Believe it or not I only have one story to go. I’ve removed the roof, the second story, and all but one chimney. I’ve collected tin, flooring, siding boards, studs, a few odd antiques, and even iron nails. This old house is a veritable treasure trove of reclaimable materials.
This house has two full chimneys and two suspended chimneys (chimneys that only descend to the second story floor). I’ve been busy for the last few weeks saving these precious little bricks one at a time. I use a small hammer to dislodge the bricks by tapping lightly on the face or back of the brick. I keep a masonry chisel handy for stubborn bricks, but I rarely need it since this old mortar is very brittle. Believe it or not, two of the four chimneys were put together using the red clay that is commonly found here in the foothills of NC. I like to work in tandem with a partner while I work on these chimneys because it’s super convenient to toss the bricks out to someone waiting to clean and stack them. I use a straight claw hammer to dislodge the mortar. When it’s all said and done I will have harvested 4500+ handmade antique bricks from this old house! My plan it to build an awesome patio with these gorgeous bricks.
I’m still working hard to tear down this massive structure. I’ve been busy removing siding and tongue and groove flooring. Taking down siding can be difficult if you plan to keep it in one piece. What works four me is to use a pry bar to pray the siding loose slightly at each nailed area, gently pull the nail out with the siding, all the while increasing the distance of the pray as I traverse along the board surface. This is the same method that I use for removing the tongue and groove flooring. I plan to clean, plane, and re purpose all of these materials as I build my house.
I saw this beautiful sunset on my way home. I think October might be my favorite month of the year. I love the crisp air, the changing colors, and the vibrancy of the skies. This is the perfect time of year to be working on my house.
This old house has been a veritable goldmine of vintage materials. Over the past few weeks I’ve been busy collecting tin, framing, slating, siding, paneling, flooring, bricks, and doors. I’ve removed most of the roof and interior details. Check out those amazing hand hewn beams that I’ll be harvesting in the coming weeks.
This week I’m working hard to reclaim materials from an old structure that is slated for demolition. I found this old house through a Craigslist ad. The owner was looking for someone to tear it down in exchange for free materials. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to get superior quality materials without taxing the environment and breaking the bank.
There is nothing better than getting to spend time with my grandkids. I’ve got two; a one year old and an 18 month old. I love it when they get to visit me at my construction site. These photos are from a recent visit from my youngest grandbaby. He had so much fun playing in the dirt and playing peek-a-boo over the blocks.
I decided to splurge and buy my brick from Statesville Brick, a local brick company that specializes in distressed brick that are made from recycled clay. Over the last couple of years I’ve collected a nice cache of reclaimed bricks but I have found that it’s difficult to get the kind of uniformity that is needed for a brick face so I’ve decided to save those bricks for a walkway project down the road.
It took me about a week to lay all of the block for the underpinning of my new house. I collected these blocks from local job sites. Since I’m planning to face the block with brick, I didn’t have to be particular about color or texture and I was able to purchase these left-over blocks at a steep discount from national construction companies that were ready to move on to their next job. Because these companies are moving state to state they find it more cost effective to liquidate materials rather than transport them. This is a great way to get building materials at a huge savings.
It’s so heartening to see your plans transform from abstract plans on paper into reality. For years we’ve been planning, scheming, and dreaming about this project. At last we’ve broken ground and are underway to seeing our dream realized.
danbuilt 