Chapter 2: Demolition Starts

The inside wall removal to the studs started this week, and also the drop ceilings were taken down. We now see that the original ceilings are close to 11 ft. high and tongue and grove bead board. With the carpets up we hoped to find hardwood underneath it but no such luck.

Brent and I started demoing the kitchen. We took out most of the cabinets on the first day. The second day of the kitchen demo was larger and we finished the cabinets as well as started to take down the ceiling. When we removed the fake beams we could see that the brick wall came loose and had very little support. Brent said it would be easy to take down. We were going to work on it on day three but the crew Brent has working on the floors said they would do it for only a little extra money. He said we were out bid on the job.

Now some news on the history of the house, I spent three hours at the records office and found very little. I managed to trace the house back to 1974 and then ran into a brick wall. It appears the man who owned it in 74 was a broker who bought and sold the property in the same year. He purchased seven or eight properties but only one on Mountain Street. However, Zelda doesn’t match the description of that property. On day two I spent an hour and a half searching for a name I found for the house in 1936. This proved easier and I thought I was on a roll, but the house changed hands three times between 1936 and 1932. After 1932 the property description changed and I slammed into another brick wall. The only thing I found was a deed for a property that was close but not an exact match. The deed was dated 1895 but not recorded until 1932. What does that mean?

Week One - The Starting Line

July 13, 2007

Hi everybody, this is the start of a journal on a restoration of 1920 two story American four square home in Kings Mountain, NC that we purchased in July 2007. The house was a foreclosure and needs a lot of TLC along with a lot of cash.

My two daughters have named the house Zelda as they made the connection that Zelda Fitzgerald, of Great Gatsby fame, is often called the "Queen of the 20's" and our house was built in the year of 1920. We believe that with a lot of work and time this house will be returned to a queen.

A word of warning when purchasing a foreclosed home. This is our eleventh house to purchase but is was our first foreclosure. The whole process was horrific as we were forced to deal directly with the bank that held the mortgage. The bank prolonged the closing and was constantly trying to recoup money during the whole process after our purchase price had been accepted. Beware when dealing with a bank that is losing a large sum on a foreclosed property.

I plan to make bimonthly entries (no promises) in the blog that will chart the on going sagas of our work on Zelda. So far in the first week after closing, we have obtained a building/restoration permit, had a temporary electrical pole installed, in the process of obtaining quotes for installing piers to level the sagging floors and have made arrangements for the delivery of a disposal dumpster, which has arrived. We plan do the majority of the work ourselves but will hire professionals for certain jobs if the price is right.

The temporay electrical pole for construction power was finally approved.


We currently have no electricity or gas utilities as Zelda was vacant for over six months and the city requires a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) in order for the permanent utilities to be turned back on. Guess what, we don't have a CO. We did pay the deposit for the permanent utilities which would allow us to at least have running water. Mission accomplished as we have running water. With all the leaks we have running water all through the house. We did manage to stop most of the leaks but we currently have the water turned off. First item you need to purchase for a fix it old home is a water valve key. This allows you to turn on/off the main water valve. Make the $8 dollar investment.

Next week we plan to start ripping out the first floor ceiling to determine all load bearing walls and to reinforce the second story floor. Also, all the carpeting, vinyl and other flooring will be removed and introduced to the dumpster. Expect that that we will remove the flooring to install the piers and blocks to jack up the floor.

Currently we are excited about the restoration process and have planned that it will take about one year to finish. Our current plan is to finish the kitchen and one downstairs bathroom and obtain the CO within three months. Feel free to check back on our progress and the level of enthusiasm (up or down) as we proceed.



We must make substantial progress before college football season starts as my husband is a graduate, season ticket holder and rabid fan of the University of Tennessee Volunteers. No work will be done on weekends during home football games and the progress of the restoration will be low when the Vols are on TV. Does this sound familiar?