with a side lights.

The view to the back of the house as you come through the front door.

Imagine how wonderful it will be when the cinder block chimney and partition wall come down and opens up the dining room to the kitchen.

Almost all of the plaster walls in the kitchen are gone.

Next week the insulation company is going to remove all of the old insulation from the attic. Once they are done I will remove the plaster from the ceilings. My thought is to wait until then before I start ripping out any partition walls. I want to make sure I know which are load bearing.

We spent half a day skiing at Schweitzer yesterday. The weather was very wet and windy. They ended up closing all of the lifts except the one serving the bunny slopes. The plan is to ski both days next weekend. Think snow!