I've always heard people say that older houses are built so much better/stronger than modern houses. That statement was proven in fact yesterday.
Our job is to remove the stair railings and cedar from several closets upstairs. Of course, we though! How difficult could that be? Hah! More difficult that we imagined. Let me remind you that this house is about 80 years old. We've been told that the railing has had many a fanny sliding down it's oaken surface over the years - beteen my mother-in-law and her siblings to the subsequent grand (and a few great grand)kids. One would think after that mucy use as a playground, it would have loosened up just a tiny bit over the years. NAH! I can honestly say that I would have felt comfortable dangling over the side, hanging on to that rail.
We did finally dismantle the railing and we are amazed at the ingenuity that took place in the building of this house. We only damaged one picket, which we think we can repair. The railing curves and turns at a landing. We were able to remove it to a section joint w/o any damage. We have labeled and photographed EVERYthing so that when we go to re-set it, we'll have it well documented so that we can put it back together correctly. While I can compliment the structural integrity of the house, I will admit that nothing is "uniform."
The closets were not hard once we got them started. It took a bit of time to get them going however. The cedar is tongue/groove and it's wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling and ceiling. WOW! We completed on closet yesterday. Again, we have all the pieces separated and labeled (talk about tedious) so that it will go back into the same closet.
Today, we will spend our time removing the remaining cedar closet and taking down doors, molding and trim from the upstairs. Yes, true to our obsesive nature, they are all marked and labelled as well. We continued to work until well after school was out. It was rather nice to pick the kids up and return to the house, especially since their new school is across the street! They enjoyed working and helping. My son had a blast writing on the doors. My daughter spent her time in front of the fan doing her homework.
I have not had time to upload any pictures. Hopefully tomorrow! For now, I must be off. It's almost time for school and then back to work!
