Have you ever pulled up to a location and thought “this belongs in a movie somewhere. There’s no way it’s real!”? That’s exactly how I felt pulling up to our latest demolition project in Seffner, Florida. And that feeling only grew stronger as I looked around.
This house was a perfect encapsulation of a type of old, simple, Southern construction. There was no foundation. The house was supported and lifted off the ground by a series of small concrete blocks to avoid floods and soft and shifting ground. There was one bathroom, one cramped kitchen, and two bedrooms. Nevertheless, even in its dilapidated state, it radiated warmth and coziness, almost a care-worn familiarity and strength.
An Amazing Walkthrough
We walked through the Seffner house before the demolition, full of curiosity and wonder. It appeared it had sat untouched for decades beyond counting. The floor was tiled in a style that couldn’t have been commercially available after the 1970s. Surprisingly, the appliances appeared to be the newest features of the house, although even they could have sat idle for a decade at this point. We found comic books, magazines and catalogs; we found religious study books and manuals on wellness with careful notes in the margins. Not only that – we found personal letters between people long gone.
We took a few pieces of the past home as souvenirs. But ultimately it was the end of the road for this home and its contents. Nature had already reclaimed it long ago. We were just the last nail in its coffin.
Demolition Commences
Our excavator operator made short work of the simple construction. He ripped the metal roof from the home, exposing it to elements that had so long desired to get in. With that cleared, he crushed in the cross-beams that had supported it. He drove his excavator’s bucket through section after section, hammering all the major structures into one undifferentiated pile of insulation, wood, and twisted metal. After that, it’s just a matter of cleanup.
Parting Thoughts
Ultimately, old houses this small are simple to demolish. With half a days’ work, we cleared away what felt like a century of history. But life moves on. And as intriguing as it was to look backwards, this house was too far gone to be a home for another generation. Here’s hoping whatever takes its place lives as long and storied a life.
Check out our gallery of images from the job below, and make sure to give us a shout if you ever need a demolition contractor. We can’t wait to work with you!
