Surprise!!!

Working on an old house is like watching Gomer Pyle on the Andy Griffin Show. 

Pretty soon the words ... Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! are going to be said.

OK ... maybe not with that kind of enthusiasm.

It's surprise! when you open up the plumbing wall and find lead pipe leading to the water lines.

It's surprise! when you find knob and tube wiring in a wall that supposedly had updated electrical. 

And it is always surprise! when you go to the home improvement store and discover that everything  you need has not been manufactured for the last 50 years!

But once in a while ......... when all hope of an easy restoration has left the building ..... the old house surprises you.

Yesterday, Honey was replacing the clapboards.  And the routine on the 8" wide clapboards (which need to be 6" wide clapboards) is rip, sand, prime and repeat.  Well, he was in the priming stage so instead of watching paint dry .... he decided to start looking at the bay window.


The bay is original with the original brackets looking like this .................





Solid ... original ... but crackled paint.



So after a little bit of scraping ... he discovered this .....................



 




Some great detail that will be perfect after a little highlighting!!!  

THIS was a great surprise!!!!!



Comments

Oh how I love surprises like that. Old houses tell their own story if we handle them gently and with care. Your old house will be singing its story soon. :-)
Judy T said…
Oh, I can't wait to see it all finished. What lovely detail.
Judy

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