It's crazy what you find when remodeling

ktmrider

ktmrider

Well-Known Member
Today we were doing demo on a old home in Somerville , after removing the floor tile we found the last contractor had left us a sign that he was there .
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So I searched out the name and emailed the son who still lives local , he told me how his father was one of the largest plumbing heating contractors around the area . We were able to save the piece of cement and I will meet up with the son and give this to him . After talking to him for a few mins turns out he is looking at doing a 2300 sq ft addition . It really pays off to not be a dick and go the extra mile !
Some of the things that we have found buried in walls would amaze some folks .
 
Nice find!, Kinda expected you found a huge stash of weed.

My house is only 40 years old, but when I was ripping out the carpet / staples. I wrote our names on one of the steps as the OG owner did the same.
 
stb222 said:
Nice find!, Kinda expected you found a huge stash of weed.

My house is only 40 years old, but when I was ripping out the carpet / staples. I wrote our names on one of the steps as the OG owner did the same.
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I have found suitcases filled with antique music instruments buried in a false ceiling , when I called the owner she quickly grabbed the suitcases and ran into her bathroom & locked the door , she came out upset it wasn't money ....bitch , I also found a really old flag that is now on display in a museum in NYC . Brass knuckles I have found a police club and I did stumble upon some old ass civil war guns in a case perfectly preserved but I don't want to elaborate anymore on that . As for the weed I m sure I have a larger stash at home ;
Oh and we just found this
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Nothing that interesting in my parent's house, but the walls were (are?) insulated with newspaper and horse hair.

Apparently the builders were using whatever tabloid-of-the-day was available, the headline was something about Hitler's love-child.
 
ktmrider said:
I have found suitcases filled with antique music instruments buried in a false ceiling , when I called the owner she quickly grabbed the suitcases and ran into her bathroom & locked the door , she came out upset it wasn't money ....bitch , I also found a really old flag that is now on display in a museum in NYC . Brass knuckles I have found a police club and I did stumble upon some old ass civil war guns in a case perfectly preserved but I don't want to elaborate anymore on that . As for the weed I m sure I have a larger stash at home ;
Oh and we just found this
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Is that from "Titanic"? Lol
 
This wasn't actually remodeling.
But, I have a small mechanics 3 draw tool box that I got back in 1966.
I used it when I was a mechanic for Porsche / Volkswagen from 1966 to 1975.
Fast forward.....On August 29th. 2009 I was working in my shop here and the
toolbox draw jammed and I had to really work at getting it unstuck and out.
What had gotten jammed was an old time card from my job, dated August 29th. 1969.
Weird, huh! 40 years to the day.

timecard.jpg
 
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My HAVC buddie told me about a job he was on that this old Jewish doctor had owned his office building that passed. Before this place was sold the family had the building completely x-rayed. Every inch of every wall as they knew he had a problem with hiding his money. Well after it sold and demo happened money has found in a return shaft that was almost impossible to get to. $85000 of 1940's printed cash.
 
Nice find Rich! and awesome follow-up.

found some pot and rolling papers tucked in the rafters of my house - stashed in a tennis ball container. previous owner built the house and had 5 kids.
i turned it over to their cousin - a cop in town. I'm sure he got some mileage out of it. I usually leave old coins, and add a couple. good luck and all.
 
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This can was in the attic of my house that my parents built in 1965. It was left by the builder. Guess that's why the house is not level.
 
Did
jnos said:
I found an unopened beer can from 1955 under a cast iron tub. Picture below is from the internet, but same as the beer I found.
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You drink it? Probably in wrong thread doe ;)
 
rottin' said:
Did

You drink it? Probably in wrong thread doe ;)
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I didn't. Definitely though about it. While it probably stayed at cellar temperature it's whole life (above a crawl space), I doubt a 5% beer would age well over 50+ years.
 
Short background. We purchased our current home (10 years ago) from the parents of someone I was friends with as a teen. He has since passed. Actually, we purchased it from his Dad. The nest was empty and his wife had passed. It was just a fluke that our realtor showed us this house. I should mention that as a teen, I was a part of the "wrong crowd". This particular friend was one of our worst and he ended up in rehab a couple times for drinking.

Anyway, fast forward. I'm gutting the basement to remodel it and as I'm yanking down a section of ceiling all of sudden its: "crash-crash-crash" -- several vodka bottles drop. There was a closet in the corner that you could reach up into the drop ceiling. There were at least 10 vodka bottles and several prescription bottles (mostly Valium). I also expanded the yard a bit, by clearing some wooded areas. I easily found 20 more vodka bottles throughout the woods.

I guess my friend had more of a drinking problem then we realized.
 
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