You’re not going to believe what we got done in just 3 days.
(Why just 3 days? Well, Mark was out of town on Monday, and I made an executive decision to take a day of rest. Then it rained on Thursday.)
Despite working only 3 out of 5 days we made really, really good progress.
Here’s what we accomplished:
On Tuesday, we removed the wraparound porch.
We also salvaged all nine of the porch columns. 
We were able to salvage some of the 1 x 12’s, 2 x 4’s, and beadboard. Unfortunately, much of the wood was just too rotten to save.
We felt a great sense of accomplishment when we removed the last two porch columns.
Here’s what the house looked like when half of the porch was gone ….
… and after it was all gone.
The porch columns? Given their age, all of them are in very good condition.
They’re for sale now. (Contact us if you’re interested.)
The next morning, dumpster #2 which you see here, loaded to the gills with shingles and wood debris, left …. and empty dumpster #3 arrived.
On Wednesday, John removed the floors on the second floor.
As the planks were removed, beautiful 2 x 8′ floor joists — true dimensional, rough sawn lumber in pristine condition — were revealed.
Oh my! They are just lovely. 
Later that same day, John removed some of the outside clapboard siding and lo and behold, we found a board marked “1908”.
It’s not visible in this photo, but right above the “1908” is “11-24-08”.
It seems that this was a fairly common practice because we found a similar, dated board at the house we salvaged in Crockett.
During breaks, I shot these photos of the water-stained wallpaper in the front room. In their own way, they’re pretty, and it struck me as being similar to those famous inkblot tests.
I’m glad I took the time to shoot this photo of the old staircase. It will be removed very soon.
I also loved these detail shots of the staircase …. one with a glimpse of nearby trees through open walls.
The chippy paint on this old door caught my eye also.
I also shot this photo of my husband, Mark, unbenownst to him.
Despite the hot, sweaty, filthy, repetitious work, we still try to have fun.
I adore him when he smiles like that. I’m reminded why I married him.
On Friday, the guys removed every bit of the cedar clapboard siding from the house.
Because we had already removed some of the interior cladding, removing the exterior siding revealed our stairway-to-heaven staircase to the world.
All in all, it was a very productive week. Every day we came home with literally tons of reclaimed wood.
Oh, one last thing. See the old corbel that was practically buried during one of the additions to the house?
Being the corbel lover that I am, I spotted it right away. I was so hoping that it was still in good condition and we would be able to salvage it successfully.
Luckily, that wish came true.
It just needs a few repairs, and it’ll be ready for sale … or it may wind up in our own home.
We’ll see ….
We expect good weather all next week so we will be working extra hard to get even more salvage done on the Bolton house.
Drop by and see us sometime!
Love the progress and great work. Please tell your husband and helpers this history lover appreciates all the hard work.
Have a productive and blessed week, Diane
I absolutely will do that! Thanks, Diane!
I love seeing the layers coming off. It’s really enlightening to see the anatomy of a house.
Yeah, it’s really kind of fun to see what lies beneath. We always find a surprise or two.
I was in Jacksonville this past weekend for my family reunion. I lived in Jacksonville until I was 13, then my Dad’s company transferred him to Dallas. But I have plenty of relatives that still live in Jacksonville. My great aunt lived across from the Bolton house that y’all are taking apart. I am so pleased that the house is being salvaged and not just torn down and thrown in the trash. I stopped by with my mom on Monday. John was there and was so kind to take time to talk to us and showed us the staircase and the 1908 date on the board in the front of the house. My mom was interested in buying a piece of the painted boards from the kitchen. How can I purchase one? As a kid I loved antiques and still do. So I’m thrilled that someone hired you to salvage the house. I just wish that would have happened to my elementary school, East Side, in Jacksonville.
Lisa,
Thanks so much for reaching out to us. I’m sorry that we didn’t get to meet you and your mom on Monday. Mark was ill with a touch of food poisoning that day, so I stayed at home to get some chores done and keep an eye on him.
We have brought home all the painted boards, and they’re in our storage yard at the moment. Let me get organized a bit this weekend, and I’ll shoot some photos and let you know what we have!
I wish that we had gotten into our salvage business years earlier than we did because so much history has been bulldozed and buried. I’m glad to hear that you appreciate and like our efforts.
Kim
Hi Kim,
I enjoyed the couple times that I visited with you guys there at the Bolton House Project. Thanks for the tips. I admire the work and craftsmanship put into your projects. Hope to visit with you again soon.
Sandra
I enjoyed visiting with you also, and I’m so glad you stopped by to chat with us. Feel free to stop by anytime to visit!
Hello, just found your blog and I think I’m located not too far from where you all are located. I love salvage and buy it every chance I can. I’m interested in the columns if you still have them. I’ll email you. I’m adding you to my blog roll.
Awesome! Thanks for reaching out to me. I will check out your blog and start following you on bloglovin’.
Concerning the columns, I’ll respond to your email.
Wow – so much gorgeous materials coming off that old house! I’m sure it’s hard work, but very rewarding too.
Thanks for coming by to visit at Knick of Time!
Blessings,
~Angie
Beautiful old stuff!! My old house was built in 1910 . Where are you located?
We were located in East Texas near Nacogdoches. A lot has changed since that post, and I’ll be posting more soon!