Building a house is messy. Building a new house on top of an old basement is messier. Here is a sampling.
One of the previous owners was fond of affixing things to the basement walls: cabinets, hooks, shelves. To secure the screws, he use plastic sleeves, and slivers of wood, some that would function as serviceable vampire stakes. We removed them by screwing a drywall screw halfway in, then pulling the sleeve out with a claw hammer. We filled the holes with cement. Problem solved!
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| Someone's toy horse emerged from the earth around the house. |
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| The old standby cigarette pack shim |
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| The television schedule from December 28, 1963 |
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| Lots of water |
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| And mud |
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| Mud dripping down the walls |
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| And on the window frames |
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| Oozing insulation |
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| Excess insulation cut off to accommodate the drywall |
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| Dust, lots of dust |
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| Messages from the past |
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| Extra venting |
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| Various construction trash |
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| Metal filings |
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| The end of a corrugated steel siding sheet |
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| Still don't know who these belong to |
