Restoration Begins!!
| Time to dig in!! |
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| Keep checking back for more pictures and updates!! |
| Click on picture below to enlarge and see more detail: |
| Discovering the 8 wallpaper layers!! (that we know of) Hoping to find some wallpaper similar to the first one used: |
| Uncovered the big spot of the original layer! This design was from the 1880s. |
| Salvaged bits and pieces of the second layer... |
| Door knobs and hardware to be cleaned and restored!! |
| WOW!!!! Who said these little ol country schools didn't have fancy wallpaper!! |
| New Porch Made by Mike Brunhoeber |
| End of move day Feb. 16th |
| End of day Feb. 25th |
| We know one of the cloaking rooms was wallpapered all the way from the wainscoting to ceiling and even the ceiling was wallpapered too!!! |
| Ol' Glory looks soooooo neat up there!!! |
| Shelby helped paint! 2/27/2010 |
| Class is getting ready to start Shyra! |
| Painting and BBQ!! |
| Scraping paint! I think we need some metal scrapers, Mikey!! |
| Painting almost halfway done! |
| Interior Under Construction!!! |
| Bye Bye Electricity!! Hey, they didn't have it 130 years ago! |
| Patch'n up the holes of fallen Plaster!! |
| For "Teacher's Attire" and more about riding aside, go to the School Teacher page. |
| Walls are almost painted!! |
| In the 2 pictures below: This area on either side of the real slate chalk board is part of the old plaster board that was used before they had the slate board. We are going to uncover it around the old slate board and repaint it with the chalk board paint. Then we will put 2x4s all the way around above it to hang old educational pictures on as we find some. |
| Just a little bit more wall paper to scrape off above the main doors and to the right then that area will be painted too... |
| Just a little more painting to do up high... |
| We have to have a hitch'n post because we will have horses involved in this project!! Thanks to a friend in the Cheney area for making it for us!!! |
| Almost done painting the upper walls!!!! |
| Break time!! |
| Here the original area where the chalk board used to be painted on the wall is painted on around the old slate board just to show what we have gathered it having towards the beginning before they could afford the fancy slate board! |
| Help, we are painting and we can't stop!!!! |
| Any Volunteers are welcome to come and help get the walls ready to paint PLEASE call us 620-845-2474 (Just the 2 cloak rooms left inside!) |
This picture, you can see
the original hole left in the
ceiling where the original
chimney went up through.
We are going to use this
hole for the stove pipe exit
through the roof.
the original hole left in the
ceiling where the original
chimney went up through.
We are going to use this
hole for the stove pipe exit
through the roof.
| This has been the hardest area to get the wallpaper off of!! The interesting part is the first 2 layers are not on this chunk in the middle because those doors were added at a latter date (approx. 1930s). So those first 2 layers of wallpaper goes on around through the crack where they built the wall where those 2 doors are. The main door actually used to be double doors too. |
In this picture, the old foundation
straight below the hole in the ceiling
(like in the picture above) sat the
rock footing support for the old
chimney!
straight below the hole in the ceiling
(like in the picture above) sat the
rock footing support for the old
chimney!
| Yep, everywhere above the green (which was above the lowered ceiling) was REALLY old wallpaper!! It was not easy to peel off but it had to go otherwise it would come off as we painted!! |
| The picture above reads: "This school house painted inside and out two coats and papered June 1924 Contract (price) for labor $95.00 Earl Benjamin Milan Kansas" |
| This writing was found in the East cloaking room on the plaster under the wallpaper! So apparently this wall paper wasn't put up till 1924. So the age of the wallpaper must be 1920s at the latest. |
| Writing found 5/15/2010!! |
| The vestibule area is finally about done!! Next comes the Cloak room on the left. The paint is scraped. Need to fix the ceiling first then fill cracks down the walls and paint! Once we get these rooms done then it will be time to focus on the floor!! |
| We have plans to take the light fixture out down the road. This ceiling is 15 feet up and it was NOT easy to paint way up there but we did it!! |
| Well, the broken plaster ceiling is down in the one cloaking room... |
| The work continues after hours!! |
| Working over time!!! |
| What is left to do in the South East cloak room: |
| First thing we have to scrape all the wallpaper off the ceiling and patch cracks then paint ceiling white. Then scrape wallpaper off the walls. In the picture to the left you can see the wallpaper we have uncovered that we would like to cut into some kind of a shape leaving it up there. We will then paint the wall (after cracks are filled through out) up to that wallpaper. Then apply plexi glass over the wall paper to help preserve it. Of course then the wood will be painted like the main room. Now keep in mind these ceilings are pretty high up and it is not easy to use a BIG ladder in these rooms because they are not very big! |
| What is left to do in the South West cloak room: |
| Now the old paint is pretty much scraped and ready for the new paint! We have to get more spakling compound to fill and hide the cracks. We also have to finish getting the rest of the broken plaster ceiling out of the edges then put a new ceiling in and paint it white. Then the room should be mostly ready to be painted! After these 2 rooms are complete what happens next: We plan to fill in the rest of the bad pieces of flooring with new flooring and sand the whole thing then try a light stain to get the new pieces to blend best as possible! |
| Picture taken July 4th 2010 |
| Our family had a great time watching the fireworks in Caldwell to the South from the Schoolhouse porch! |
Once restoration is complete, what next? (Including road, driveway and parking out front rocked) Locate all of the desks, teacher's desk (desk in picture is not the right age), class room props for the year that we decide on (will be somewhere between 1880-1920). Secure desks to wood planks so that they are safe for kids to sit in. Install wood stove etc... Get with school systems around and find out they're standards to make sure the criteria fits what schools will need in a good learning experience! We will then need a retired teacher to dress as the teacher when it is time to have schools come for field trips!! |
| We had a few visitors in the school today!! |
| 7-6-2010 Got most of the wallpaper out of the last room. Just need to finish where the shelf is on the right and the ceiling. Then fill in the |
| After getting the wallpaper off around this window we could see that there used to be a door here. According to the siding and stuff out side, it must have been a door here!! This would have been the boys cloak room way back when! This room was used as a storage room later in its school days. |
| Ceiling pattern found in boy's cloak room |
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| This is the front window on the south east corner that was originally a door then later was converted into a window when the sexs were combined! You can see the outline of the original door where it was filled in, to fit the window in place. |
| The plaster that was used to fill in the doorway for the window was crumbling out of place so we have had to put layers of spackling compound in place to "fill it in" It is almost done! |
| Just need to take the light fixture out and fill it in... but the ceiling is mostly painted in the east cloak room! The wooden attic hole frame will be the same dark wood color as the rest of the wood in the schoolhouse. |
| Ceiling is all painted in the west cloak room!! Will be working down the walls soon! |
| More Pictures: |
| Mowing in the rain.... This mower works even when it is wet! |