So last week appeared to involve a flurry of destruction and then a few days of not much. This week heralds a gaping hole in Betsy's backside. The old bed 4 has been opened up to allow positioning of the massive steel beam that will support the new roof. There was also the discovery that several stumps on the granny flat plan did not actually exist in reality and 5 new ones would need to be ordered and added to the overall cost. There are always surprises with old houses, this just happens to be one of them.
The position of the new carport has been marked out,
and concrete has been removed in readiness for the post hole digger. These mark out the position of the new laundry.
The big steel beam and all the new footings have arrived.
But none of these were the surprise find. No, that came when I wandered inside to take a better look at the gaping hole in the back of the house. Can you see what might have grabbed my eye? See that bit of blue poking out of that pile of rubble?
Yes, that one with what appears to be a star and a stripe on it. What on earth is that? Roboboy thought it might be part of a flag and could we please salvage those bits because he might want them for somewhere in his room ( he has been watching The Block since he was five and no doubt plans to create some elaborate installation).
On closer inspection my awesome site manager pointed out that it appeared to extend further under the lino than just the boards they had removed. He kindly ripped up a big piece of lino to reveal this.
Woah there, a painted floor in the most vivid of blues that based on the colour alone, I would strongly suspect is old lead based paint. My god did I have to restrain myself from ripping up all that lino on the spot just to see what had been done. This floor will be polished and will become the new kitchen floor when the house is joined together so the pattern won't be staying but it is still a pretty cool unexpected find.
What a great discovery!
ReplyDeleteThese old houses hold so many secrets...some of them like missing stumps and lead paint are not so fun...but others are wonderful.
When we ripped up our carpet and lino we found newspapers from the 1940s! They were so interesting to flip though!
And if anyone out there in blog land wants them, let me know...we still have them as we were sure what to do with them!
We found newspapers under the lino in our old house but I think ours were only from a 70's vintage. We actually had a lino ripping up party and had a heap of mates come and help. Only the kitchen and 4th bedroom have intact lino in Betsy and it looked reasonably recent so I wasn't really expecting to find anything. I bet there are some awesome 40's advertising in your papers. mel x
DeleteInteresting find - let's hope you find an old box with some money stashed in it. Now wouldn't that be a surprise discovery! xx
ReplyDeleteThat happened to me! I was helping during small reno of my ex-boyfriend's place, and an old built-in wardrobe in the main bedroom had to be dismantled. Down the back of this old chest of drawers was a curious brown paper packet. We thought 'treasure!' and tentatively opened it. At first glance it was one of those plastic-ensleeved coin sets you get from the Post Office, from about 1988. Interesting... but not treasure. BUT then when we opened it another envelope fell out, and inside that was a wad of the old paper one-dollar notes, the brown ones, mint condition, still wrapped in the bank sleeve, all numbered consequentially. That made the find more exciting! But THEN... we see that sello-taped inside the plastic sleeve of the coin set was another coin, an old one. It glimmered yellowly as we turned it to the light of the worklamp... my breath caught in my throat... it was a solid gold sovereign, from the late 1800s. TREASURE!
DeleteI love Betsy's hidden blue starry floor... I look forward to seeing more!
Wow, real treasure! What an amazing find, even the one bundle of notes would be so exciting let alone a gold coin. There have been so many families who have owned Betsy before us, at least ten so I think the chance of finding money would be low, but you never know! mel x
DeleteApparently a previous owner of our house won the Golden Casket years ago - I hope he left some momentoes of his win for me! xx
DeleteIt looks like it would have been a fairly funky floor....!
ReplyDeleteVery funky, especially if it was the kitchen! mel x
DeleteWow, yes you must! This blog is a great record of how you are updating and changing your home isn't it! Loved you Mother's Day post! :) x
ReplyDeleteThanks Ada! mel x
DeleteI love the colour of Miss Betsy. The stars are great. Can't wait to see what you do with them. So exciting. xo
ReplyDeleteGosh who'd have thought the floorboards would be painted in such an interesting design.
ReplyDeleteNow I wonder what you'll create? maybe the backing for hooks near the door or a rustic bedhead.
x
Don't you love what these old homes unveil? I wonder who and why they painted it... very cool. Also, got your email. Thanks so much. I forgot to reply btw...xx
ReplyDeleteThat's so cool! It's always a surprise to see what turns up when you're renovating an older home. I remember all the pink and orange seventies wallpaper we found behind a cupboard in our kitchen... x
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ReplyDeleteThe painted floor is intriguing. Painting floors was a 70's thing wasn't it. Be interested who was living there, you may have the work of a famous artist, everyone has to start somewhere lol. Are the Census results for the 1960's - 70's available?
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting piece of Betsy's puzzle. Looking foward to seeing your recycling design. Very lovely Mother's Day post as well.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting to find the painted boards, our house is very old and has been full of surprises - not all good ones! Lol
ReplyDeleteThis is what I love about old houses! What a great surprise. Motivates you to keep going! xx
ReplyDeleteSo great seeing Betsy's progress and what a surprise find!
ReplyDeleteLove the blue star floorboards, interested to find out what you do with them. we had old boxes used as flooring in the attic cupboard before it was ripped out. http://bungalowblogger.com/2013/01/ ox livers!! nice. katie x
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