When Remodeling Uncovers Hidden Treasures

Ask any seasoned renovator or restoration contractor and they will have at least one good demolition story to tell—not so much about the one that got away, but perhaps about the one that got in the way. They may have been happily tearing out a partition when they uncovered it—a fireplace opening, Victorian wallpaper, feathered molding—and faced the question, How to proceed with the demolition project?. The answer is to continue with caution:  Additions are added to a home in layers; remove them one at a time and you may find treasures intact underneath, as was the case with several real-life projects:

• At the Spaulding School in Barre, VT, workers tearing out interior walls came upon elaborate, intact stained-glass windows behind paneling. The windows were not part of the renovation plans, but keeping them has brought an unparalleled beauty and a sense of history to the new reading area.
• In Manlius, NY, a couple yearned to straighten out an awkward stairway with a turn at the landing. It made no sense, they thought. Homes of that era featured straight stairways with no side entry. They attacked the project, opened the wall, and found the original stairs buried in the wall, with all treads intact.
• A Manhattan brownstone remodel delivered the unexpected: a complete, ornate interior cornice behind a false ceiling. Bob knew to look for period details and to remove the layers one at a time, taking a  sensitive approach to deconstruction, treasures can be uncovered, whether you expect them or not.