Nor'East Architectural Antiques

Mill Building

In two weeks this 1890's mill building went from this...

to this...

Salvaged along the way included all of the antique bricks, the heart pine beams, and the decking.  The guys have been very busy. 

A Salvagers Dream

Since Tuesday we've brought in several truckloads of southern yellow pine timbers, another load of items from the Chestnut Hill mansion, and we did walk through on several up-coming projects. 

We started our latest project today and it turned out to be a salvagers dream.  It started off as all typical salvage days do, with us removing great kitchen sinks and other standard items.  Around 8:30 we moved on to a building we had not yet walked through and discovered that it had been locked and untouched for 30+ years.  It looked like someone had just shut the door and left.  We spent half the morning just investigating and it seemed around every corner we found something more amazing.  A beautiful Eastlake cupboard, a huge oak worktable with paneled front and sides, bead board backed bookcase w/base (say that 3 times fast!), a large multi-drawer shop piece and many other items. 

Pictures and details coming soon…

John

What a whirlwind week it's been.

Finishing up our two most recent salvage jobs has been very rewarding.  Phase I of the Chestnut Hill Mansion job has concluded nicely, yielding many treasures.  Brian and Lil John worked feverishly in a race against the demo crews who were working one floor above them, trying to get everything out before the demo guys smashed it.  Phase II will pick up in a week or so, when we go back to remove all of the exterior french doors and casement windows with bronze hardware. 

The Catholic Rectory job turned into a 2-day salvage marathon.  Picture 5 guys starting on the top floor, removing all of the lighting, mantels, doors w/trim and casings, running up 3 flights of stairs all...day....long.  Add to that an endless parade of bystanders walking through the building looking for anything they could get their hands on...for free. By the end of the second day, this pristine building looked like something out of a war zone.  That's a good thing though, because it means we have done our job well. 

We were a little disappointed when the general contractor told us we could not take front entryway out just yet so we will have to go back to get that and the main staircase during phase II. 

Saturday started with yet more snow to clean up as a storm moved through our area dropping another 8" on the ground.  We then moved on to unloading our box truck,  which was filled to the roof, front to back. 

Its always interesting to see how everything takes on a different look once it reaches the shop.  Three of my favorite items salvaged from the rectory were a big base cabinet with drawers and a huge blanket cabinet above, a pair of 1910 hall lanterns, and the vestibule double doors with transom window.

C'ya next week.
John

ps...next weeks salvage job just might be insane.

What A Week!

Working on back to back, large-scale salvage jobs can be exhausting. 

As promised, here are some pictures from the Catholic Rectory job. 

Slate Mantel (I think there were four)

More Fantastic Lighting

I've lost track of how many truck loads have arrived at the shop in the last two weeks, but a dozen would probably be a good guess.  Everyone has been working very hard and the shop is a bit of a mess but we hope to have everything organized, photographed and listed on the website soon. 

~Donna

Progress With The Mansion Salvage Job

The Chestnut Hill Mansion salvage job is progressing nicely and items are starting to be listed on the website.  Here are a few pictures...

Brian and Little John hard at work on-site.  As you can see the bathtubs were removed yesterday!

And  Kevin looking exhausted after spending literally hours cleaning this fantastic chandelier! 

Chestnut Hill Salvage Job

Here is a sneak peek at some of the items we salvaged from a fantastic mansion in Chestnut Hill.  The home is undergoing a large renovation and we removed some of the items that will not be reused. 

This marble mantel is beautiful!

 

Amazing Lighting!!

These and the rest of the items salvaged from this home will be listed on our website soon.