Peeling back the years

Peeling back the paint from the ceiling and beams

There was a lot of activity at the house this week but very little of it you could actually see.  Geothermal units going in, plumbers doing pipes and electricians starting but not finishing their responsibilities.

We brought in a couple of extra guys this week to have a go at the ceilings.  Daniel and I did one small room but this work is tough on your shoulders.   They made great progress and the ceilings are looking amazing.  We were going to paint them but as you can see that would be such a travesty.

Because the beams were put in 'green' over the years these have split and twisted.  These splits had been filled in with plaster but it wasn't too difficult to pick out the plaster and reveal the cracking or "checking" of these massive beams.

We had the fire going too to warm us up

Fireplace and sheet-rock wall to library
Plastering planned in a couple of weeks

View to Library

Center hall- not finished but you get the idea.

If there are any historians out there, we have another mystery.  On the large beam in the living room ( the one we believe used to be the wall between the center hall and the living room) there are several holes drilled into the beam.    These were filled and painted over and look like they are very early drill holes.  6 of them are on one end of the beam and 8 of them at the other end (and opposite side) of the beam.  They look like some sort of substantial construction but they don't go across to the other beams, nor do they go through the entire beam (so not electrical or anything like that!).    They look too heavy duty for pegs or hooks.  Would love your thoughts on what they might have been for.

This set of holes are still filled (about 1 inch across)

More holes at the other end of the beam