Rusty's site

Deconstruction Complete!

The steel house is gone! It has been completely taken apart and shipped off to Milner + Carr's facility Philadelphia! All that remains of the site is an empty concrete slab, on which the house used to sit. The site looks a little empty, but it's exciting to know that Rusty is well on his way to being restored. It will spend the next several months in Philadephia, and as of now, the plan is for the workers to return in February to start reconstruction. It's great to see the first phase of the project completed, and exciting to move into the second part!

The disassembly of the chimney

The only remaining part of the Steel House--the hearth and metal sill

Photos by Doug Royalty

Day Thirteen

The fireplace came down today! It was all in one piece, making it difficult to take down, but the Milner + Carr crew managed it with the help of some ropes. The only things left now are the hearth, and the metal sill that ran around the perimeter of the building underneath where the fireplace panel used to sit. Removing these, and doing some clean-up are the only jobs left for the crew before the back up and bring everything back to Philadelphia!

All that remains of Rusty!

Photo by Doug Royalty

Day Twelve

Rusty is almost gone! The Milner + Carr crew took down the last wall panels today, and all that’s left is the fireplace. All the wall panels have been stacked and labeled in preparation for their transportation to Philadelphia. Tomorrow the last pieces will be taken down and the site will be cleaned up before the workers leave for good. The site looks so different with only the chimney standing!

Day Eleven

We’re nearing the end of Rusty’s deconstruction! Despite the rain today, the last of the roof was taken off, and there are only about four interior wall panels left. Another metal spacer was also found in the roof, which spanned the width of the house and served the same function as the one found in the ceiling earlier. The utility closet was also removed from the house. It is all in one piece, and originally held the furnace but then became a storage closet after renovations to the house in the 1980s.

As well as disassembling more of the walls and ceilings, almost all the insulation has been taken out, bagged, and trashed. Over the next couple days the Milner + Carr workers will take out the remaining wall panels and remove the corroded metal sill that's bolted to the foundation, while documenting the parts and carefully packing them for transportation to Philadelphia.

Day Ten

Today three of the crew from Milner + Carr Conservation returned to the site to complete deconstruction. They disassembled the remainder of the kitchen and bathroom and removed the bathtub, which had not been taken out with the rest of the interior fixtures. By the end of the day they had also taken down several more roof panels and both interior and exterior wall panels. They plan to continue working on disassembly until it is complete, which should be by the end of the week.