When was the brick building put up?
And why? We’re not sure. Clearly it has been there since the late 1800’s.
And just as clearly, it had been abandoned for decades before we came.
We loved this odd little building but its fate was uncertain.
The failed roof and interior wood-rot were serious concerns, but we were much more worried
about the deep cracks running through the front and back walls.
The first engineer who assessed the building told us to
tear it down and sell the bricks. We persisted and found a structural engineer
who loved old buildings. He tested this one, deemed it eminently salvageable, and devised a plan
that the county accepted and we implemented, gratefully.
The first stage was gutting the building. For months it stood
roofless, looking forlorn and as fragile as an eggshell. The next
step was to anchor the two solid side walls with steel braces. Then the
damaged walls were torn down, one at a time, and rebuilt with the old bricks.
Now, with solid walls and new floors, windows, staircase, and roof,
the brick building has come back to life, the happy end to our lengthy restoration.
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