Gadzooks! A Discovery!
The circa-1921 plaster ceiling of the new carriage house pantry is mostly intact. There is though a hole in one corner. Curious to see exactly what was going on with the plumbing directly above, I stuck my head in the hole. And…GADZOOKS!
Atop the ceiling joists is…what?…shellacked T&G finish boards.
Huh?
Huh?
Huh?
My first thought: The kitchen was originally the ‘barn’ wing of the 1894 carriage house. Are the shellacked boards the original ceiling of the barn, set atop the joists?
My second thought: Why though go to the trouble of shellacking the boards to look nice, but not the adjacent joists? So, were the boards originally, rather than being nailed ATOP the joists, nailed to the BOTTOM of the joists? This makes sense, at least, and would have created a smooth ceiling plane..
My third thought: Or, were the boards repurposed from elsewhere in the barn/carriage house when the structure was converted into a house?
This is all very vexing!
In 2014, I did a long blog post on 831 Constitution in Emporia. The house was renovated by architect Charles Squires, who designed the Cross structures. Squires added a carriage house to 831, and this is inside. Note the exposed ceiling joists, and what may be…may…shellacked boards above. I plan to knock on the door of 831 and ask: “Can I look at the ceiling of your carriage house?”
At the moment I have three ideas:
- Remove the 1921 plaster ceiling in the pantry and expose this historical curiosity.
- Remove a small portion of the plaster ceiling and neatly finish its edge. As such, a bit of the historical curiosity will be revealed, dramatically lighted from a hidden source.
- Tear up the 1921 oak floor in the east bedroom above the pantry, remove the T&G boards, and reinstall the boards UNDER the pantry joists, and elsewhere in the kitchen.
My mind is quite abuzz.
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Tear up the floor above to reposition the boards below? Hard pass on that, especially since you don’t know what is original.
I’d be inclined to 1 or 2.
I think I would take a small section of the plaster ceiling down. This is an oddity for sure.
Ross, what is that structure at the end of the pictures? It looks like the top part of cabinet doors.
I don’t now, Pam!
Another mystery for you to solve. Can’t wait to find out what you learn from your investigation. Ross “Sherlock” McTaggart is on the case again!
Another mystery!? Only you, dear Ross! 🙂
yes! this was done in carriage houses! Check out the carriage house at the Naper Settlement Museum. The carriage house was built in 1883 and in one photo on their site you can see part of the shellacked ceiling with unschellacked joists. https://www.napersettlement.org/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=6776