This photo was taken a couple years ago while out exploring the Quinte area for houses with acreage for sale. We came across a small home with a barn and if I recall correctly, 12 or so acres. We decided to go for a walk on the property to get an idea of the landscape and happened to come across a couple of rusted vehicles that were surrounded by forest near the back of the property.

I believe the house was located on Harold Rd., south of Springbrook, Ontario just off of the Stirling-Marmora Rd (14).

An awesome sight, I could stay there all day photographing stuff like that

Inside, the ceiling and walls are largely collapsed which makes me wonder “How long will this structure remain standing?”. Graffiti drawings inside the front foyer, the only room that appears you can enter relatively safely (Don’t Enter, It’s Not Safe!), bring color to an otherwise dim and dreary room.

Would like to see this place for yourself? Coming east along Spingbrook Rd. from the town of Springbrook, make a left on Bronson Rapids Rd. and keep following it until the road starts to twist and turn, it will be on your right.

Anyone know the some history surrounding this house?

When we moved out to the Trenton, Ontario (Close to Belleville) area over 5 years ago our back deck was in “acceptable” condition. This year we’ve noticed that one end of the deck was starting to sag lower than the rest. In fact, in the past couple months the sag became so extreme that it appeared as though the far end of the deck could completely collapse! An inspection was warranted so I crawled underneath to take a look see. The main support consisted of 2×6’s. They were 8′ in length, staggered and nailed together 3 thick with the overall length being 16′. Each end of the 16′ length was rotting with the sagging end of the deck in the worst condition. There were three 4×4 support posts holding the beam up and one of those was also completely rotted, you could literally move it from side to side with your baby finger.

To fix these seriously sagging supports I replace the 2×6’s and 4×4 posts with 2×8’s and 4×4 pressure treated respectively. To get the old beam and supports out without having the whole deck fall down I made some temporary supports using some old 2×4’s that were laying around the house. Stephen, my son lifted the sagging end of the deck while I hammered the supports into place which effectively removed the sag and restored the original height of the deck. With the temporary supports and height in place we then prepared the new beam by staggering and nailing the 2×8’s together to give an overall length of 16′. The old beam and posts were ripped out, nails removed and the area was cleaned.  The new beam was then moved into position but the darn thing was really heavy and holding it up against the underside of the deck for an extended period wasn’t really an option. To deal with this problem I used rope as hoists at each end of the 16′ length, inset around 3′ on each end. While Stephen held one end of the beam up by hand, I hoisted the rope on the other getting the bean tight with the underside of the deck and tied it off. I then hoisted the side Stephen was holding up and tied it tight. With the new support beam suspended in place three new support posts were measured, cut and wedged into place. 3 1/2″ nails were used to fasten the posts to the beam and the beam to the deck joists. The ropes holding the support beam were removed and the temporary supports were taken out carefully to ensure that the new support system would actually do its job.

Giddie Up! It worked fantastic and there is no doubt that the new support will last longer than the rest of the deck!

P.S. Most of the materials were purchased at Home Hardware in Trenton, Ontario and there were also a few items purchased at Home Depot & Lowes in Belleville, Ontario.

This project is so big it demands its own category! The house is approximately 800 square feet on a nice sized city lot with municipal services. The property boasts an enclosed front porch, very large driveway, very large shed/garage/car port, a large deck in excellent condition, updated electrical, mostly new roof, 9′ ceilings! and so much more making this home a worthwhile investment of our resources.

As with many older homes, the list of to do items is fairly extensive:

• Totally gut interior
• Move a couple walls
• Drywall, Tape & Mud
• Interior Trim
• Update kitchen
• Update windows
• Replace one side of asphalt roof
• Pressure wash siding & deck
• Reclaim weeded driveway
• Garage door
• And More…

We already have many photographs the show how the project is progressing so check back often to see the many changes to this wonderful little home that will be taking place!