We did it
We bought the stone house! I was dying to explore, but Steve didn't want me, or anyone else, going in yet. It was unsafe in so many ways.
We each had a business to run alongside the renovation, and we had our caretaker responsibilities at the farmhouse. I would manage things at the farm, and Steve would tackle the Ennotville property.
Going in
The house was ours, but there weren't any keys to ceremoniously hand us. I guess an abandoned building doesn't come with a shiny keyring.
When shoulder ramming the front door didn't do the trick, Steve kicked it open with his size 12 boot.
The room he entered contained two heavy organs. The floor sloped under their weight. Walking a few steps in, Steve tested the stability of the floor. It responded with a concerning bounce and he gingerly backed out.
The Great Clean Out
The basement was the priority. Steve needed to clear it out and address the issue with the sagging floor. He ordered the first of many dumpsters and purchased a respirator.
Sadly, the once interesting treasures down there were now a sodden mess, falling apart as he attempted to lift them. Most things had to be lifted by shovel into garbage pails, hauled up the steep basement steps, and hoisted into the dumpster outside. It was slow going, heavy work, but he eventually reached the concrete basement floor, installed a sump pump, and ran heaters to dry things out.
Steve was encouraged to see relatively new concrete benching around the perimeter and the stone walls in half-decent shape. The main beam supporting the floor above however, for the 'organ room,' was cracked almost all the way through. Steve built two-by-four walls to shore up the beam and floor above.
Exterior entrance to the basement, cleaned up
Moving up to the main floor
Everything was beyond salvageable. I can't bring myself to show you the photos. Steve was on a first-name basis with the dumpster company.
Up to the second floor
Photos by Terrance Herron
Animals and dampness had done extensive damage to the house. Except for the newel post and two plank doors, which could be stripped back and refinished, everything on the top floor had to be removed and tossed out the window into the bin below. Our visions of uncovering and restoring original features were not to be realized. We would need to rip everything out, back to the stone walls, and rebuild.
The perilous condition of the main beam kept Steve awake at night, wondering how he would deal with a total collapse of the interior.